AMD returning to dual-GPU cards?
updated 03:40 pm EST, Fri November 9, 2007
Radeon HD 3870 X2 Leak
AMD hopes to boost the speed of its video cards by returning to the formula first seen in the years-old Rage Fury MAXX card, according to a purported leak of a presentation slide by the Inquirer. Radeon HD 3870 X2 would incorporate two chipsets on one board; although each would be clocked lower at a minimum 750MHz versus the 825MHz of the single-chip design, the pairing would improve performance dramatically without all of the expense or space consumption of two separate cards. Each Radeon chip would also have 512MB of memory to itself that would clock as high as 2.25GHz to ensure swift communication between both graphics units. The reported card would occupy the height of two cards but would not be larger than cards with higher-performing single graphics chips. Small form factor desktops and other compact towers could use the board, the site says. In the alleged plans, AMD releases the X2 card in early 2008 at a price that would be more affordable than two distinct cards, which should sit between $399 and $499 depending on part costs and NVIDIA's moves by the final launch. NVIDIA is also suspected of producing a dual-chip GeForce 8-series card in a similar timeframe that may bear the GX2 label first seen with the GeForce 7950 GX2.
