S3 Dual-GPU Card Competes with ATI Eyefinity

By Kevin Parrish
published

VIA Technologies plans to offer an alternative to AMD's ATI Eyefinity technology.

VIA Technologies said that it's sporting a few products at the Digital Signage Expo 2010 trade show held next week at the Las Vegas Convention Center. One of the products mentioned is the company's upcoming S3 Graphics Chrome 5400E x2, a dual-GPU graphics card aimed to take on AMD's ATI Eyefinity technology.

"The S3 Graphics 5400E x2 is a highly integrated and flexible video card that features dual graphics and multimedia processors," the company said. "Boasting extreme hardware acceleration of the latest HD video codecs, the S3 Graphics 5400E x2 uses S3 Graphics' PanoChrome technology to provide up to four independent HD video streams at resolutions of 1080p on up to eight displays, employing a variety of display modes and configurations."

The company's press release provided a few more details, indicating that the card provides built-in Genlock support for synchronized source timing, and support for Span, Extended, and Clone view configurations. The hardware-accelerated HD video codecs include H.264, VC-1 and WMV-HD. Unfortunately, there's no real hardware-based info such as its core clock speed and on-board memory amount.

VIA said that it will offer a taste of the dual-GPU graphics card during the show, and will eventually provide samples to ODM customers in the USA sometime Q2 2010 or later. More information about what VIA is bringing to the trade show next week can be seen here.

Kevin Parrish
35 Comments Comment from the forums
  • simplyderp
    But can it run ------?
    Reply
  • dman3k
    Somehow, I don't think this will run games quite as well as AMD's eyefinity.
    Reply
  • This is good for the consumer. We need more players in the GPU market.
    Reply
  • buzznut
    yeah, if its anything like S3's old products, WoW will prolly bring the card to its knees begging for mercy.

    Now I can play dungeon hack on 4 displays! YAY
    Reply
  • cscott_it
    This will be interesting.
    It's certainly not a Larabee statement and it probably means nothing to enthusiasts or gamers, however it may offer an alternative to the super-multitasker and office jocks.
    Reply
  • NapoleonDK
    Suspected performance aside, this is the first inkling we've heard of another graphics contender since the demise of Larrabee. (Not forgetting that Intel said they were discontinuing development of the "graphics card", they left the table open for speculation on the Larrabee technology outside of the "card" we were waiting for.) I would imagine we could see a return of Larrabee as well as a resurgence of VIA and possibly others. Lets not forget how very little the high-end graphics market actually accounts for ATI/Nvidia market penetration. Imagine having 4 teams on the field instead of just 2...

    Lets get this competition going, bring it on!
    Reply
  • False_Dmitry_II
    I kind of wish VIA were more important in the CPU and the GPU business.
    Reply
  • grieve
    False_Dmitry_III kind of wish VIA were more important in the CPU and the GPU business.the more the merrier
    Reply
  • Shadow703793
    dman3kSomehow, I don't think this will run games quite as well as AMD's eyefinity.Agreed, but it would be cool to have another player in the market.
    Reply
  • the_krasno
    dman3kSomehow, I don't think this will run games quite as well as AMD's eyefinity.
    They probably are aiming at the productivity sector. You know, everything BUT gaming.
    Reply