Asus Officially Launches Trinity

[DanTheBanjoman]

ASUS, producer of top quality graphic solutions, has today unveiled the world’s first on-board triple GPU solution with the concept model ASUS EAH3850 TRINITY/3DHTI/1.5G graphics card. With three RV670PRO GPUs onboard, users can enjoy an astonishing 139% improvement in speeds when compared to single-GPU solutions. Additionally, the EAH3850 TRINITY is equipped with a MXM module for upgrade possibilities and two exclusive extra DVI outputs. It also features a specially designed water cooling solution – ensuring efficient heat dissipation for stable performance. On top of all this, the ASUS EAH3850 TRINITY is equipped with a world-exclusive large onboard memory size of 1.5GB – designed to provide feature-rich DirectX 10 gaming and the best multimedia playback at ultra-high resolutions and maximum quality settings.

http://www.techpowerup.com/img/08-04-09/news20080408-2_thm.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/img/08-04-09/news20080408-2.jpg)
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Unparalleled Performance with Just One Card
As the world’s first onboard triple GPU solution, the ASUS EAH3850 TRINITY/3DHTI/1.5G is able to elevate 3DMark06 scores from 4880 to 11662 – an astonishing 139% speed improvement when compared to the single-GPU solutions *. Gamers can now truly feel the exhilarating rush of extreme gaming performance only with the ASUS EAH3850 TRINITY.

Exclusively Designed Hardware Features
The EAH3850 TRINITY comes with the MXM module design that allows users to obtain the flexibility to upgrade the MXM VGA module in regards to GPU and memory size with lower costs. The EAH3850 TRINITY also utilizes a specially designed water cooling solution that effectively dissipates heat away from the three GPUs through heatpipes that are specially connected to the main board of the graphics card instead of the GPUs. Due to the fact that the water cooling solution works exceptionally well even with upgraded GPU and memory, the hassles of displacing the thermal module when upgrading the MXM VGA module is avoided for minimized upgrading costs. On top of all this, the EAH3850 TRINITY is equipped with two extra DVI outputs for a maximum of four-display video outputs.

World Exclusive 1.5GB GDDR3 Onboard Memory for the Best Graphics
Memory size is paramount if one does not want to suffer from graphic bottlenecks. With most current and upcoming games requiring high video memory requirements; plus the fact that game developers still constantly increasing the estimated video memory size, the ASUS EAH3850 TRINITY/3DHTI/1.5G is able to truly deliver a world-class graphical performance – allowing users to fully enjoy games or movies without lag or stuttering even at very high resolutions and maximum quality settings.

Unprecedented Rock Solid Quality from ASUS
In line with the Rock Solid promise of quality from ASUS, the EAH3850 TRINITY comes with several solutions to provide top quality graphic performance. The temperature of the newly adopted DIP Spring Chokes is 5~10°C lower in comparison to traditional Toroidal Coil Chokes; while the Japan-made polymer capacitors lowers power loss to provide more stability. Users will thus feel at ease while enjoying extreme performance with ASUS’ uncompromising quality only with the ASUS EAH3850 TRINITY.


Note:
*Performance Configuration
PCI-Express 16X :
MB: P5B Deluxe REV:1.03G BIOS:0804
CPU : P4-2.66 GHz/8M Kentsfield-1066
Memory : 2048MB( DDR2-Transcend TS128MLQ64V8J 1024M*2)
HDD : WD WD1600JS
DVD-ROM : ASUS DVD-E616P3
Overclocking capabilities may vary when using different cards
The 3DMark06 score was obtained using resolutions of 1600*1200

Source: ASUS (http://www.asus.com/news_show.aspx?id=10827)

[panchoman]

looks sweet, and kudos to asus from actually making innovations and all as a gpu company rather then just marketing reference coolers

[indybird]

I love things like this. And did I interpret this card as being upgradeable with other Radeon HD3000 MXMs?

By the way, why on earth did they do 3DMark06 with a Pentium 4?

-Indybird

[DanishDevil]

Looks like they looked to all aspects of components to ensure this card would be a winner. It will be interesting to see real-world performance. That upgradability thing is interesting...

They used that because with all the processors they used, that configuration gave them the highest increase between a single and a triple GPU setup. Plain and simple.

[erocker]

Nothing stating that a 64bit OS is required?

[indybird]

Nothing stating that a 64bit OS is required?

why would it need that?

-Indybird

[erocker]

A 32bit O/S doesn't support more than two GPU's.

[hugz]

By the way, why on earth did they do 3DMark06 with a Pentium 4?

CPU : P4-2.66 GHz/8M Kentsfield-1066 looks to me more like Q6600 :o

[philbrown23]

my 32 bit o/s runs tri-fire just fine, so I don't know where you got that idea. also, where's the price if it is officially launched??

[MikeJeng]

How much?



MUN-EEE

[Silverel]

I need 4 of them...

Really though, is this gonna be around the price of 3 3850's? Or significantly more?

