OpenGL: ATi FireGL X2-256t and NVIDIA Quadro FX 1100

Cooling: Gentle Breeze To Cool A Hot Head

ATi has adopted an elaborate cooling concept. Large copper heat sinks are located on both sides of the FireGL X2-256t, which dissipate the high heat loss from both the chip and memory modules. These sinks are a step up compared to the X2-256's simple aluminum heat sinks. In our stress tests, however, these new heat sinks became unusually hot, which is not conducive for stability.

For NVIDIA's card, however, the memory chips do not even need a heat sink. The design for the VPU is a low-cost version.

Uwe Scheffel