News Leaked AMD Fiji Card Images Show Small Form Factor, Water Cooler Integration

Ryan Shrout, PCPer:

File this under "rumor" for sure, but a cool one none the less...

After yesterday's official tidbit of information surrounding AMD's upcoming flagship graphics card for enthusiasts and its use of HBM (high bandwidth memory), it appears we have another leak on our hands. The guys over at Chiphell have apparently acquired some stock footage of the new Fiji flagship card (whether or not it will be called the 390X has yet to be seen).

In that post from yesterday I noted that with an HBM design AMD could in theory build an add-in card that is of a different form factor than anything we have previously seen for a high end part. Based on the image above, if this turns out to be the high end Fiji offering, it appears the PCB will indeed be quite small as it no longer requires memory surrounding the GPU itself. You can also see that it will in fact be water cooled though it looks like it has barb inlets rather than a pre-attached cooler in this image.

If true, major props to AMD for managing to reduce the card size of their flagship so dramatically - this could very well make watercooled Radeon cards much more practical (let alone possible) in small cases.

 

[veryrarium]

According to some vendor the reference PCB is 175mm long.

 

[jeshikat]

Pics: http://www.pcper.com/news/Graphics-...X-Graphics-Card-Pictured-Uses-2-x-8-pin-Power

Looks like at least one OEM is using a high-speed Nidec Gentle Typhoon.

 

[Vittra]

It is probably a painted 2150rpm or 1850rpm. Dazmode ordered in some 2150rpms from Nidec and requested them painted in black so it's possible.

There was actually an earlier photo without the AMD sticker and it was a grey GT.

 

[Vittra]

 

[PlayfulPhoenix]

Yikes, they aren't putting a nice shroud on that block and tubing for no reason

Neat pictures though!

 

[Phuncz]

Nice solution for cooling the VRM's
These are such interesting cards.

 

[Phuncz]

Has it been confirmed where the pump is located ? Because it was mentioned that the OEM for the cooling was Cooler Master meaning a pump/block is out of the question due to the patent Asetek holds for that in the US. But I'm not seeying anything pump-like on the radiator:

After measuring in Photoshop, I suspect the radiator is 35mm thick and that reservoir-like hump is about a few millimeters less. It looks to be about 15mm thick which seems impossibly thin for a pump. The part where the tubes enter the radiator seems to be around 20mm wide and only ~34mm deep which is still an incredible achievement for a pump to fit. So where is this thing hidden !?

 

[PlayfulPhoenix]

The block sure looks like a pump to me:

Couldn't tell you how they skirted the patent issue, though.

 

[jeshikat]

I'm sure AMD using this as the stock cooling for their flagship card means plenty of money is changing hands and lots of cash works all sorts of wonders for these types of disagreements.

 

[Vittra]

If you recall, Swiftech got nailed by Astek for the H220, however, Cooler Master's version was official because it was in fact sourced by Astek.

Even if AMD dealt with Cooler Master for procurement of this AIO solution, the source likely traces back to Astek.

 

[Phuncz]

Cooler Master has indeed (and still does) used Asetek for atleast some of their watercooling products, but then why go with Cooler Master which uses Asetek to begin with ? Or are they maybe producing under license in Cooler Master's own factories ?

The block indeed does look "pump-ey" but it's still very small considering it's meant for 500W dissipation. It's about 60x60mm and somewhere between 15 and 20mm thick if I measured correctly. The block of a Corsair H100i is about 65x65mm according to the webs.

I've measured the card length, it's 172mm long (excluding the bracket) and 100mm high (including PCIe connector)

Some more hi-res pictures:

 

[Vittra]

Cooler Master has indeed (and still does) used Asetek for atleast some of their watercooling products, but then why go with Cooler Master which uses Asetek to begin with ? Or are they maybe producing under license in Cooler Master's own factories ?

The block indeed does look "pump-ey" but it's still very small considering it's meant for 500W dissipation. It's about 60x60mm and somewhere between 15 and 20mm thick if I measured correctly. The block of a Corsair H100i is about 65x65mm according to the webs.

I think that's a correct assessment with respect to the Coolermaster / Astek relationship and licensing in NA. Cooler Master is producing them, but the licensing is via Astek.

Not much restriction for just a lone block, a smaller pump would be acceptable. However, I have never liked referencing rads purely to their dissipation potential. A single rad may be able to dissipate 500w, sure, but what temperature will the coolant be? What speed is the fan running at to achieve this? Both would probably be values I wouldn't personally be comfortable with.

 

[WiSK]

I think that's a correct assessment with respect to the Coolermaster / Astek relationship and licensing in NA. Cooler Master is producing them, but the licensing is via Astek.

Yes

Important to remember that a patent doesn't physcially prevent another manufacturer from using that process. The company holding the patent decides what license fee they demand, and that may mean the manufacturer's product become financially unviable. If they don't pay the fee, a judge can order an injunction; but if they do pay the fee, then there is nothing preventing the manufacture. Even in the situation that the fee is high, it can go back to court and a judge may demand the companies renegotiate a more realistic fee. Unfortunately that is a long drawn out legal battle, and by the time it's over, the product may be irrelevant to the marketplace.

This is what happened with the H220. Gabe Rouchon thought, that Asetek couldn't demand too high a fee. When they did, he realised his legal costs would be higher to fight it than just designing a whole new product (H220X) that avoided the patent infringement. In the meantime he had to accept cessation of H220 sales in the US.

Cooler Master on the other hand, seem to be happy to involve themselves in such legal battles. They maybe have the advantage that they are headquartered in Taiwan which isn't part of WIPO, the body that facilitates global IP protection.