5 Most Absurd GPUs Ever (Including a Leaf Blower!)
▼ Summary
– The current GPU market features high-end but overpriced cards with incremental improvements, leading to consumer complacency despite underwhelming generational gains.
– Early GPU innovation was rapid and experimental, unlike today’s iterative advancements, with companies like Nvidia, 3dfx, and ATI pioneering key technologies.
– Nvidia popularized the term “GPU” with the GeForce 256 in 1999, though earlier graphics chips from companies like RCA and IBM laid the groundwork in the 1970s and 1980s.
– Ridiculous GPUs like the Nvidia FX 5800 Ultra (notoriously loud) and the 3dfx Voodoo 5 6000 (requiring an external power supply) highlight the industry’s bold but flawed experiments.
– Despite past extremes, modern GPUs offer significant advancements, though multi-GPU setups and AI-driven innovations may reshape future gaming experiences.
The GPU market today is a strange beast, high-performance cards sit on shelves at eye-watering prices, yet somehow we’ve grown accustomed to incremental upgrades that barely justify the cost. While modern graphics cards deliver impressive results, they rarely spark the same excitement as the wild, experimental GPUs of decades past. The journey from those early days to today’s polished hardware was anything but smooth, packed with bizarre designs and audacious failures that deserve recognition.
Before ray tracing and 4K gaming became standard, graphics technology was a chaotic frontier. The first GPUs were groundbreaking yet often impractical, pushing boundaries in ways that seem laughable today. Nvidia may claim credit for inventing the GPU in 1999, but the truth is far more complex. Specialized graphics chips existed long before, powering arcade machines in the 1970s and evolving through IBM’s Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA) and Hercules’ HGC in the early ’80s. Intel even dipped its toes in with the iSBX 275, capable of displaying a staggering eight colors at 256×256 resolution.
The ’90s saw fierce competition, with 3dfx Interactive revolutionizing 3D gaming with the Voodoo series, though early models required a separate 2D card. ATI’s Rage Pro attempted to merge 2D and 3D acceleration, while Nvidia’s Riva 128 (1997) broke new ground by combining both with video acceleration. Then came the GeForce 256 in 1999, which Nvidia boldly declared as the first true GPU, though Sony had used the term years earlier for the PlayStation.
The Most Absurd GPUs in History
- Nvidia FX 5800 Ultra (2003)
- 3dfx Voodoo 5 6000 (2000)
- Nvidia NV1 (Diamond Edge 3D, 1995)
- Gigabyte GV-3D1 (2005)
- PowerColor Devil 13 Dual R9 290X (2014)
Reflecting on these oddities highlights how far GPUs have come. Early designs were bold, flawed, and occasionally brilliant, a far cry from today’s refined but predictable releases. While we grumble about pricing now, the past reminds us that progress has always been messy. Who knows? Maybe the next GPU revolution is just around the corner, waiting to surprise us all over again.
(Source: PCGAMER)
