Shorter 3870X2 for people with smaller cases.

[dennilfloss]

http://www.fudzilla.com/index....=view&id=5427&Itemid=1

Interesting design. Factory overclocked too.

 

[Keysplayr]

Very nicely done. Hat's off to Powercolor for this "pro-active" thinking.

 

[daveybrat]

Wow, 4 DVI ports?? Can this do Quad monitors then?

 

[nanaki333]

damn.. wish i knew that before i bought my diamond 3870x2

 

[nubian1]

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Engraver]

Originally posted by: daveybrat
Wow, 4 DVI ports?? Can this do Quad monitors then?

I would think so, since it basically two video cards sandwiched together.

 

[chizow]

That's good news besides the obvious from a smaller profile. If board-partners are deviating from reference and designing their own boards, it shows they're really getting behind the part instead of just using the reference for a short-term life cycle. Considering how complex the PCB is, the 3870X2 is a very impressive part. Power Color re-designing it and making it smaller is even more impressive and a good sign for this part.

 

[Rubycon]

The quad DVI-D is nice but the cooling design is bad. This card generates a lot of heat and that needs to be exhausted out of the case per reference design. In the smaller cases of the target audience, this will make internal case temps soar like an eagle.

 

[dennilfloss]

I too prefer heat to be exhausted directly outside. Still, a shorter card might be attractive to OEMs.

 

[chizow]

Its possible this card will result in hotter case temps, but that's hard to say without an actual comparison. Another problem is that test benches are usually run in open-air environments with the board laid outside of a case.

Personally I think dual-slot coolers that exhaust air are highly overrated and given too much credit. Many of them (both my GTX and G80 GTS) have exhaust vents that release heat into the case before its expelled through the back. Also, the fans themselves are typically aligned near the front of the HSF/shroud and dissipate most of their airflow energy by the time they reach the back of the card. If you hold your hand to the back of one of these cards and then hold your hand inside the case above the exhaust vents, you'll see there's really not that much hot air being expelled.

Many after-market designs place the fan much closer to the GPUs (Zalman VF/900 and VF1000, some of the non-reference G92 GT/GTS coolers) and don't expel the hot air out of the case, but often do as well or better than the reference shrouded designs. It might be more important with fans like this to have a side fan to bring in cool air and push hot air away from the GPU area, but in the end I don't think there's as much benefit to dual-slot exhaust coolers as people think.

 

[nullpointerus]

Originally posted by: chizow
That's good news besides the obvious from a smaller profile. If board-partners are deviating from reference and designing their own boards, it shows they're really getting behind the part instead of just using the reference for a short-term life cycle. Considering how complex the PCB is, the 3870X2 is a very impressive part. Power Color re-designing it and making it smaller is even more impressive and a good sign for this part.

:thumbsup:

 

[nullpointerus]

Originally posted by: chizow
Personally I think dual-slot coolers that exhaust air are highly overrated and given too much credit. Many of them (both my GTX and G80 GTS) have exhaust vents that release heat into the case before its expelled through the back. Also, the fans themselves are typically aligned near the front of the HSF/shroud and dissipate most of their airflow energy by the time they reach the back of the card. If you hold your hand to the back of one of these cards and then hold your hand inside the case above the exhaust vents, you'll see there's really not that much hot air being expelled.

That's definitely not the case with my HD2900XT. I can put my hand behind the card and feel quite a bit of hot air coming out the vents. Touching the black metal on the back of the card, the metal is quite warm, but not uncomfortably so. The reference 3870X2 cooler looks to be the same design as the HD2900XT (except expanded to cover 2 GPUs).

There was a new Arctic Cooling model for the HD2900XT that claimed much better performance (with 3 fans) than the stock DHES type cooler, but I don't remember if the case was open or closed for the review.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

wow how did they cram both gpu's along with everything else into a single slot cooler. (or are my eyes just misleading me?)

 

[Miklebud]

Wow, that's a great design. Very nicely done!