[DanTheBanjoman]

How much?



MUN-EEE

Considering MXM cards themselves are quite expensive and there are three on it it could hurt to know. I saw some benches of it scoring around 24K in '06 at standard settings. All I care about is power consumption, not sure how much the MXM versions use. The water scares me though, it might not just be cool but required > high power consumption.

[mullered07]

I need 4 of them...

Really though, is this gonna be around the price of 3 3850's? Or significantly more?

it is only a concept so it might not even make it onto e-shelves, and if it does expect to pay significantly more lol, anyone for 9x crossfire ???? :nutkick:

[jbunch07]

this is sweet!
i wonder if you can run 2 of them???
prob not considering the watercooled

and when they say "users can enjoy an astonishing 139% improvement in speeds when compared to single-GPU solutions" are they referring to one 3850?

[DanTheBanjoman]

it is only a concept so it might not even make it onto e-shelves, and if it does expect to pay significantly more lol, anyone for 9x crossfire ???? :nutkick:

Actually this is not a concept anymore, thats what the press release is for. It was a concept at the time of the previous post about it.

this is sweet!
i wonder if you can run 2 of them???
prob not considering the watercooled

and when they say "users can enjoy an astonishing 139% improvement in speeds when compared to single-GPU solutions" are they referring to one 3850?

There is no crossfire connector, plus ATI doesn't support 6way configurations.

[Jizzler]

What?! Show some proof please! Not according to ATi it doesn't.

Do you have 32bit/64bit confused with Vista/XP?

CrossFireX™ (Quad) Support 3 or 4 GPUs in CrossFireX™ Mode

This release of Catalyst™ introduces CrossFireX™ Quad support. Users with any combination of a ATI Radeon™ HD 3870, ATI Radeon™ HD 3850, and ATI Radeon™ HD 3870 X2 graphics accelerators running with 3 or 4 GPUs will be able to run in CrossFireX™ Quad mode (when used in a CrossFireX™ compatible PC). CrossFireX™ Quad will deliver significant performance improvements in a number of applications. Users can expect to see further DirectX 10 QUAD CrossFireX™ performance improvements in future Catalyst™ releases.

Users are now able to run in CrossFireX™ (Quad) mode while running in extended desktop mode on the Windows Vista desktop

Note: CrossFireX™ (Quad) is only supported under the Windows Vista operating system


Oddly, quad to ATI means 3 or 4 GPU mode :D

[PVTCaboose1337]

That actually looks pretty 1337. I am surprise because of what NVIDIA has been coming up with lately.

[erocker]

Do you have 32bit/64bit confused with Vista/XP?



Oddly, quad to ATI means 3 or 4 GPU mode :D

Hehe... yeah.:o Sorry:( But won't there be a problem if you say have two of these cards with a total of 3gb's of memory if you are running 2gb's of system memory with Vista 32bit?

[jbunch07]

Actually this is not a concept anymore, thats what the press release is for. It was a concept at the time of the previous post about it.



There is no crossfire connector, plus ATI doesn't support 6way configurations.

oh ok i didnt see that before, good pont...so you think ati is going to just leave it at 4 gpus...interesting if more manufacturers start doing this we might see 6 gpu chipsets here before to long
edit: even though i dont think games can utilize 6 most only show improvements up to 3

Hehe... yeah.:o Sorry:( But won't there be a problem if you say have two of these cards with a total of 3gb's of memory if you are running 2gb's of system memory with Vista 32bit?

yea its a prob. my sys does the same thing because im running sli with 3gigs of ram in 32 bit so it doesn't see as much as the ram as it should

[WarEagleAU]

Im loving this the more I hear about it. Gotta think its gonna come in around oh...500 bucks.

[Mussels]

CPU : P4-2.66 GHz/8M Kentsfield-1066 looks to me more like Q6600 :o

Q6700 actually. Q66 is 2.4Ghz.

This card is innovation. its got upgradeable GPU's, watercooling, and three GPU's on the one slot that i doubt would get bottlenecked.

I am truly impressed by this one.

[Rash-Un-Al]

By the way, why on earth did they do 3DMark06 with a Pentium 4?

-Indybird

If you take note of the "/" between the two devices, "P4-2.66 GHz" & "8M Kentsfield-1066", it suggests Asus used the P4 to exacerbate the low-end score (likely with a single HD3850) and a Quad-Core Kentsfield to maximize the high-end score (with the Trinity).

In other terms, the 139% increase is likely significantly overstated and does not represent what a user (using the same CPU) will experience, when upgrading from a single-GPU solution to the Trinity.

[Mussels]

If you take note of the "/" between the two devices, "P4-2.66 GHz" & "8M Kentsfield-1066", it suggests Asus used the P4 to exacerbate the low-end score (likely with a single HD3850) and a Quad-Core Kentsfield to maximize the high-end score (with the Trinity).

In other terms, the 139% increase is likely significantly overstated and does not represent what a user (using the same CPU) will experience, when upgrading from a single-GPU solution to the Trinity.

