AnandTech: NVIDIA Introduces ESA - Enthusiast System Architecture

Final Words

One of the frustrations of technology launches, as opposed to actual hardware and software launches, is that no matter what you write it ends up sounding something like a commercial for the product. That is why all the writers at AnandTech much prefer the hard reality of testing a product at launch, where we can make comparisons.

Today is the technology launch of ESA, with hardware officially launching shortly. However, ESA is a new standard, driven by hardware and software, more than it is a static product. As such, it is much easier to look at ESA for the potential it could bring to a market with no real standards in system monitoring and control. ESA will try to be that new standard, and we certainly welcome NVIDIA's earnest attempt to bring some standardization and additional tools to enthusiasts and system builders. The result could be the best performing systems we have ever seen - or the quietest systems or the most self-regulating systems. Certainly, the potential is there.

How fast ESA develops into a truly effective set of system tools depends on how widely adopted the standard becomes, and how fast component manufacturers embrace the standard. NVIDIA already has laid some excellent groundwork for the ESA standard as evidenced by the large number of important industry manufacturers who have already signed on to use ESA. The company is confident that ESA will emerge as a building block for Smart PCs - confident enough that they shared their vision of the future of ESA.

This year's ESA launch will see the initial launch of ESA components, with a heavy slant toward devices communicating monitoring information to the software interface. In 2008, NVIDIA believes we will begin to see ESA+PC Control and the development of ESA scripting languages. This could enable some very large steps toward system control and tuning, as utilities that address this segment have been decidedly lacking up until now. Finally, in 2009 NVIDIA expects to see Intelligent Agents and ESA utilities that work before loading of the OS. Removing ESA from the constraints of OS software will certainly speed development of the Smart PC as ESA evolves.

It is often difficult in the PC industry for one company to develop and champion a new PC standard. The business is competitive, and manufacturers are often distrustful of each other's motives. We are very happy NVIDIA decided ESA should be an open standard available to all, that certification for ESA is in the hands of an independent testing laboratory, and that NVIDIA has quickly built an impressive list of well-known launch partners for ESA components. All of these developments point toward a real effort to establish a new standard that will benefit computer enthusiasts and their suppliers; we can even see the potential for ESA support to trickle down into non-enthusiast market segments over time, provided it gains enough traction.

Looking ahead, it is our plan to take a closer look at an ESA system with as many ESA certified components as there are available to see how they work together. There will also be an eye toward how they might work together in the future. When we actually touch and see ESA working with a large array of off-the-shelf components we can be more confident of where ESA may go. The demonstrations at NVIDIA only scratched the surface, and while they looked interesting we want to see more.

ESA may be the winner for the new system standard for monitoring and control, or it may languish in the market place. You and manufacturers will decide if ESA is a winner. We think the idea is a good one, and if not ESA it will likely be something very similar that will take system control to the next level.