Lucid "Hydra" Graphics Tech

Xion X2 · 07-27-08, 11:22 AM

Has anyone heard of this product yet?

http://www.lucidlogix.com/technology/index.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucidlogix.com

The HYDRA Engine is the first solution that "plays well with others." Unlike other technologies, it is completely compatible with all gaming applications, chipsets and GPUs from any vendor, so you can develop a totally customizable PC solution. Mix and match elements into your gaming system to achieve the price and performance level that's just perfect for you. And developers no longer have to write games and applications specific to a chip. Whether the API is OpenGL or Direct3D, the HYDRA Engine can tackle both.

Hmm, this is interesting. I wonder if something like this would minimalize the advantage Nvidia or ATI would have with a certain development group and level the playing field.

Xion X2 · 07-27-08, 05:29 PM

Sorry, hadn't seen it mentioned.

SH64 · 07-27-08, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xion X2

Sorry, hadn't seen it mentioned.

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/show....php?t=116255&

Banko · 07-27-08, 06:06 PM

Umm isn't this like any other graphics engine?

Badboy_12345 · 07-28-08, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Banko

Umm isn't this like any other graphics engine?

this is a hardware solution.. it isnt an graphic engine

walterman · 08-19-08, 09:13 AM

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=607
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=607&type=expert

This is really interesting.

It's a 'smart' chip that works between Direct3D & the GPU vendor driver.

Really interesting.

CaptNKILL · 08-19-08, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walterman

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=607
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=607&type=expert

This is really interesting.

It's a 'smart' chip that works between Direct3D & the GPU vendor driver.

Really interesting.

Wow, this is big.

I hope this technology is reliable because it sounds amazing.

Quote:

Can HYDRA support multiple monitors while in rendering mode? YES! This was one of the cooler parts of the demo; while playing Crysis at over 60 FPS on a pair of 9800 GTs we had a web browser window open on the second monitor. Even more impressive was that Lucid claimed we could be playing 1080p video back on that other monitor and the HYDRA system would adapt easily. With one GPU doing HD decoding it would simply end up with less "tasks" assigned to it as its load would be higher than the other GPU(s) inside the system. Scaling would be lower of course, but the transition would be completely transparent to the end user.

What DirectX versions are supported or will be supported and what about OpenGL? Right now, only DX9 is working though DX10.1 will be ready by the end of the year. With DX10 and DX11's implementations of multi-GPU data improving and adding to the HYDRA Engine technology will only get easier for team compared to the work they had to do on DX9. OpenGL is supported by the HYDRA Engine as well.

Could this technology be applied to GPGPU work as well? Yes, though that is still far into the future. One area the team did say would be easily taken advantage of by their technology is ray tracing with its incredibly task-oriented workflow.

Can HYDRA really be used with ANY graphics technology? Yep, Lucid said you could even setup some VIA S3 Chrome cards if you really wanted too...

This is what multi-GPU has been lacking over the past 4 years...

**mullet** · 08-19-08, 10:12 AM

WHoa!

CaptNKILL · 08-19-08, 10:23 AM

What I find amazing is that this is all done with a single chip that runs cool and barely uses any power (5w).

This sounds like something that'd be extremely processing intensive, to the point of being damned near impossible to do in real time... but some little company has managed to do it efficiently.

It just sounds too good to be true.

I almost wish AMD or nvidia would buy them out to ensure that this technology is used and developed fully... but I'd also rather have it work with any graphics card, which definitely wouldn't happen if one company owned it.

Either way, unless this is complete BS or its extremely buggy, this could be the future of graphics cards.

shabby · 08-19-08, 05:29 PM

Finally i can watch movies and play crysis at the same time...

walterman · 08-19-08, 07:21 PM

This technology might work, but, i guess that a big company will end buying this 'little' company, due to own interests.

Maybe it could be possible to use 2 nVidia cards with an AIB hydra card in any mobo. Of course, this is something that nVidia would never allow.

walterman · 08-21-08, 08:45 AM

http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=3379

Quote:

So why is Intel interested in this? Well, they could offer a platform solution through motherboards with this chip on them that delivers better multi-GPU scaling than either NVIDIA or AMD are capable of offering natively on their own platforms. With the issues in getting NVIDIA SLI on Intel systems, this will really be a slap in the face for them.

07-27-08, 05:29 PM	#2
Xion X2 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: U.S. Posts: 6,701	Re: Lucid "Hydra" Graphics Tech Sorry, hadn't seen it mentioned. __________________ i7-2700k @ 5.0 GHz Nvidia GeForce 570 2.5GB Tri-SLI Asus P67 WS Revolution (Tri-SLI) OCZ Vertex SSD x 4 (Raid 5) G.Skill 8GB DDR3 @ 1600MHz PC Power & Cooling 950W PSU

07-27-08, 06:06 PM	#4
Banko Red Pepper Vodka Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 2,155	Re: Lucid "Hydra" Graphics Tech Umm isn't this like any other graphics engine? __________________ Work/Gaming PC: Lian-Li PC-80 Intel Core i7 860 @ 3.53 MSI P55-GD80 G.Skill DDR3-1600 8gb 4x2gb Asus DRW-1814BLT SATA ATi Radeon 5870 OCZ GameXStream 700W Windows 7 Ultimate HTPC/Second Gaming PC: Gigabyte GA-EP45-DQ6 Intel Q6600 @ 2.8 G.Skill DDR2 4gb 2x2gb NVidia 8800GTX OCZ GameXStream 700W

