Hi everyone,
I’m working from Madrid on the architectural concept of a dedicated PCIe expansion card we are tentatively calling an NGA (Neural Graphics Accelerator) to distinguish it from laptop AI NPUs.
There is NO physical prototype yet—only architectural simulations, bandwidth calculations, and 3D renders. Before committing further engineering resources, I’d love to get an unfiltered technical teardown from the community.
The Problem & Market Context:
With modern neural rendering and frame generation increasingly locked behind new generation GPUs (leaving older RTX 30/20 series, GTX, and Radeon users behind), software workarounds like Lossless Scaling show huge demand. However, running frame generation on the primary GPU still consumes 20% to 30% of its compute shaders and memory bandwidth.
NFX-1 is designed as a single-slot, low-profile expansion card dedicated purely to neural upscaling and frame interpolation:
- Form factor: Low Profile (168 × 68.9 mm), single-slot.
- Power target: ~40W total board power, designed to run entirely off the PCIe slot without external 6-pin power cables.
- Hardware: 160 TOPS dedicated neural inference core with 16 GB onboard LPDDR5X memory (102.4 GB/s dedicated bandwidth).
- Neural Engine (NRS): A proprietary temporal model designed to intercept motion vectors and depth buffers from DX12/Vulkan pipelines, enabling advanced neural upscaling and frame generation on existing GPUs without vendor lockouts.
- Display output: Physical DisplayPort 2.1 / HDMI 2.1b direct outputs to monitor (zero PCIe bus return, bypassing the primary GPU on output).
How it works:
The primary GPU renders base geometry at native 1080p or 1440p, and the NGA card handles neural upscaling and frame interpolation directly to 1440p / 4K 120-144Hz via physical DP 2.1 / HDMI 2.1b.
Theoretical Bandwidth Estimates:
- At 1080p, RGBA color + depth buffer + motion vectors take ~25 MB per frame.
- At 60 fps base, transfer rate is ~1.5 GB/s; at 120 fps, ~3.0 GB/s.
- PCIe 4.0 x8 delivers ~15.8 GB/s; PCIe 3.0 x8 delivers ~7.9 GB/s. Even a secondary PCIe 3.0 x4 slot (~3.9 GB/s) stays within range with lightweight delta compression.
- Frame output goes directly from the NGA card to the monitor, avoiding motherboard bus congestion.
SFF Implementation Notes:
We know standard Mini-ITX boards only have a single PCIe slot. For SFF builds, this is intended for:
- Micro-ATX compact builds (SFF cases like Sama IM01, AP201, etc.).
- ITX sandwich cases utilizing PCIe bifurcation risers (x8/x8 split on the main slot).
- Secondary connection via an M.2 NVMe slot (PCIe 4.0 x4) using an internal low-profile ribbon riser.
Specific Questions for the Community:
- Power delivery: Standard PCIe x16 slots provide up to 75W, but some compact motherboard secondary slots limit to 25W nominal. Would you prefer a strict 25–30W design, or is 40W acceptable if it requires checking motherboard slot specs?
- SFF Form Factor: In compact cases, would you prefer this as a standard PCIe add-in card, or does an M.2-to-PCIe tethered module make more sense for pure ITX setups?
- Perceived latency: Frame generation requires a buffer penalty (at 60 fps base, ~16 ms full pipeline). The hardware bypass latency itself is designed at <2.1 ms, but how do you perceive input lag when using frame gen in fast-paced titles?
- Dedicated Hardware vs. Software: Lossless Scaling is great at $7 on the same GPU. Do you see real value in dedicated hardware that completely unloads the GPU and provides direct physical video output?
Feedback Survey (2 minutes):
If you have 2 minutes, I’ve put together a short anonymous survey regarding what GPU/monitor you currently use and what specifications would make you consider (or immediately reject) this kind of dedicated hardware:
👉 Survey Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfRrXgEqyIVc0xkTLr5EgQKsHyItO8G_iH-NkFVwcRxXue4dg/viewform
If you want to inspect preliminary diagrams and architecture overviews:
Concept site: https://neuralfx.tech (No pre-orders, no payments, purely conceptual).
Thank you for your time, criticism, and honest technical feedback!
