Lucid Virtu GPU virtualization

Lucid's Virtu software GPU virtualization technology supports dynamic switching between a dedicated video menu and Sandy Bridge's integrated graphics. The switch doesn't crave a reboot and it occurs based on which awarding is using the graphics subsystem at the same time. It'southward designed to work with all second-generation i3/i5/i7 processors and automatically picks one of the GPUs for a specific task.

The software can assign tasks in existent time to the best available graphics resources based on power, functioning and features, with no need for additional hardware. If it detects that yous're trying to run a enervating DirectX eleven game, information technology'll whip out the large guns. If it thinks yous tin become past with the integrated graphics, your discrete GPU automatically idles, decreasing noise, rut and power levels.

You might recall that we reviewed the Asus Crosshair IV Extreme motherboard with Lucid's HydraLogix technology, which is designed to let you mix and match graphics cards from both AMD and Nvidia, including cards from entirely different graphics generations. While we appreciated the concept behind HydraLogix -- and still practise -- nosotros discovered that it just didn't piece of work as advertised.

We're pleased to written report that Virtu is a hell of a lot more straightforward than HydraLogix and information technology seems to work pretty well, smoothly switching betwixt our Radeon HD 6970 and Sandy Span's graphics. The software has two settings: i-Manner and d-Mode. The former requires your monitor to be wired to the motherboard (the Sandy Span graphics engine) and offers about nada overhead.

Conversely, Virtu's d-Mode lets you connect your display direct to a graphics card, but the Sandy Bridge graphics engine is always powered on, whereas it tin can be powered off in the i-Mode. That sacrifice will be worthwhile for some enthusiasts, as d-Style's primary reward is that it allows you to utilise multi-GPU technology such as CrossfireX and SLI, while this isn't possible with the i-Style.