Nuggets: ATI doubles up the graphics
Dual chip, dream making, silicon magic!
Graphics supremo ATI has come up with the first dual processor, 64MB board to fuel the lusts of hardcore gamers.
The Rage Fury Maxx is equipped with two Rage 128 Pro chips on a single board giving a maximum fill rate -- the number of textured pixels that can be rendered per second -- of 500 megapixels/second.
ATI reckons the new board gives ultra high resolution 32-bit colour acceleration with minimal performance degradation. To illustrate this in gamer speak, ATI gives as an example the fact that long range weapons in Quake become more effective, as enemies that would have been impossible to see at 800 x 900 become visible when moving to higher resolutions at higher colour depths. So, think of it as an upgrade to your gun sight!
The board incorporates ATI's Multiple ASICS Technology (MAXX). This means that each of the two chips renders alternate frames, cutting the rendering load in half. One chip renders even frames only, the other handles the odd frames.
Each chip performs triangle setup for its own frame without having to wait for the other chip, balancing the load of a game scene between them. Each chip also has its own frame buffer space, meaning that the final image is buffered to avoid any tearing or discontinuity. Which all boils down to a far superior gaming experience.
Right I'm off to kill a mutant at 500 yards!
Out now for £189.
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