Tuesday, June 26th 2007
NVIDIA Hybrid SLI Technology
NVIDIA is planning a new technology called Hybrid SLI which can boost the graphics performance for systems that have NVIDIA's IGP (integrated graphics processor) and discrete GPUs, while it can also increase the battery life of notebook PCs. Hybrid SLI will turn off discrete GPUs and only run the IGP when the user is operating normal 2D applications. On the other hand when the user is running 3D applications, the technology will automatically turn on the discrete GPU and boost performance without the need to reboot the system and manually switch between the two graphics processors. NVIDIA expects to use the new technology on both desktop and notebook PCs. The technology is predicted to appear by the end of the year, according to Jen Hsun Huang - chief executive of NVIDIA Corp.
Source:
DigiTimes
37 Comments on NVIDIA Hybrid SLI Technology
Even at the desktop it is running in 3D mode. So how will it know to switch to the IGP? The IGP should be enough to run Vista's 3D effects, but it won't technically be in 2D mode...
One big thing people forget as to why this is a problem, is that while you CAN adjust clockspeed and voltages on the GPU, it is expensive to add those features and memory modules cant be turned off - 768MB cards for example, are pretty screwed with so many ram modules. (With desktops, each stick of DDR ram adds about 10-15W of power used - even if you arent using it, the power is still in use)
Also, people want those fun little features - TV out, Media decoding capability etc. These all add up to more and more chips on the cards, all wasting power when they aren't in use.
Terrawats.
I have to agree, 10w TDP or much less is a more appropriate number. You desktop folks enjoy getting screwed with power consumption eh? :toast:
This technology is a brilliant move for battery life in professional/high end laptops.The best solution would be to not use Aero when on battery, honestly. This is to conserve battery life, not waste it.
Ours at work get about 2.5hrs but they are all xp.