14 DAY TRIAL // Showcased at the recent Computex 2011 fair, the dual-GPU PowerColor Radeon HD 6870 X2 and HD 6970 X2 graphics cards, are expected to be launched later this summer, with the former scheduled to arrive at the end of June.
Both cards use custom PCBs and cooling solutions, since PowerColor wanted to improve their overclocking potential as well as their default operating speeds.
Starting with the more powerful model, the HD 6970 X2, this occupies no less than three slots inside the system case and, just as its name implies, packs two Cayman XT cores.
Unlike AMD's dual-GPU HD 6990, these will be clocked at the 880MHz, while the 4GB of GDDR5 memory (2GB for each core) now works at 1375MHz (5500MHz data rate).
To achieve this performance, the card uses two sets of 6+2 phase VRMs as well as no less than three 8-pin PCI Express connectors.
The Radeon HD 6870 X2 also packs a redesigned PWM, which features two independent 4+2 phase VRMs, and power is provided by two 8-pin PCI Express connectors.
Both the GPU and the memory are clocked at AMD's stock frequencies for the Barts XT core, and pricing has been set at $449.
This makes it about $50 cheaper than the GeForce GTX 580, and PowerColor states that is should deliver about 30% better performance than its Nvidia counterpart.
Unlike AMD's reference dual-GPU solutions, PowerColor's X2 graphics cards use a LucidLogix bridge chip that gives each GPU 16 lanes worth of PCI Express bandwidth for increased performance.
The Lucid chip enables the two cores to work in CrossFireX mode or to use the special Lucid Hydra Engine.
Configured in the latter mode, PowerColor's creations can work in tandem with any other (no matter the brand or model) graphics card found inside the system. (via NordicHardware)
