Quad-GPU GK104 Graphics Card Inbound

Once in a while, we run into claims and reports that are truly mind-boggling, outrageous even, and this one we are about to cover definitely fits the definitions of both terms.

In case the title wasn't direct enough, we'll be blunt again: it is rumored that a maker of graphics cards will launch a video card equipped with four Kepler graphics processing units. And yes, those GPUs will be GK104, the best available 28nm NVIDIA chips and the same ones used on the GTX 680 and the dual-GPU GTX 690. The report went as far as to say that a prototype had been demonstrated, in secret, during Computex 2012 in Taipei, Taiwan. A four-GPU graphics card is essentially the idea of a graphics card marketing stunt taken to the logical extreme. Quad-SLI is the most advanced form of multi-GPU support that NVIDIA allows on its chips. There is also the matter of power consumption.

The report that exposed the purported existence of the multi-headed beast said the wattage would be somewhere between 600 and 800 watts. That is a lot by any stretch of the imagination. There are so-called high-end desktops whose PSUs use fewer watts to power all components, and yet this single piece of hardware will demand more all on its own. It is certain that the clock speeds will have to be limited, in order to ensure a manageable power draw. Even so, we fully expect three or four PCI Express power connectors to be required here. Historically, this would not be the first quad-GPU graphics card. The 3Dfx Voodooo 5 6000, back in 2000, has four graphics processors, or would have had if it had been released. Only 150 were produced, of which only thirty actually worked. PC Enthusiasts will have to pay $2000 / 1600 Euro or more if the quad-GK104 adapter ever becomes reality.

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