What happened to Alienware's Video Array

[9mmCensor]

Ok NVIDIA has a Dual video card technology.
http://www.nvidia.com/page/sli.html

And Alienware has a Dual video card technology.
http://www.alienware.com/ALX_pages/main_content.aspx

So why is Alienware selling NVIDIA SLI tech?
http://www.alienware.com/Configurat...=PC-AREA51ALXX2SLI-D&SubCode=SKU-DEFAULT&cs=1

Alienware ALX Full-Tower Chassis
Alienware X2 and NVIDIA SLI Technology
Cutting Edge Performance-Enhanced Hardware
Personalized Pre- and Post-Sales Support
Alienware ALX Game Support Portal
Award Winning AlienCare Service Program

Alienwares Video Array Press release stated,

Nvidia recently announced Scalable Link Interface (SLI) graphics technology, which also uses two graphics cards in a single system.

Should Nvidia's SLI technology ultimately prove faster than Alienware's Video Array, we will offer it to our customers as soon as it becomes commercially available, stated Frank Azor, senior vice-president and general manager of Alienware's Worldwide Product Group. Either way, we will continue to develop and optimize Video Array for all non-Nvidia graphics solutions, such as those from ATI, 3D Labs, Matrox, and any other manufacturers. Our sole interest is in offering technology that provides the very best computing experience possible to Alienware customers.

So Alienware seems to be the choice for ATI (and other) cards, but NVIDIA seems to be the choice for NVIDIA cards.

Found that interesting...

 

[bojangles]

Or if you want to over pay on SLI.....which is a little redundant but okay. It only said that IF nvidia SLI was faster they would offer it. Ultimately I see Alienware's cash crop failing. It is interesting though.

 

[Aslan]

My guess is that they haven't gotten all the bugs out of their Video Array tech yet.

However, as the quote indicates, nVidia's SLI does sound faster, which IMO isn't really surprising. Alienware has a much more difficult job as they have to make their tech compatible with many different brands while nVidia has to deal with just themselves.

 

[Schalldampfer]

Oh wow... I didn't even know SLI was out... It looks like a promising innovation... although pricey. Are there any motherboards out that exploit this yet?

 

[bojangles]

^^ No they aren't, I think the Nvidia boards for the A64 systems will be the first to have it.

 

[jamesavery22]

^^ No they aren't, I think the Nvidia boards for the A64 systems will be the first to have it.

Im guessing xeon e7525 boards will be first since thats what you see everyone demo'ing SLI setups on...

 

[veryhumid]

that is very interesting. Maybe when implementing 2 video cards, there isn't a big difference between card manufacturer. Or maybe they paid a little premium to NV to learn how to build it. Either way that's great news that you can use two cards with ati now!