Hydra200
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ASUS CrossHair IV Extreme mainboard supports mix-and-match GPU setups
Scouting a new mainboard for that fancy new Phenom II X6 CPU you just picked up? You might want to hold off a minute, particularly if you're also planning on shopping for a few new GPUs as well. Hot Hardware has managed to get their paws around an upcoming motherboard from ASUS, the CrossHair IV Extreme. Much like the Maximus III Extreme that we spotted last November, this one also ships with the RoG Connect feature, enabling a secondary Bluetooth device (like a netbook or smartphone) to tweak overclocking settings from the sidelines. What really makes this one stand out, however, isn't the compatibility with all Socket AM3 Phenom and Athlon CPUs, nor the fancy new 890FX chipset. No -- it's the inclusion of Lucidlogix's nearly-forgotten Hydra solution, which allows users to mix-and-match GPUs (makes and models are no matter here) in order to create the most from whatever graphics cards you have sitting around. There's no mention of when this fellow will ship, but we'll be keeping an eye out at Computex just in case.
Lucid's GPU-mixing HYDRA Engine gets previewed, shows real promise
After a bit of a delay Lucid is back on our radar -- and we're pleased to say that the company's technology for combining multiple GPUs seems to be well on course. Indeed, a few HYDRA 200 units appear to be out and about, with preliminary tests showering love on the device. When the kids at Hot Hardware put theirs through its paces they encountered drivers issues (not surprising for something still in development) but still reported running a mixed ATI / NVIDIA combo for "impressive scaling" most of the time, peaking at 85% in dual-GPU mode. And PC Perspective also had positive things to say, with the HYDRA pushing performance "up by 83% -- definitely a competitive solution to SLI!" But that ain't all -- for the real nitty gritty you'll have to check out the links below.
Lucid HYDRA multi-GPU technology bears fruit, could bring peace to the GPU wars
Lucid came along last year and promised to let any motherboard chipset work with any combination of GPUs; to enable you to pair an ATI Radeon HD 5870 with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 and get 100 percent the performance out of both -- assuming you have a suitably gluttonous power supply. We were naturally a bit skeptical and so when the company largely disappeared for a year we figured they'd pulled a Steorn, biting off more than the laws of physics allowed. We're happy to say we were wrong. The company has unveiled its HYDRA 200 Parallel Graphics Chip, a tiny 65nm processor that, when installed on a motherboard or expansion card, enables the utilization of two disparate graphics cards. No more proprietary bridge cables or worries about who plays well with who. MSI is the first company to sign up, demonstrating its Intel P55-based Big Bang Gaming Motherboard, offering a HYDRA 200 and three PCIe slots for some sweet GPU potpourri. No price is announced yet, but it's expected to release in time to make an appearance inside your holiday system build. Read - Lucid Announces HYDRA 200 Read - HYDRA-Powered MSI Big Bang Gaming Motherboard
