[Eric Fiegehen]

Hi again,

This news just in: GPU-Xpander will be available by end of May with x16 adapters + cable option. No pricing just yet. True 16-channel PCI 2.0 bus bandwidth and speeds. No joke.

On the subject of bandwidth mentioned by another gentleman yesterday, ExpressCard 34/54 is limited to PCIe x 1 – nothing Cubix or anyone else can do about this. However, at 5Ghz speed (if PCIe 2.0) and 1-2 GTX 285 for Mac or 1-2 Quadro FX 4800 for Mac, you’re still looking at considerably faster performance than trying to run CS5 MPE on MacBook Pro’s native graphics.

Keep in mind the product page you folks will be interested in once the site goes live is under the products tab, “GPU-Xpander Pro 2”, not “Xpander for Octane Render”. X for O.R. and supporting materials were developed specifically with multi-GPU Octane Render in mind.

Also, Cubix is building a list of tested/certified graphics cards, I/O capture, motherboards, etc.,. Check back every now and then for updates. First posting won’t be up online until next week. In the meantime, had my web developer post a blog entry yesterday that goes over this topic at https://cubixgpu.com/Blog. (please excuse the spelling error, will be edited shortly 🙂

Best Regards,
Eric Fiegehen
Director, Visual & GPU Compute Solutions
Cubix Corporation
Ph# (775) 888-1000 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (775) 888-1000      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (775) 888-1000      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (775) 888-1000      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, ext 276
Fax# (775) 888-1001
ericc@cubix.com, sales@cubixgpu.com

[Eric Fiegehen]

Forgot to mention that GPU-Xpander Pro 2 ships standard with a PCIe x8 adapter, or optional ExpressCard 34 connection (by industry specification, PCIe x 1). If there’s a strong enough demand by DaVinci users, as well as other markets which Cubix has targeted with this product, we’ll build a x16 adapter version.

Keep in mind, however, one of the factors in the decision to develop this product line was the demand we saw for an entry-level, ‘Quadroplex Lite’ solution aimed at the sub $7k market. A x16 option drives the price up considerably.

[Eric Fiegehen]

Cubix GPU-Xpander will run the Red Rocket, any CUDA-enabled GPU from NVIDIA, AJA Kona, etc.,. It is a pure hardware solution, so it does not rely upon any drivers other than those that come with the 3rd party adapter you’re running in the box.

The reason it looks right now like it’s specific to only a couple of different software solutions is because these are the first partnerships formed for this particular product line. Also, the website is only 1/2 – 2/3 complete (should be 100% by end of the week, first part next week) along with a shopping cart site.

As new partnerships are formed, more hardware and software are tested, qualified, and certified, you will see more website content specific to additional products and vendors. Realistically, it runs anything that will load on to a PCIe adapter.

While the argument regarding bus traffic is certainly valid for some applications, Cubix has found that other applications from vendors such as Acceleware and Refractive software (Octane Render) execute mainly on the GPUs, not on the CPUs. Therefore, PCIe bus traffic is minimal and does not impact performance in most cases.

If the Davinci application in question executes mainly on the GPUs, then GPU-Xpander Pro 2 may just be what you’re looking for. Applications such as the new Adobe CS5 have applications and processes which alternate between CPU/system memory-intensive and GPU-intensive. Adobe’s Mercury Playback Engine would be a perfect fit for GPU-Xpander for ExpressCard 34 with an Adobe-certified GPU acceleration card loaded plus dedicated OpenGL 2.0+ for connection to monitors, and would certainly enhance performance for any laptop or MacBook Pro with ExpressCard 34/54 connector. Not so much for other applications or processes, but then again Cubix is not claiming to be a perfect solution for every DI or NLE application out there.

Anyhow, please feel free to contact me directly with any technical or sales-related questions you have while waiting for website completion.

Best Regards,
Eric Fiegehen
Director, Visual & GPU Compute Solutions
Cubix Corporation
ericc@cubix.com
sales@cubixgpu.com