Rumor: Nvidia to Dub Dual-GPU Fermi Card "GTX 490"
Rumor: Nvidia to Dub Dual-GPU Fermi Card "GTX 490"
Posted 05/24/2010 at 11:42am
| by Paul Lilly
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The latest chatter from the graphics rumor mill is that Nvidia is hard at work readying a dual-GPU fermi part the company plans to call "GTX 490."
According to kitguru.net, which "continue[s] to look under the rocks in Taiwan," the GTX 490 will in all likelihood use a pair of GTX 470 processors. From what they gather, the power draw will be around 375W. That means you can probably expect some downclocking under the hood, as the GTX 470 draws 215W as a standalone card.
There really aren't any other details to go on, though that could (and probably will) change by the time Computex rolls around. It will be interesting to see how the GTX 490 stacks up against ATI's recently introduced 4GB iteration of its dual-GPU HD 5970 card.
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jihnn
May 25, 2010 at 7:42am
fyi i am using a evga 260 core 216 ftw card now
a couple years ago i had a evga dual 7900 forget the part # at the time it was the max pc best of the best...
that thing was hot, it actually dryed out the thermal paste every few months .
does anyone here not believe that all the delays with these cards was not related to heat issues.
these cards are not for me i have already went down the path of never finding a proper cooling solution.. this kind of heat destroys eltronic parts..
imagonex
May 24, 2010 at 4:59pm
For all the heat output and noise, I'd rather buy the new 2011 Porsche GT2 RS.
Thiazolium
May 24, 2010 at 3:42pm
EVGA's new SC470 and Galaxy's KFA2 have modified coolers in order to tame the savage beasts and these aren't perfect by any means. Placing two 3 billion+ GPU's on a single or double (sandwich) PCB is redonculous to say the least. One, I mean only a single 480 with the metal heatpipe, is barely sufficient to quell the scorching temps. Placing two of these together - unless you seriously downclock everything - is going to be a heat and cacophonic nightmare. There doesn't seem to be any reasonably conceivable ways to have low fan speeds given this setup unless this is a 3 slot wide concoction. Honestly, save the two GPU setup for the next round.
carnivorousslushee23
May 24, 2010 at 9:59pm
I direct your attention to the Maingear Shift (http://www.maximumpc.com/article/reviews/maingear_shift). That monster had THREE GTX480s plus an overclocked i7-980X all sandwiched together in an inefficient case in terms of cooling. That thing obviously survived the temperatures generated by the GPUs as well as the overclocked processor, which was not even entirely stable, in all the benchmarks conducted. The 490 won't be as hot as some people believe - or, rather, it won't be as dangerously hot (obviously it's gonna be hot no matter what). With a robust cooling unit - say, the radiator setup for the Digital Storm Hailstorm (http://www.maximumpc.com/article/reviews/digital_storm_hailstorm) I think the 490 would be just fine. On fans, it would run quite hot, but not so hot as to render it impractical.
I just wonder how much this thing will cost...I mean, the 480s are kinda decently priced right now, considering they just came out and all, so a dual GPU variant ought to be interesting.
#1 Reason why Macs suck:
Intel P45 motherboard: $99. Core 2 Duo E8400: $170. 2GB DDR3-1333 RAM: $80. Not having to throw away your PC and buy a brand new one: Priceless.
Devo85x
May 24, 2010 at 2:02pm
I think they should fix their power and heat problems before they start working on a dual GPU card... Don't get me wrong, I prefer Nvidia to ATI, but until they fix their problems I won't buy their parts for a while...
Danthrax66
May 24, 2010 at 4:31pm
Their new drivers made the cards run cooler than the pre-release samples the testers got.
Five Rabbits
May 24, 2010 at 1:41pm
Looks like nVidia is going back to the JUST INCREASE THE POWER USAGE school of making faster cards. I don't think that's ever worked for long. Specially when your competitor can get about the same job done with half the power draw.
trident60
May 24, 2010 at 2:48pm
I don't think it's ever worked for long either, and especially with the way their competitor is handling the situation.
There are a lot of variables taken into consideration when someone decides what product to buy. Undoubtedly "price" is a very big one. In today's economy if someone can pinch some extra pennies in savings somewhere I believe they would. I know I would. ATI and nVidia are so close together in the benchmark side of things that I tend to look past it and then look at price. Overall, ATI seems cheaper in both up front payment and what I'd fork out over the long haul.
Danthrax66
May 24, 2010 at 4:29pm
Yeah but if you are looking to save money you aren't buying a 5970, 5870, 480, or 470 because you don't need more than a 260 or a 4870/5770 for 95% of games anything more is just for benchmarking or bragging rights it is excess and that is what these cards are targeted at. So the idea that more power doesn't make it more appealing is wrong there are plent of people that could care less about power and will still buy these cards and that is the market that nvidia wants.
trident60
May 25, 2010 at 12:53pm
Anyone who reads this magazine, or the articles online I would consider a PC enthusiast. My question to these people is, how many of them look to these expensive, high powered, high heat outputting cards for a build or a replacement?