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: nullpointerus

Originally posted by: chizow
Personally I think dual-slot coolers that exhaust air are highly overrated and given too much credit. Many of them (both my GTX and G80 GTS) have exhaust vents that release heat into the case before its expelled through the back. Also, the fans themselves are typically aligned near the front of the HSF/shroud and dissipate most of their airflow energy by the time they reach the back of the card. If you hold your hand to the back of one of these cards and then hold your hand inside the case above the exhaust vents, you'll see there's really not that much hot air being expelled.

That's definitely not the case with my HD2900XT. I can put my hand behind the card and feel quite a bit of hot air coming out the vents. Touching the black metal on the back of the card, the metal is quite warm, but not uncomfortably so. The reference 3870X2 cooler looks to be the same design as the HD2900XT (except expanded to cover 2 GPUs).

There was a new Arctic Cooling model for the HD2900XT that claimed much better performance (with 3 fans) than the stock DHES type cooler, but I don't remember if the case was open or closed for the review.

Hmmm good point. I know the newer G92 GTS doesn't have the exhaust "gills" either, so it may be expelling more hot air than the G80s did as well. Still, I'd like to see some comparisons in a real-world test environment (closed case) to see how this stacks up to the stock cooler. One thing that caught my eye is that this HSF looks to be a bit more sturdy and well designed compared to the reference. Reference on the X2 looks to be 2 discrete cooling blocks (one copper and one alum).

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
wow how did they cram both gpu's along with everything else into a single slot cooler. (or are my eyes just misleading me?)

It looks very close to a single slot cooler, but will still be dual-slot due to the additional DVI backplates. Still, looks like it'll accomodate a 2nd X2 without problems allowing for Quad-Crossfire, although I'm not sure that's even an issue with the reference version. More clearance between cards is still good though, as it allows for better airflow around the card.

 

[CP5670]

Originally posted by: nullpointerus

Originally posted by: chizow
Personally I think dual-slot coolers that exhaust air are highly overrated and given too much credit. Many of them (both my GTX and G80 GTS) have exhaust vents that release heat into the case before its expelled through the back. Also, the fans themselves are typically aligned near the front of the HSF/shroud and dissipate most of their airflow energy by the time they reach the back of the card. If you hold your hand to the back of one of these cards and then hold your hand inside the case above the exhaust vents, you'll see there's really not that much hot air being expelled.

That's definitely not the case with my HD2900XT. I can put my hand behind the card and feel quite a bit of hot air coming out the vents. Touching the black metal on the back of the card, the metal is quite warm, but not uncomfortably so. The reference 3870X2 cooler looks to be the same design as the HD2900XT (except expanded to cover 2 GPUs).

There was a new Arctic Cooling model for the HD2900XT that claimed much better performance (with 3 fans) than the stock DHES type cooler, but I don't remember if the case was open or closed for the review.

It's the same situation with the X1900 cooler. I have mine set to a constant 80% in games and if I put my hand there, it feels like an AC vent in a car when the heat is up and on the highest setting. I certainly would not want all that heat being dumped into the case.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: CP5670

It's the same situation with the X1900 cooler. I have mine set to a constant 80% in games and if I put my hand there, it feels like an AC vent in a car when the heat is up and on the highest setting. I certainly would not want all that heat being dumped into the case.

My 1900XTX was like that. Fully loaded GPU = hair dryer in back of case. :Q

The GF8 coolers have the slots near the back and that puts a LOT of heat on neighboring card. With these blast furnace GPU's getting the heat OUT of the box is important unless you enjoy 45°C + ambient temps which make it really hard to keep your CPU cool. (important if that is o/c)

 

[BassBomb]

Why not cover those vents with small plastic or some sort of shroud, so that more is just sent right out the case instead of getting stuck?

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: BassBomb
Why not cover those vents with small plastic or some sort of shroud, so that more is just sent right out the case instead of getting stuck?

It will make RAM/GPU temps run ~10°C hotter on avg according to Everest.

 

[BFG10K]

Many of them (both my GTX and G80 GTS) have exhaust vents that release heat into the case before its expelled through the back.

Even with exhaust gills the original G80 fan pumps out a lot of hot air. If I put my hand at the back of my 8800 Ultra's vent I can easily feel it coming out of my case.