Computex 2006 Nvidia's MXM notebook-oriented GPU-on-a-card system doesn't appear to been a resounding success. Neither, for that matter, does ATI's alternative, Axiom, but Nvidia's technology did allow MSI to present at Computex what it claimed is the first upgradeable desktop graphics card.

The Geminium GO's GPU of choice isn't exactly state-of-the-art. It's a GeForce 7-class chip clocked at 450MHz with its memory - alas we couldn't see what kind - clocked at 400MHz. But it's a Shader Model 3.0 part at least, and MSI has at least fitted the board with two MXM slots and connected to enable SLI.

The board has DVI, VGA and S-video outputs to pump out HD pictures at up to 1080i, MSI said. The MXM cards are mounted either side of the Geminium and both sport chunky heatsinks for a "zero-noise design" in MSI's words.

The Germinium GO on display at Computex this week isn't the same MXM-based card the company has be rumoured to be working on in the past. Earlier versions were full-length cards with the MXM modules mounted side by side and with GeForce 6-class GPUs on board. ®

Full Computex coverage at Reg Hardware