Do you remember the days when video cards were only as large as your hand? I personally remember installing a TNT2 — and at the time, I thought that was big. Now you’ve got dual-GPU monsters like the just-leaked 5870 X2 coming out which, in addition to taking up two PCI-e slots and requiring a secondary power source, are nearly a full foot long. Not that you’d be buying one unless you’re rich as Croesus and have a case as long as the Nile, but no matter what you’d have to choose your motherboard carefully, since not everyone designed the layout planning on accommodating a damn sub sandwich.
On the plus side, you know this thing is going to be a killer card. With the 5870 already king of the hill, it’s sheer excess to put two of them together. That’s why I recommend getting the 5850 X2; with most of the horsepower of the 5870 and a significantly lower price, it’s both powerful and practical.
Interestingly, the cards shown off seem to be missing an HDMI out, which at first sounds like a bad idea, but actually makes sense: an card like this will be bought only by enthusiasts, who certainly will have a separate video card and sound system.
Damn, those are some big cards.
[via SlashGear]
LOL you called it a “sub sandwich”…..it’s funny cause it’s true.
We need to call a seize and desist on referring to these things as “cards”. They are no longer cards so from now on its sandwich, sub freaking sandwich!
It’s “cease and desist”, not “seize and desist”. Unless you meant that you’re going to take away this sub sandwich from them.
season delish!
So, if I’m looking at this right, that thing has 3 fans in it. The two surrounded by heatpipes, plus the blower fan seen in the pic with the three guys holding the cards.
That’s almost obscenely excessive.
Scratch that “almost”.
The first photo with two big fans is not the same card. It only has one fan. The small recessed red ring on the middle photo is the only fan. God knows how they found it adequate.
No offence to anyone here but what you all talking about is the size of the good dam thing no what its capable of doin. coming in the price range below the GTX 295 and almost douling it performance ppl intel has the upper hand over amd but ati definetly have it over nvidea