Who knows a 1998 matrox g200?
This was a graphics card from many years ago, which allowed the installation of a memory bank that would be used as graphics memory by the video card. Today, these types of graphics cards are no longer manufactured. The memories integrated into a graphics card are significantly faster than current DDR4 memories.
Context matters
We are experiencing an unprecedented chip crisis, so this is the context I am looking for. In fact, to get a decent GPU you have to jump through hoops and pay an arm and a leg. But what if all this changed forever? What if a Chinese manufacturer came up with the idea of producing graphics cards that allow an increase in RAM memory through slots? What would it change within the market?
In a context where new graphics cards come out but are not available until after a long time, such a response from a single manufacturer could make the difference. There are so many people who need a graphics card that costs little, that is available immediately and that is not a refresh of an old and slow graphics card.
In this context, Chinese manufacturers are getting started, presenting the first graphics cards. But this is not enough to face what we are experiencing today. So just integrating ram slots into a slower GPU would be a serious step forward for everyone. Who wouldn't have wanted to configure a 1080Ti with 16/32 GB of RAM instead of the basic 11? What would a gt730 with 8GB of DDR4 ram be?
Who is such a solution for?
Let's imagine we find that magical manufacturer who creates this GPU with different models:
- Basic, with denominations from 1 to 4 GB
- Medium, up to 8GB
- High, up to 32GB
- Enthusiast, up to 128GB
How much could you sell them to ensure that your offer is clearly competitive with the counterparties? Would DDR4 ram be included? What performance can we expect? Will they consume a lot?
All these questions will be answered by time. With smartphones it was like this, and with GPUs it will take a few more years, but it will be like this.
Also, this type of cards would allow for memory upgrade, as it is replaceable RAM. Here's what's missing. In current cards, we are great as far as power is concerned, but as far as vRAM is concerned we are not. Such a solution would give space to a large slice of customers who don't want to upgrade their GPU every year, but want something functional and upgradeable.
How much should it cost?
The various price ranges should not worry customers, however if a base range gpu were to start at $ 100 it would not be bad considering that it is possible to upgrade. For the mid-range, up to $ 200. For the high-end, up to $ 300. for the enthusiast band up to 500. I remind you that we are talking about GPU with which it is possible to increase the RAM, so not being soldered it could have less performance, but benefit from the new windows 11 component called Direct Storage. More information in the video that you find inside the link. Also for those (like me) who use 3D printing software, Direct Storage could be good.
Furthermore, apart from the cost of the GPU, an upgrade of the RAM memory would involve an extra expense for the customer, but delayed over time.
Example: a high-end $ 300 GPU, with a starting RAM of 8GB, would allow you to take a bank of DDR4 RAM and expand the memory to get a video card with 32GB of memory at a cost of around $ 130. The final cost would be $ 430 but with a portion of this expense over the useful life. The same modus operandi you use when buying an upgradeable laptop.
Could it solve the current crisis of GPUs and chips in general?
Undoubtedly yes. Why?
- It is a solution to several problems
- Satisfy numerous customers
- Satisfy miners, who have always bought GPUs for their mining rigs and need a lot of vRAM memory
- Satisfy the range of customers who do not want to spend a capital on the GPU but who want a product of value
- Manufacturers can produce GPUs as far as the eye can see using the same CPUs, but using less expensive RAM (I'm talking about DDR4) which would allow for huge savings in production, and an increase in sales margins
Final conclusions
In today's GPU market you can still find in production graphics cards with old production processes, with obsolete RAM compared to the real capacity that is needed today, and with video outputs that do not allow (for obvious limits) an effective use of the product. This article aims to be a small beacon of hope for those who want a simple, versatile product and don't need who knows what speed or power. It could also be aimed at miners looking for GPUs with a lot of memory. It could definitely solve the bottleneck that has been created in recent years with GPUs. Manufacturers have also played their part, filling the factories with chips to produce.
Now that's enough. The times are ripe, and after seeing direct storage in action, you can already think of the new generation of PCs, where the CPU will be used for basic operations, then we will use a Big Little architecture, with several cores dedicated to something, as already seen in smartphones, while the GPU will take care of more and more heavy loads regarding the graphic experience, file transfer, file compression / decompression ... In short, a more sustainable future.
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Cover image: Wikipedia
