Back in May, we told you about Alienware's plans of becoming the first company to introduce Metabyte's Parallel Graphics Connector, or PGC, technology to the public. In essence, PGC lets any two PCI video cards run simultaneously for a boost in performance, similar to 3dfx's Scan Line Interleave (SLI) process for its Voodoo2 boards. Alienware licensed the PGC technology from Metabyte and planned to implement it early this summer by using a pair of overclocked Voodoo3 2000 boards.

　　This morning, however, GameSpot News learned that Alienware won't be making the leap to PGC. According to Alienware VP of sales Alex Aguila, timing is the culprit. "The next generation of chipsets is simply weeks away," lamented Aguila. "In this industry, products often become outdated before they are ever released - PGC simply ran out of time. It would not be logical for the gamer to invest in PGC when in about five weeks the next generation of video chipsets would be released."

　　That next-generation chipsets include the PowerVR 250 from VideoLogic, the NV10 (tentative name) from nVidia, and an unnamed product from 3dfx, all of which are due to arrive in the next few months. A pair of Voodoo3 2000 video cards, no matter how powerful today, would simply be eclipsed by these forthcoming offerings.

　　Alienware is still hard at work implementing other technologies, however. First Contact, the company's proprietary voice-over IP software, is currently being tested on a number of multiplayer games, including Valve's Team Fortress Classic. Alienware's Super Multi-Card Configuration, a video setup that allows users to run a TNT2 and Voodoo3 simultaneously, began shipping about three weeks ago. And, of course, the company still sells gaming PCs.

　　As for PGC, Metabyte has stated that the technology is alive and well within its labs, though the focus of development has shifted slightly. While tight-lipped, Metabyte representatives hinted that the technology could be used for multiprocessor applications or add-on components in future video cards from one of the other chipset manufacturers.

　　As usual, when we learn anything new, you'll be the first to know.