08-19-08, 09:13 AM	#6
walterman Rayne Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,525	Re: Lucid "Hydra" Graphics Tech http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=607 http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=607&type=expert This is really interesting. It's a 'smart' chip that works between Direct3D & the GPU vendor driver. Really interesting. __________________ ASUS Rampage Formula X48 \| Xeon 3350 @ 3.6 GHz (450x8/1.26v) \| 4x1GB OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 Reaper CL3 @ 900 MHz 3-4-4-15 \| 1 x eVGA GTX 285 SSC \| 1 x ASUS EN8800GTX (PhysX/CUDA -> Burnt by nVidia 196.75 driver) \| X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty PCIe \| 1 x Intel X25-M G2 80GB \| 2 x 750GB WD RE2 7500AYYS SATA2 16MB \| Samsung SH-B083L SATA \| Enermax Revolution 1250W \| Samsung SyncMaster 275T 27" 1920x1200 \| Thermaltake Black Armor \| BloodRayne 2 FSAA Patch

08-19-08, 10:12 AM	#8
mullet Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 8,011	Re: Lucid "Hydra" Graphics Tech WHoa! __________________ • LIAN-LI PC-A70B • ASUS MAXIMUS V FORMULA (0701) • i7-3770k + NOCTUA\|NH-D14 • Intel 520 240GB SSD • G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB DDR3 1600 • • EVGA GeForce GTX 680 • PCP&C 750 Quad • ASUS 12x BD-ROM • DELL U2412M E-IPS • Windows 7 Pro x64 SP1 • Logitech Z5500 5.1 •

08-19-08, 10:23 AM	#9
CaptNKILL CUBE Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: PA, USA Posts: 18,844	Re: Lucid "Hydra" Graphics Tech What I find amazing is that this is all done with a single chip that runs cool and barely uses any power (5w). This sounds like something that'd be extremely processing intensive, to the point of being damned near impossible to do in real time... but some little company has managed to do it efficiently. It just sounds too good to be true. I almost wish AMD or nvidia would buy them out to ensure that this technology is used and developed fully... but I'd also rather have it work with any graphics card, which definitely wouldn't happen if one company owned it. Either way, unless this is complete BS or its extremely buggy, this could be the future of graphics cards. __________________ ---- Primary Rig ---- CoolerMaster 690 II Advance - Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 4.0Ghz + Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme 6GB DDR2 @ 942Mhz 5-5-5-20 1.9v (2x1Gb Wintec AMPX PC2-8500 & 2x2Gb G.Skill PC2-6400) - EVGA Geforce GTX 470 @ 750/1500/1850 (1.050v) Sparkle Geforce GTS 250 1Gb Low-Profile (Physx) - Crucial RealSSD C300 64Gb SSD - Seagate 7200.12 500Gb SATA - Seagate 7200.10 320Gb SATA ASUS VW266H 25.5" LCD - OCZ GameXStream 700W PSU - ASUS Xonar DX - Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Surround - Windows 7 Professional x64 ---- HTPC ---- Asus M3A78-EM 780G - AMD Athlon X2 5050e 45W @ 2.6Ghz - 2x2GB Kingston PC2-6400 DDR2 - Sparkle 350W PSU Seagate 7200.10 320Gb SATA - Seagate 7200.10 250Gb SATA - Athenatech A100BB.350 MicroATX Desktop - Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic

08-19-08, 05:29 PM	#10
shabby Forcefed GXP Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 1,138	Re: Lucid "Hydra" Graphics Tech Finally i can watch movies and play crysis at the same time... __________________ 2500k/Asus P67-Pro/8gb Corsair Vengeance DDR3/X25-M/p190

08-19-08, 07:21 PM	#11
walterman Rayne Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,525	Re: Lucid "Hydra" Graphics Tech This technology might work, but, i guess that a big company will end buying this 'little' company, due to own interests. Maybe it could be possible to use 2 nVidia cards with an AIB hydra card in any mobo. Of course, this is something that nVidia would never allow. __________________ ASUS Rampage Formula X48 \| Xeon 3350 @ 3.6 GHz (450x8/1.26v) \| 4x1GB OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 Reaper CL3 @ 900 MHz 3-4-4-15 \| 1 x eVGA GTX 285 SSC \| 1 x ASUS EN8800GTX (PhysX/CUDA -> Burnt by nVidia 196.75 driver) \| X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty PCIe \| 1 x Intel X25-M G2 80GB \| 2 x 750GB WD RE2 7500AYYS SATA2 16MB \| Samsung SH-B083L SATA \| Enermax Revolution 1250W \| Samsung SyncMaster 275T 27" 1920x1200 \| Thermaltake Black Armor \| BloodRayne 2 FSAA Patch

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Thoughts from console owners on NVIDIA's GEFORCE GRID	MikeC	Console World	11	05-27-12 08:43 AM