Appearance and thoughts I
Just to recap if you didn't fully appreciate it when described on the first page, this card connects two Radeon X1950 Pro 512MiB SKUs together via internal CrossFire. The trick is in saving space, as you don't need a second x16 mechanical slot for it to run in either single- or dual-GPU modes, chipset-permitting.
The SKU is due to be made available towards within a couple of weeks, and HEXUS was fortunate enough to receive a pre-production sample that differs in just a couple of areas.
Amalgamating two GPUs, the associated memory and the interconnect leads to a huge PCB. Its relative size can be judged by just how small the regular-sized backplate looks in comparison.
The above shot shows it dwarfing an already-large NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX 768MiB card.
In fact, the Sapphire X1950 Pro Dual measures 292mm long and 140mm high. That's large enough to cause problems with fitment in some smaller chassis, so if you're considering purchasing it, a quick measurement of internal chassis space is prudent.
Whipping off the cooler shows how the two GPUs are arranged. The smaller thermal pads cool the memory chips and the larger pad is placed directly over the interconnecting ASIC. Our sample was bereft of three pads, as you can see.
And here it is in the flesh, so to speak. What you're looking at is some jigger-pokery that leads to two distinct Radeon X1950 Pros on one PCB, brought together by the interconnecting ASIC that's located just below the left-hand GPU.
