Refractive Software® is discontinuing Cubix Xpander support

[radiance]

Friday 22 October 2010:

Refractive Software® is discontinuing endorsement of the Cubix GPU-Xpander for OctaneRender® due to negative feedback from our userbase. 
Although conceptually the product is great, we have had too many customer reports of a lack of support, poor delivery schedules, and compatibility problems.

Existing Xpander for OctaneRender(R) owners should not worry, as we are happy to continue supporting Xpander for OctaneRender® products to the best of our knowledge from the software/driver side, so don't hesitate to contact us if you require so.

Therefore we are currently researching/developing another very promising option which will offer a cheaper, smaller and more flexible hardware solution for our users needs.
We will announce our new hardware compute add-on product at the end of 2010.

Yours,
Refractive Software® LTD

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Feel free to comment on this information, and provide what you'd like to see added to our new solution instead. We will do what's possible and have a lot of flexibility when it comes to 'compactness'

[angelblame]

You could make a GPU renderfarm for your customer, with prepaid option (like 10 hours of rendering for $$).

[gvnwst]

and provide what you'd like to see added to our new solution instead

I'm completely unsure of the viability of this...but is there any way to retrofit DDR RAM to work as GDDR RAM? I'm about to send in my student paperwork and purchuse Octane, but I'm playing with the demo right now...and my GTX260's RAM disappears very...very...very quickly. Having some kind of expansion slot that you can plug RAM into that would expand your RAM would be amazing, as all large-RAM videocards are super expensive right now.
I'm getting great framerates with just my GTX260 alone (and 100x faster renders than VRay's direct equivilent, in all truth), RAM is the only restricting factor.

[bob30]

I didn't know anything about GPU's rendering before tuesday, but i have to say that i've been quite disappointed by Cubix's offers, without offending anyone.

Basically, a GPU expander is a PCI hub in a metallic box with a PCI adapter/divider card for connexion, and a cooler for the 'optional' graphics cards.

There is nothing extraordinary in it, so i was a bit surprised of the high prices proposed, and more, comparatively to the price of graphics cards, and even more comparatively to the high quality/low price of Octane renderer itself.

But, not only the concept seems to be overpriced, but the technology itself is apparently outdated: whereas actual new computers have multiple PCI 2.0 16 channels devices, and that PCI 3.0 devices are expected current 2011, the GPU expander for Octane is built and proposed with PCI 1.0 devices.

Even if there is retro-compatibility between PCI 2.0 et PCI 1.0 devices, i don't think that customers who bought this year a new computer with PCI 2.0 devices are wanting to "upgrade" their hardware with PCI 1 devices, because they won't use the whole possibility of their hardware.

Now, i don't know if Refractive software could inform us on a future possibility for Octane Renderer to use multiple GPUs over a LAN network, as one actually uses multiple CPUs over a LAN network (if it is at all possible, and considering that it is not a limitation of only-GPU's rendering).

In this way, using multiple computers with multiple graphics cards would be an option, as well as using some only-GPU's expanders, but at a more realistic/cheaper price, and with more flexibility concerning devices updates.

Thanks.

[matej]

When I first heard about this "expander", I thought that graphic cards are included into the price..

So, yeah, totally overpriced.

[podro]

Sorry but I disagree!!
GPU Xpander is really a good product and the price is' appropriate for my opinion!!!
if you think that a good power supply from 750 w like Enermax can cost around
200 euro + Pci EXP 16x (200Euro)+ connection to host(100Euro) + aluminium case!!!
I just bought two GPUs Xpander and I am very satisfied with the product and the assistance provided by the staff of CUBIX

Marco

[Reality4]

I haven't read the precise specs on the Xpander, but why stop at 2 or 4 extra gpu cards?

I would like to buy a system that I can expand 'endlessly', like a modular system.

I don't know how far one can expand a pci-e chain, but for starters I would like to put in 8 gpu cards, but preferably a lot more.

Then you could create your own render farm for real, at a relatively very low price.

Charles

[bob30]

The Xpander compatible with PCIe 2.0 specifications (actual computers on the market) is about 1995$... without graphics cards...

We enter actually in the PCIe 3.0 specifications:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Expres ... xpress_3.0

So, for me, it is outdated and overpriced technologies.

Expander boxes are designed for avoiding buying new hardware computers, as i understand it. It is claimed to be a cheaper solution. But if in reality, the cost of the box without graphics cards is twice the price of a fully equipped computer, then i think there is something wrong in the market.

[Carl S.]

My Xpanders boxes have paid for themselves months ago. It is easy to sit here and complain about them when not having them or even using one. But for me I slapped them in my computers in 30 min and have been rendering Octane and Iray animations ever since. Time is money at my job. We don't build bargain computers, we make animations. We had no down time upgrading our machines with xpanders, which when in business with deadlines is more important than saving a few dollars build something yourself with no warranty or tech support. They also extended the lifespan of the workstations by a year or so. They have been nothing but a great resource for us and it is discouraging to see Refractive drop them.

[GeorgoSK]

Sorry but I disagree!!
GPU Xpander is really a good product and the price is' appropriate for my opinion!!!
if you think that a good power supply from 750 w like Enermax can cost around
200 euro + Pci EXP 16x (200Euro)+ connection to host(100Euro) + aluminium case!!!
I just bought two GPUs Xpander and I am very satisfied with the product and the assistance provided by the staff of CUBIX

Marco

Lol at your math, you like multiplied the market prices by 3.... good job being in reality Especially the PCI...

The Expander surely is great product, good idea, but IT IS overpriced, and heavily, if you can't see this, or have no problem paying for it, that is fine, but please do not make stupid statements how it's actually not overpriced.