Motherboard, Memory and Graphics Briefing WW45
by Kristopher Kubicki on November 8, 2005 7:40 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Gigabyte
Gigabyte was very excited this week to show us their new 7800GT based on Gigabyte's own original design. Now that the initial batch of 7800GT cards have dried up, Tier 1 manufacturers are producing non-reference design cards on their own. Gigabyte's newest prominently features a Zalman double ball bearing HSF that should look very familiar to anyone who is into low RPM cooling.
Since the card is not an NVIDIA reference design, Gigabyte removed a lot of the unnecessary VIVO components to reduce cost and thermals. The card comes clocked at a modest 400MHz core, 1000MHz memory, but on average Gigabyte claims the new design lowers core thermals as much as 5 degrees C. This will definitely be one of the more competitive retail 7800GT cards to keep an eye out for. Gigabyte also plans to release a $35 rebate with the card at launch. Compounded with the $20 rebate already active for all NVIDIA 7800GTs, this is going to be a very competitively priced card.
ASUS
Quite possibly the best for last, ASUS gave us a quick preview of the A8R-MVP - the company's first Crossfire motherboard. True to the other Socket 939 motherboards from ASUS, the M8R-MVP has a very clean design, although the board does not lack features by any means. You'll notice a completely passive north-south-mosfet combo, side mounted PATA, and, of course, the two PEG slots of Crossfire. The board is a stark contrast to the high end Abit AT8, but the modest ASUS A8R-MVP will clearly appeal to the lower end of Crossfire users - with a very modest price tag.
Conclusion
We're keeping this short and sweet - think of this as a retail product roadmap rather than the usual chipset/CPU roadmaps. All of these products are nearing retail availability, so if you find them interesting, you shouldn't have to wait long. We'll be bringing additional coverage from other vendors as we acquire it.
Gigabyte was very excited this week to show us their new 7800GT based on Gigabyte's own original design. Now that the initial batch of 7800GT cards have dried up, Tier 1 manufacturers are producing non-reference design cards on their own. Gigabyte's newest prominently features a Zalman double ball bearing HSF that should look very familiar to anyone who is into low RPM cooling.
Since the card is not an NVIDIA reference design, Gigabyte removed a lot of the unnecessary VIVO components to reduce cost and thermals. The card comes clocked at a modest 400MHz core, 1000MHz memory, but on average Gigabyte claims the new design lowers core thermals as much as 5 degrees C. This will definitely be one of the more competitive retail 7800GT cards to keep an eye out for. Gigabyte also plans to release a $35 rebate with the card at launch. Compounded with the $20 rebate already active for all NVIDIA 7800GTs, this is going to be a very competitively priced card.
ASUS
Quite possibly the best for last, ASUS gave us a quick preview of the A8R-MVP - the company's first Crossfire motherboard. True to the other Socket 939 motherboards from ASUS, the M8R-MVP has a very clean design, although the board does not lack features by any means. You'll notice a completely passive north-south-mosfet combo, side mounted PATA, and, of course, the two PEG slots of Crossfire. The board is a stark contrast to the high end Abit AT8, but the modest ASUS A8R-MVP will clearly appeal to the lower end of Crossfire users - with a very modest price tag.
Conclusion
We're keeping this short and sweet - think of this as a retail product roadmap rather than the usual chipset/CPU roadmaps. All of these products are nearing retail availability, so if you find them interesting, you shouldn't have to wait long. We'll be bringing additional coverage from other vendors as we acquire it.
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unclebud - Thursday, November 10, 2005 - link
they all the way in taiwan or somwehere and they see that the fame of south park has stretched all the way to there? i have friend in Taiwan and it is amusing to me that she uses Bart Simpson icons for MSNgeri don't care about none of this stuff cause i'm not gonna buy any of it til its sub $100 if then
but its good to be entertained
thanks to the authors for the article
kerii7 - Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - link
Anyone else notice the Kenny figureine hanging on the cubicle wall? :)ksherman - Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - link
OMG that is absolutely crazy that you all would notice that and think it was important enough to mention...JarredWalton - Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - link
Looks to me more like a bundle of cables. Close, though!JarredWalton - Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - link
Oops... looked at the wrong thing! There's a little kenny *next* to the bundle of cables. LOL. "OMG - They killed Kenny!"yacoub - Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - link
Any update on when the passively-cooled Asus 7800 series card will hit the supply lines?Looking forward to a passively cooled 7800GT!
decptt - Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - link
Waiting for the DFI-Expert review from Anandtech :Dmostlyprudent - Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - link
The Anandtech team will be awefully busy as I expect in depth reviews of all of these products...ASAP! :-)segagenesis - Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - link
...OCZ putting holes in the heat spreader only to be covered up in one spot by a big "Z"? Ummm, ok, just dont charge me $10 for that please.The Gigabyte video with Zalman cooler is a terrific idea at least. I still find modern video card coolers to not be that much better than the old Geforce FX 5800 hairdryer.
ksherman - Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - link
definetly agree with the gigabyte comment.... I LOVE my Zalman 770ALCu, so quite and at full load, my temps are STILL lower than idle used to be with the factory HSF (MSI 6600GT) and it is overclocked from 500/1000 to 585/1200MHz... the only thing missing though is that there does not seem to be any heatsinks on the memory chips, which is really a huge part of the genious behind the Zalman cooler...