14 DAY TRIAL // During the Consumer Electronics Show, MSI proudly demonstrated its latest advancements in high-end, 40nm-based graphics. The company has been working on customized graphics cards, based on AMD's ATI Radeon HD 5000-series adapters, which boast high reliability and overclocking capabilities.
The two graphics adapters demonstrated by the company are the 40nm “Cypress” GPU-based Radeon R5870 Lightning and the 40nm “Broadway” GPU-based Radeon R5850 Cyclone. Both of these cards have DirectX 11 and overclocking capabilities and are equipped with “Military Class” components, such as SSC, Hi-c Capacitors and Solid Capacitors, for high stability and increased lifespan even when overclocked.
The Radeon R5850 Cyclone has 1,440 Stream Processors and makes use of an extra large, 9cm-fan, which can operate on ultra-low RPM mode, for a noise level half as large as the rated one. This will enable end-users and, especially, high clock-speed enthusiasts to set up overclocking configurations both functional and silent.
The Radeon R5870 Cypress-based graphics adapter has 1,600 stream processors, is designed with a 10-layer printed circuit board and has an invigorating clock speed of no less than 1,000 MHz. The card also boasts high overclocking capabilities thanks to its 15-phase digital PWM design and two 8-pin PCI-Express 2.0 power connectors (HD 5870 cards normally have dual 6-pin plugs). Of course, such a card will need an advanced cooling solution to survive. As such, MSI has implemented what it calls the “Twin Frozr II thermal design with SuperPipe technology.”
This cooling solution uses five heatpipes and high-density fins to dissipate heat, whereas the actual cooling is delivered by two large, 8 cm fans. The heatpipes and fins lead heat away not just from the GPU core, but also from the memory chips and PWM area. The aforementioned “Military Class” components provide the R5870 with the stability and lifespan required for maximum overclocking.
While the company only had the cards on display as a preview, the products are expected to be officially debuted during the next few weeks and will, likely, be factory-overclocked.