"The 3DMark06 score was obtained using resolutions of 1600*1200"


and worth adding is the resolution.

This is going to be fun, cant wait for reviews.

[philbrown23]

one of my cards is down right now, cuz of pencil modding I think, but now that I re-booted xp and dumped vista basic, tri-fire won't work cuz you need the cat 8.3's. but when I fix/RMA it I can show proof if you want.

[erocker]

one of my cards is down right now, cuz of pencil modding I think, but now that I re-booted xp and dumped vista basic, tri-fire won't work cuz you need the cat 8.3's. but when I fix/RMA it I can show proof if you want.

I was wrong... But if you can get it to work with XP, I would be amazed!:toast:

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

finally .. an asus card worth paying for ...

[Mediocre]

... But won't there be a problem if you say have two of these cards with a total of 3gb's of memory if you are running 2gb's of system memory with Vista 32bit?

...There is no crossfire connector, plus ATI doesn't support 6way configurations.

:p

[Rash-Un-Al]

"The 3DMark06 score was obtained using resolutions of 1600*1200"

and worth adding is the resolution.

This is going to be fun, cant wait for reviews.

Agreed.

Some preliminary benchies:
http://www.nordichardware.com/news,7559.html

[Apocolypse007]

impressive benchmarks, but I think 3 3850's in crossfire would perform similar at lower cost/hassle. I may be wrong though, I dont know how much this costs or how much power it takes.

[Mussels]

impressive benchmarks, but I think 3 3850's in crossfire would perform similar at lower cost/hassle. I may be wrong though, I dont know how much this costs or how much power it takes.

i agree that three 3850's may perform better.. . but come on, how many people here have three PCI-E 16x mobos that work in crossfire? not many!

it certainly beats my GTX at 3dmarks... i guess we'll see about gameplay

[Rash-Un-Al]

So far, according to the Trinity product review (below), Asus’ prototype:

Is power hungry
Scales inefficiently (and fails to scale altogether, in some cases)
Produces high levels of heat
Is inelegant and unfit for retail (relatively subjective)
Falls short of HD3870 X2 performance levels (at least in the case of Crysis)

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/185898

Let’s see how (or if) Asus further develops and streamlines this novel engineering exercise.

[CStylen]

I don't understand why people benchmark multi-gpu (ATI) setups with Crysis...The game does not scale well.

As far as 3DMark06, im sure that QX9770 overclocked helps that score a little...

Personally, I don't like the idea of water flowing through my computer case even though it's a more effective cooling solution. I'll stick with my dual 3870's until the next-gen ATI comes out.

[Mussels]

I don't understand why people benchmark multi-gpu (ATI) setups with Crysis...The game does not scale well.

As far as 3DMark06, im sure that QX9770 overclocked helps that score a little...

Personally, I don't like the idea of water flowing through my computer case even though it's a more effective cooling solution. I'll stick with my dual 3870's until the next-gen ATI comes out.

"Crysis at 1,280 x 1,024 with High settings isn't one of our primary benchmarks, but we've quoted the score as it's one of the few tests in which we actually found an increase"

Meaning thats one of the BETTER results.
How does a Qx9770 help? they ran it at stock clocks, so most systems on this forum are faster, for less than 1/3 the price.

[trog100]

The X3 is an interesting demonstration of engineering potential, but its real value is as a demonstration of how fundamentally inefficient multi-GPU gaming is

folks use crysis cos it the only game that needs more than one gpu.. its better then useing old games like fear that scale well but run perfectly fast enough with just one gpu.. pretty much my own conclusion.. multi gpus are a waste of energy and space as yet..

it produced plenty of gee wow drool stuff thow didnt it.. which shows how daft the average hardware punter is..

trog

[CStylen]

Yes it was a 3 fps increase for 2 extra cores which technically is better. Meaning that Crysis does not scale well for ATI-based cards.

I have very good results with the games I play (other than Crysis) with crossfire...

The 3DMark06 CPUZ screen showed the QX9770 @ 4.5Ghz, or maybe I misread? I hear that 3Dmark is heavily CPU dependant for increased results.

[Mussels]

Yes it was a 3 fps increase for 2 extra cores which technically is better. Meaning that Crysis does not scale well for ATI-based cards.

I have very good results with the games I play (other than Crysis) with crossfire...

The 3DMark06 CPUZ screen showed the QX9770 @ 4.5Ghz, or maybe I misread? I hear that 3Dmark is heavily CPU dependant for increased results.

i didnt see a CPUZ... my bad.

[X-TeNDeR]

Although i think this card is over the top, i admire the innovation and boldness of ASUS in doing this. a real headline killa :rockout:

(and this is exactly the type of hardware that will sell for ALOT of money in the future.. smart investment here hehe)

[Xaser04]

As I said before with the trinity prototype I really like the concept of this card however I think in the real world a HD3870X2 or 9800GX2 (probably the latter would be a better price comparison) would be better.