New rumor about ATI Southern Islands

[Manicdan]

The 5870 is not very very efficient cooling. A bit beautifull but not efficient. It draw 200w, so 230w is not much more, even shorter i don't see any problem.

Maybe it's shorter because power stage is much more efficient, and pcb is 10 layers so no need of more pcb.

If this GPU kick ass, a good $/W and $/fps ratios, why i would cry for a short pcb ? ...

the size of the PCB can tell you about how big the heatsink is. the thermal efficiency is not increasing much for gpus with a given size since they are already using heat pipes and copper fins. if this gpu is just like a 5850 (150W draw in games, and the same size) we can be pretty sure its going to be about the same noise. then look at the 5870, a little bigger, and draws 221W peak (still has only 6+6 pin) and is much louder.

so if this new card is smaller than a 5870, but draws more than a 5870, then it will be loud as hell. and when i refer to the PCB, i dont care about layers, i care about length.

[Calmatory]

the size of the PCB can tell you about how big the heatsink is. the thermal efficiency is not increasing much for gpus with a given size since they are already using heat pipes and copper fins. if this gpu is just like a 5850 (150W draw in games, and the same size) we can be pretty sure its going to be about the same noise. then look at the 5870, a little bigger, and draws 221W peak (still has only 6+6 pin) and is much louder.

so if this new card is smaller than a 5870, but draws more than a 5870, then it will be loud as hell. and when i refer to the PCB, i dont care about layers, i care about length.

There is much more to thermal efficiency than heatpipes and copper fins. Radial fan blade orientation and bending alone will have big impact on noise levels and maximum pressure generated by the fan, fin density and thickness, exhaust holes in the backplate, vapour chamber base in the heatsink etc. They all play a role, one could argue that they play a small role. But what I've understood AMD has been using the cheapest possible cooling solution, the fan dating back to HD2900 series, no more than 4 years old and far from the most efficient blade design. It's not like they're at limits in this regard, they can improve the noise levels and cooling efficiency if they want to, but it isn't as cheap then.

[Manicdan]

basically im just saying that i BELIEVE, the 6+8pin is for OCing, not typical power draw. ive listed my reasons and i dont really care if people try to nit pick the little things when the overall estimates show a very large difference between generations

[bill_d]

hmm if the 6870 is 6+8 pin power what will a 6970 have
unless they say the h*** with pcie specs

[Iconyu]

hmm if the 6870 is 6+8 pin power what will a 6970 have
unless they say the h*** with pcie specs

We're still not sure if that was a 6870, it could be a 6770, like I said earlier the very first rumours were of a 6770 that was larger than the 5870 on 40nm then a 6870 that had a lot more shaders coming a few months after. If the 6870 was coming a few days later then I'd say that picture was the higher end card without doubt, but right now I'm not sure what that card was.

[Dimitriman]

basically im just saying that i BELIEVE, the 6+8pin is for OCing, not typical power draw. ive listed my reasons and i dont really care if people try to nit pick the little things when the overall estimates show a very large difference between generations

I agree, I bet it will work either 6+6 or 6+8 like some of ATI's previous cards.

[FischOderAal]

But what I've understood AMD has been using the cheapest possible cooling solution, the fan dating back to HD2900 series, no more than 4 years old and far from the most efficient blade design. It's not like they're at limits in this regard, they can improve the noise levels and cooling efficiency if they want to, but it isn't as cheap then.

What did you expect? Reference coolers are always just sufficient to do the job and as cheap as possible. Noise is somewhere at the bottom of the paper with the requirements.

[RPGWiZaRD]

What did you expect? Reference coolers are always just sufficient to do the job and as cheap as possible. Noise is somewhere at the bottom of the paper with the requirements.

Well it's a rather important selling point how silent and well cooled the cards are, so you can't skip too much on it either and customers will concider other products. Very few people change the cooling on their graphic cards.

[FischOderAal]

Well it's a rather important selling point how silent and well cooled the cards are, so you can't skip too much on it either and customers will concider other products. Very few people change the cooling on their graphic cards.

That's right. But that's what Palit / Gainward / XFX and the like are for. They don't use the reference cooler and are a few Euros more expensive.

I don't think the majority of the buyers care about noise levels as long as it's not a leaf blower.