Nvidia's Hybrid SLI attacks AMD's PowerXPress

THE AMD GRIFFIN AND PUMA CPU/chipset combination for next year will feature Power XPress, a hybrid mode where integrated graphics will work during the notebook life on a battery, and discrete graphics will kick in as soon as power from the wallsocket comes along.

This technology will work invisibly to the user, and in theory, this should enable installation of a more powerful GPU and enable notebooks to finally have decent amount of 3D horsepower. However, AMD is not the only one preparing such a technology.

At a recently held Analyst Day, heads of Graphzilla were caught talking about Hybrid SLI, which is a nice marketing name for two GPUs inside a notebook, with the differencing factor being the size of the notebook - not your regular 19-inch monster with two MXM boards.

Hybrid SLI is more than a renamed Power XPress, and of course, will come to the market at least a quarter before AMD's version.

Hybrid SLI works similarly to Power XPress, but adds a twist. While a laptop is running on battery, only integrated graphics works. Put the cable into a power socket, and the discrete part will take over, with one small difference - the integrated part will not switch off, but rather assist the elderly and more powerful brother.

Sadly for users, nothing is for free, and this approach means that power consumption will jump by a bit, and with power consumption comes the need for additional heat dissipation. It remains to be seen what approach will yield better results, but all in all - there is a war happening for the best experience on notebooks. µ