The CausticOne Hardware
The CausticOne card is Caustic’s first generation prototype card to implement real-time hardware-accelerated raytracing. The card supports two processors (under the large center heatsink and fan) for speed. It uses a PCI Express 1.0 8x slot for data and power, and currently uses Laptop memory for onboard storage. You can install multiple CausticOne’s in your computer for a linear improvement in performance, as they distribute work amongst themselves.
From those specs along you can see some large room for improvement:
- Switch from PCI Express 1.0 8x to 16x or PCI Express 2.0 for improved bandwidth
- Switch to faster integrated memory
- Switch to a custom ASIC for faster performance
But they simply don’t need it. Even with these “handicaps”, the card works amazingly well, offering real-time performance in real-world cases. In fact, the CausticTwo (due out next year) will use a custom ASIC for even better performance.
