OSNews: http://www.osnews.com/story/20396/Clarification_Apple_s_Dual_GPU_Setup Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2009, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:10:16 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif OSNews.com http://www.osnews.com I got two words for ya... http://osnews.com/thread?334002 http://osnews.com/thread?334002 Snow Leopard. Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:09:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Adam S) Comments A bit more accuracy... http://osnews.com/thread?334003 http://osnews.com/thread?334003 The Macintosh has supported multiple graphics chips and monitors for a lot longer than they were supported under Windows and the generally available PC operating systems: the distinguishing factor that should be clarified is that of using them in a crossfire/SLI type of solution is more recent in coming.

Considering Apple hasn't truly chased after the gaming crowd for a very long time (that seems to have been more of an Apple 2 series thing, if that was even actively chased by Apple, instead of it just happening) so they've not been horribly impressed on the need to do an SLI type of solution. So, too: isn't that more the province of graphics card manufacturers to come up with such drivers, to a large extent, or, if desired, do the custome hookup between a pair of cards via a cable (instead of doing it through the backplane)? Apple purposely setting up their system backplane/bus (PCI-E these days) would definitely help for their systems that have slots, and is required for laptop/non-modifiable video systems, but for the ones with slots, that's optional on Apple's part, just like it has always been optional on PC manufacturer's part.

I guess it comes down to the chicken/egg question: which comes first, the high-end gamer hardware support, or the OS support for the high-end gamer hardware? And the "If you build it, they will (or not) come" scenario. Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:15:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (JonathanBThompson) Comments point of 2 cards http://osnews.com/thread?334005 http://osnews.com/thread?334005 I thought the point of having 2 cards in the new Mac Book Pros was for different battery life/performance ratios. If you needed more graphics processing or you need more battery life, you will choose the appropriate one. That is what I got from watching Steve Jobs keynote address in the Quicktime version on the Apple website. Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:31:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (bhuot) Comments RE: I got two words for ya... http://osnews.com/thread?334007 http://osnews.com/thread?334007 Exactly :

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nvidia.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.p...

Maybe an addendum to the addendum is necessary :p ? Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:36:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Nighteyes) Comments RE[2]: I got two words for ya... http://osnews.com/thread?334013 http://osnews.com/thread?334013 Exactly???

The support note from nVidia makes it clear that Apple's motherboard does not support SLI. It clearly states that it's one GPU or the other, and that under Windows you're locked into "performance" mode, i.e. 9600M only.

My take on the information given both from the Apple support note and the nVidia one is that Snow Leopard will make no difference whatsoever. The current MacBook Pro will never be able to use both GPUs at once. Ever. This is a hardware limitation.

This is a poor design decision IMHO... Maybe by the time I can afford to upgrade my PowerBook they will have put in sensible hardware. Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:48:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (steve_s) Comments RE[3]: I got two words for ya... http://osnews.com/thread?334014 http://osnews.com/thread?334014
Exactly???

The support note from nVidia makes it clear that Apple's motherboard does not support SLI. It clearly states that it's one GPU or the other, and that under Windows you're locked into "performance" mode, i.e. 9600M only.

My take on the information given both from the Apple support note and the nVidia one is that Snow Leopard will make no difference whatsoever. The current MacBook Pro will never be able to use both GPUs at once. Ever. This is a hardware limitation.

This is a poor design decision IMHO... Maybe by the time I can afford to upgrade my PowerBook they will have put in sensible hardware.


Apple's board won't support SLI, until Intel has SLI on their motherboard designs recently licensed from Nvidia, in exchange for Nehalem licensing back to Nvidia. Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:01:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tyrione) Comments hef? http://osnews.com/thread?334015 http://osnews.com/thread?334015 Thom,

What does the "hef" attribute to an html 'a' tag do?Edited 2008-10-16 20:02 UTC Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:01:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sbergman27) Comments RE: hef? http://osnews.com/thread?334016 http://osnews.com/thread?334016 I assume it has something to do with a link to a picture of a pretty girl! Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:12:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (fretinator) Comments RE[4]: I got two words for ya... http://osnews.com/thread?334017 http://osnews.com/thread?334017 I was under the impression that the board chipset is by nvidia too. Hence sli is totally feasible...but for some unknown reason nvidia failed to include it.

We'll find out if it is in fact doable when other manufacturers start including this chipset in their laptops. Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:13:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (_txf_) Comments RE[4]: I got two words for ya... http://osnews.com/thread?334018 http://osnews.com/thread?334018 Well, I don't want to troll, and as far as I'm concerned, I couldn't care less, but :


Apple's hybrid graphics technology is supported under the MacOS X operating system version 10.5.6 and higher only.


To my understanding, that means either that the SLI will be supported in the next OSX revision, or that OpenCL will be able to take advantage to the two simultaneously. Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:20:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Nighteyes) Comments RE[2]: hef? http://osnews.com/thread?334021 http://osnews.com/thread?334021
I assume it has something to do with a link to a picture of a pretty girl!


Close. It's the The Hef attribute. I'm in a blonde girl phase. Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:36:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Thom_Holwerda) Comments RE: hef? http://osnews.com/thread?334047 http://osnews.com/thread?334047 It is obviously a direction to finding the heffalump. Fri, 17 Oct 2008 06:06:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Soulbender) Comments RE[5]: I got two words for ya... http://osnews.com/thread?334052 http://osnews.com/thread?334052
Well, I don't want to troll, and as far as I'm concerned, I couldn't care less, but :


Apple's hybrid graphics technology is supported under the MacOS X operating system version 10.5.6 and higher only.


To my understanding, that means either that the SLI will be supported in the next OSX revision, or that OpenCL will be able to take advantage to the two simultaneously.


The latter. Fri, 17 Oct 2008 09:08:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tyrione) Comments Good journalism http://osnews.com/thread?334057 http://osnews.com/thread?334057 Thom,

A sign of good journalism is putting into print when you have reported something incorrectly (there is certainly no shame in doing so!)

People pick you up when you miss the mark, only right that I state when your journalism is spot on! Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:05:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Adurbe) Comments RE: A bit more accuracy... http://osnews.com/thread?334084 http://osnews.com/thread?334084 SLI is way more important for animation professionals then it is for gamers, there are many games that just plain don't work with a dual gpu config, and others that don't work well with it. Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:08:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (google_ninja) Comments RE: hef? http://osnews.com/thread?334085 http://osnews.com/thread?334085 It is obviously in reference to me. They just forgot the L ;) Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:08:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (helf) Comments hokey http://osnews.com/thread?334086 http://osnews.com/thread?334086 Wow, that is a really hokey kludge. They couldn't even make it work well. You have to log out and then back in for it to switch GPUs.

Lame, Apple, Just plane lame. Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:11:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (helf) Comments kinda slow http://osnews.com/thread?334108 http://osnews.com/thread?334108 There were quite a few articles on the subjects already on the web well before you wrote even a word. Just read what other people say and you might avoid blunders like this one in the future.

In the name of fairness GPU switching works only in Vista and OS X so people should stop dumping on Apple. I also doubt that it is Apple's fault that you cannot use both GPUs at the same time. They simply did not have another year to wait until Nvidia figures out a way to keep both gpus without draining the battery in under 30 minutes. I really fail to see what the point of switching from geforce 9600 to a 9400 is unless the next version of OS X really requires you to have a good GPU. To me it would have made a lot more sence to have a powerful gpu that can turn off some of the processing units when they are not needed or when the user chooses to do so. Of course such technology does not exist atm and unfortunately noone is officially working on anything like that.Edited 2008-10-17 20:16 UTC Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:14:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (cg0def) Comments