TODAY’S DREAM IS TOMORROW’S REALITY
I WENT TO OCULUS CONNECT 3 this year for a peek at the future of high-performance graphics and VR. Michael Abrash, chief scientist at Oculus, gave a phenomenal presentation, and mentioned a quote from Billy Zelsnack that describes the case with this year’s Dream Machine: “Pretty soon, computers will be fast.”
When the MaximumPC team originally laid out the blueprints for Dream Machine 2016, we had a clear idea of what it should be: quad GPUs, an insane 10-core CPU, loads of RAM, and an awesome storage subsystem. Problem was, we knew that using last year’s parts wouldn’t fly—there were new GPUs, SSDs, and processors just beyond the horizon.
After waiting for two months, Nvidia announced its new Pascal GPU, with the GTX 1080 at the top of the stack. We had to have these GPUs, but they weren’t going to be available as soon as we needed them. And that was just the beginning of our yearning for more power. We waited it out, and I’m glad we did. The new Pascal GPUs are monsters, and as Dream Machine is a monster in so many ways, using last-gen tech is a no-no.
Waiting for Pascal was the right decision—they’re a clear upgrade from last year’s four-way Maxwell Titan X rig in terms of gaming potential. Nvidia’s as 10-series GPU can also be coupled withth a “10” of everything else that we had ad in mind for Dream Machine. Multiple le 10-terabyte hard drives, 10-Gigabit bit Ethernet, and a 10-core processor.or. (Sorry, no 10TB Optane SSDs were re available—maybe next year.)
Dream Machine always pushes the envelope in terms of performance and architecture. It’s always an extreme example of what you can do with the PC. Being absurdly powerful—and expensive—we want Dream Machine to be able to handle anything you can throw at it. High-resolution 4K gaming, 3D rendering, 4K streaming and transcoding, and, of course, VR.
Humans have a cognitive ability to point to the future in a very cyclic direction. We have the most powerful components that we’ve ever seen in the PC scene this year, and it crushes all the benchmarks. But not too long from now—basically, a year—we’ll be looking for even more power. Because as insane as Dream Machine 2016 is, there’s always more—such as Sharp’s recently demonstrated 8K 120Hz IGZO display.
What it comes down to is you as a PC user. As enthusiasts, we’ll always chase the latest and greatest, but what will we do with all that power once we have it? For me, I’ll be playing games. If I really want to push the envelope, DeusEx: Mankind Divided at 4K Ultra + 4xMSAA can make even DM16 choke. Funny enough, the game I play the most is Oriand the Blind Forest— not exactly the most demanding game. But one day, when computers are fast, everyone will realize that playing at 500fps is the only way to play. Tu an Nguyen is Maximum PC’s editor-inchief, also known as“the pointy end of the stick .” He’ s been writing, marketing, and raising hell in the te chi nd us try for 19 years.