I'm a gamer at heart, and I want to play all the latest and best games out there, and I'd like to do it with all the eye candy. At the same time I have to be a tight wad with my money. Not by choice, but by nature of the beast I'm/we're living in.
I just ordered parts for a new PC after five years of using the same machine. The absolute most I was going to spend was 420 on a video card and even that was pushing it to where if I could find an alternative I was going to take it. These guys want between 500 and 700 dollars for these top of the line cards... I just can't warrent spending that kind of money on one part, especially when I know I could build a whole other decent machine for that price.
I'm using myself in this example because I am a computer enthusiast that will go out and spend money on good parts, but it's got to be within reason. I also use myself because the vast majority of people I actually interact with throughout the day only spend as much or less on PC's. So who's the majority here? Price, heat and power consumption of these top notch cards are without reason in my book. And from the forum posts in the build section it seems a lot of others are right there with me.
Just my thoughts...
Spartacus
May 24, 2010 at 5:21pm
The GTX260/4870 isn't always plenty for any game. My 4870 1GB struggles in my more demanding games now that I've upgraded to a 1920x1080 panel and I'm seriously considering adding a second 4870 before they disappear off the shelves for good.
Spartacus
May 24, 2010 at 1:31pm
375W is beyond the PCIe 2.0 spec's max of 300W per card... That means two 8-pin power connectors folks... in fact, 375W is the absolute max amount of power that two 8-pin power connectors and the PCIe slot power leads are specced to be able to supply. And with two GTX 470 GPUs, its not likely to outperform the 5970, even the 2GB version. D'oh... I hope Nvidia doesn't even bother to release something this ridiculous. But of course, the fanboys demand it.
Danthrax66
May 24, 2010 at 3:37pm
This will beat a 5970... And pcie specifications don't really mean anything the 5970 when running overclocked (as in running as actual 5870 cores) runs over spec so this isn't a big deal and they will probably have 3-6pin power connectors. And it isn't fanboys who buy these cards it's people who want the best, fastest card available. These cards aren't targeted at the average consumer or pc builder they are targeted at the high end for people who don't mind running 2 power supplies in a build (or who do it already because of other components).
Spartacus
May 24, 2010 at 5:25pm
If its two downclocked 470s in one, then it will have nearly identical performance to two 5850s (the 470 is about 10% faster than the 5850). And, as everyone knows, a 5970 is faster than two 5850s. Honestly, people who want the best and fastest, power usage and size be damned, will continue to buy three 5870s or two 480s as they always have. The problem I have with it is that there's no reason to release a card like this because anyone who doesn't care about power usage and has a budget for this will have an SLi motherboard and can just buy two 480s. So why would Nvidia release something like this? Bragging rights and nothing else.
trident60
May 24, 2010 at 2:41pm
Maybe a stupid question, but from my readings and the way I understood our advancements in technology: The more transistors in the same surface area meant that less power was needed to move electrical signals since the transistors have to be smaller to fit in that compact an area and thus are closer together... ? Obviously I'm wrong here because that's not the way it's going. I guess the other obvious answer is that more transistors... or more parts means more power is needed.
I became a fan of ATI during the 3000 series of cards. The way I see it is ATI is out for the customer, or at least more so than nVidia. Until recently they haven't had the fastest cards out there but they could compete and offer that competitive card at an affordable price. And now with the lower power consumption their cards offer compared to their competitor as well as showing they can be top dog in performance... Well, ATI has their act together as they are rolling right now.
paschal
May 24, 2010 at 1:30pm
I'd better start working on those 10,000 watt solar panels I've been dreaming about. I'm starting to get worried that the 400 amp power service in my house might not have been enough. Those things suck enough juice to run 4 quad cpu's at full load. We are ever quicker getting to the point of the dedicated circuit breaker for a PC.
I'm not a tree hugger, just practical. Sooner or later it will get to a point gamers are going to understand power consumption limits in their breaker box, or learn how to add a few more breakers.
nclaughlin
May 24, 2010 at 1:11pm
Maybe it's time to for NVIDIA and ATI to consider external video cards in their own enclosure with power supply. A PCI-E interface card with connector to the external box. A cheap computer, and an expensive video card box.
perryra1968
May 24, 2010 at 12:32pm
Does NVIDIA offer credit? Do they offer a loan service? What is the APR on the loan? Do they offer trade-ins? LIKE A CAR OR HOUSE?
aviaggio
May 24, 2010 at 12:13pm
Is Nvidia going to offer an external PSU unit to power the damned thing? Will I need to install another 220v jack and put the computer next to my dryer?
schinkinatror
May 24, 2010 at 12:06pm
So if we were to put a pizza in our case would it be able to bake it while we play games?
nclaughlin
May 24, 2010 at 1:15pm
A good toaster oven might consume 1200 watts -- we're only 1/3 of the way there yet!
aviaggio
May 24, 2010 at 1:29pm
Provided you only play games for 4-6 minutes -- the time it takes to make toast ;)
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