False R600 rumours do the rounds

OVER THE WEEKEND, several sites got excited over a rumour that ATI's upcoming R600 graphics chip comes with triple-slot cooling, using an 8-pin PCIe power connector - so, a motherboard, not a 6-pin PEG (PCI Express graphics) slot.

The INQUIRER may often be branded a rumour site by colleagues who probably can't post true stuff due to the signing of some NDA-branded legal papers, but we remain at liberty to tell you that this story is cobblers.

The simple fact is that three-slot cooling, would scupper Crossfire, and be completely incompatible with DAAMIT's Menage-a-Trois (codename for ATI Physics).

Graphics are going to get three-slot, and even four-slot cooling, but the cards will not be using PCI Express slots, but rather sockets on the motherboard.

What R600 is going to look like physically can be seen if you take a look at Radeon X1950 card and add a lot of power regulation components. Also, the chip is specc'ed at the 180W mark, so an external power supply looks more realistic than connecting an 8-pin motherboard connector.

This would end DAAMIT's marketeers mocking of Nvidia's own external power supply. Mind you, both Nvidia and ATi mocked 3dfx over its Voodoo5 6000 and claimed they'd never be forced to rely on an external power supply. Ah, time really flies. µ