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ATI files patent for multiple GPU device

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LawGiver

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its a bit uh technical but its brand new, filed on oct 18 2007,


http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US2007245046&F=0&QPN=US2007245046

"Described are a system and method for broadcasting write requests to a plurality of graphics devices. A different address range of graphics device addresses is associated with each graphics device of the plurality of graphics devices. A controller receives a write request directed to a memory address and generates a plurality of graphics device addresses based on the memory address of the write request when the memory address is within a particular range of broadcast addresses. An offset may be applied to a reference address in each address range associated with one of the graphics devices when generating the plurality of graphics device addresses. The write request is forwarded to each graphics device of the plurality of graphics devices associated with one of the generated graphics device addresses"
 
LawGiver said:
its a bit uh technical but its brand new, filed on oct 18 2007,


http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US2007245046&F=0&QPN=US2007245046

"Described are a system and method for broadcasting write requests to a plurality of graphics devices. A different address range of graphics device addresses is associated with each graphics device of the plurality of graphics devices. A controller receives a write request directed to a memory address and generates a plurality of graphics device addresses based on the memory address of the write request when the memory address is within a particular range of broadcast addresses. An offset may be applied to a reference address in each address range associated with one of the graphics devices when generating the plurality of graphics device addresses. The write request is forwarded to each graphics device of the plurality of graphics devices associated with one of the generated graphics device addresses"
Click to expand...

Looks almost like they filed it for a motherboard chipset. Maybe to go along with the next gen of ATI's cards and some improved corssfire?
 
I cringe whenever the word "patent" is used...next thing we know, graphics card manufacturers won't try to make better cards to beat their competition, they will just try to sue the pants off them!
 
Kind of like how Nvidia stole 3dfx tech and nvidia played the courts out for years until 3dfx went under.

If nvidia was fined/whatever wehn it commited the crime 3dfx might be the one running nvidia.
 
Unoid said:
Kind of like how Nvidia stole 3dfx tech and nvidia played the courts out for years until 3dfx went under.

If nvidia was fined/whatever wehn it commited the crime 3dfx might be the one running nvidia.
Click to expand...

Nice rewrite of history there...good job!
 
LawGiver said:
its a bit uh technical but its brand new, filed on oct 18 2007
Click to expand...
not quite :) it was published on oct. 18th, but the application was filed on March 26th, 2006 (US patent application publication no. 20070245046).

I agree w/ pfunkman, its for an SLI configuration. They set up a broadcast address range so that whenever a write command comes in for that address, the controller (north bridge) maps it to every GPU (or every other GPU if the command came from one of the GPUs themselves), and then sends the write command to the GPUs over the PCI bus. Does that sound "new" by itself? I guess we'll see in a couple years when the patent office gets around to it :)

not sure I'd have done the claims that way... lawgiver, how'd you find this? are you in patent law?
 
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