OK, this is just crazy, but it’s the kind of crazy we all want:
The ASUS MARS card is like a custom 295GTX, two GPUs in one double-wide enclosure sharing a single slot.
The difference is that the GPUs have 2GB each and are 285’s, not 260’s, so they’re about 25% faster. More SMs, higher frequency, and wider RAM bus.
This is one of the only cards out there which is not an NVIDIA reference card copy.
I betcha the cooler is going to be loud… but perhaps the sound will be drowned out by our collective gleeful happy cackling.
Is it the kind of crazy we all can afford?
What would be a decent price point for this baby? Any ideas?
The 2 GB GTX 285s are ~$400 each, and I don’t see how the MARS card can be cheaper than $650 with that amount of RAM, so I’d bet $650 to $800.
I’m more curious how they intend to power this thing. A GTX 285 with 1 GB of RAM requires 200W, so I can only assume this card, using standard NVIDIA chips, would require 400W. If they put two 8-pin power connectors on the card, then they can technically only draw 150 + 150 + 75 (from slot) = 375W. So either they are riding the edge of the spec, or they have put a third PCI-Express power connector on the card.
The power consumption is probably a reasonable bit less than 400w, because there are plenty of things other than the GPU core which consume power and aren’t duplicated in a dual GPU design. I doubt doubling the memory would add more than $100 to the price of the reference design, but no doubt the limited volume and “prestige” a top shelf SKU like this is supposed to attract will drive up the price beyond the sum of the bill of materials.
It is nice to see something other than the GTX200 reference designs starting to appear.