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GALAX Shows Off Single-Slot GeForce GTX 1070 Graphics Card
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GALAX Shows Off Single-Slot GeForce GTX 1070 Graphics Card

GALAX has developed a GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card with an ultra-slim one slot wide cooling system. The industry’s first single-slot GeForce GTX 1070 is understood to be released in China in early 2017, but it is unknown whether the video card will ever make it outside of the country.

Single-slot gaming graphics adapters for high-performance cards are not a common occurrence, especially as most AIB partners now run dual slot for anything 75W for over. After developers of GPUs for years have developed dual-slot designs for their coolers, the vast majority of motherboards have enough space to install at least one single slot graphics card. Nonetheless, there are systems equipped with extra add-in-boards (audio, SSD, additional SATA or Thunderbolt 3 controllers, etc.) that require slim single-slot components as there is simply not enough space inside. Meanwhile, it is not easy to find high-performance single-slot graphics cards: even some low-profile boards feature doublewide radiators. Companies like AMD and NVIDIA release professional graphics cards with slim coolers (e.g., Quadro M4000, Radeon Pro WX7100 and so on), but such products are not intended for general consumers because of high prices and some other peculiarities. By contrast, the forthcoming GeForce GTX 1070 from GALAX is a high-end consumer product with a single-slot cooling system.

The upcoming GALAX GeForce GTX 1070 uses a copper radiator with very thin fins and a metallic cover. Copper quickly absorbs heat, which is why it is used to make small form-factor coolers (including those for servers). Meanwhile, to maximize cooling potential of the whole system, GALAX uses a blower-type fan that generates very high air pressure by rotating at a very high speed. Such fans inevitably generate a lot of noise, but that is a tradeoff between dimensions and performance. Copper heatsinks are typically heavy too, as well as pricier than regular GPU heatsinks.

So far, GALAX has only demonstrated the graphics card at an event in China (and clearly labelled it GTX 1070 for anyone wondering) and has not revealed its frequencies or other peculiarities. Since NVIDIA’s partners are not allowed to downclock GPUs, it is highly likely that the card will run at reference 1506/1683 MHz (base/boost) clock rates. As for connectivity, the board has three connectors: a DVI, a DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 2.0.

GALAX belongs to Palit Microsystems, one of the world’s largest makers of video cards. From time to time Palit’s brands release unique NVIDIA-based graphics adapters that have features not available on competing solutions. Usually, such AIBs are only sold in China, but at times they make it to the U.S. and Europe under various trademarks.

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GALAX Shows Off Single-Slot GeForce GTX 1070 Graphics Card
  • Comments are Closed

GALAX Shows Off Single-Slot GeForce GTX 1070 Graphics Card

GALAX has developed a GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card with an ultra-slim one slot wide cooling system. The industry’s first single-slot GeForce GTX 1070 is understood to be released in China in early 2017, but it is unknown whether the video card will ever make it outside of the country.

Single-slot gaming graphics adapters for high-performance cards are not a common occurrence, especially as most AIB partners now run dual slot for anything 75W for over. After developers of GPUs for years have developed dual-slot designs for their coolers, the vast majority of motherboards have enough space to install at least one single slot graphics card. Nonetheless, there are systems equipped with extra add-in-boards (audio, SSD, additional SATA or Thunderbolt 3 controllers, etc.) that require slim single-slot components as there is simply not enough space inside. Meanwhile, it is not easy to find high-performance single-slot graphics cards: even some low-profile boards feature doublewide radiators. Companies like AMD and NVIDIA release professional graphics cards with slim coolers (e.g., Quadro M4000, Radeon Pro WX7100 and so on), but such products are not intended for general consumers because of high prices and some other peculiarities. By contrast, the forthcoming GeForce GTX 1070 from GALAX is a high-end consumer product with a single-slot cooling system.

The upcoming GALAX GeForce GTX 1070 uses a copper radiator with very thin fins and a metallic cover. Copper quickly absorbs heat, which is why it is used to make small form-factor coolers (including those for servers). Meanwhile, to maximize cooling potential of the whole system, GALAX uses a blower-type fan that generates very high air pressure by rotating at a very high speed. Such fans inevitably generate a lot of noise, but that is a tradeoff between dimensions and performance. Copper heatsinks are typically heavy too, as well as pricier than regular GPU heatsinks.

So far, GALAX has only demonstrated the graphics card at an event in China (and clearly labelled it GTX 1070 for anyone wondering) and has not revealed its frequencies or other peculiarities. Since NVIDIA’s partners are not allowed to downclock GPUs, it is highly likely that the card will run at reference 1506/1683 MHz (base/boost) clock rates. As for connectivity, the board has three connectors: a DVI, a DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 2.0.

GALAX belongs to Palit Microsystems, one of the world’s largest makers of video cards. From time to time Palit’s brands release unique NVIDIA-based graphics adapters that have features not available on competing solutions. Usually, such AIBs are only sold in China, but at times they make it to the U.S. and Europe under various trademarks.

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SK Hynix Updates Lineup: 8 GB LPDDR4 DRAM Packages for Mobile Devices
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SK Hynix Updates Lineup: 8 GB LPDDR4 DRAM Packages for Mobile Devices

SK Hynix has quietly added its new 8 GB LPDDR4 package to the family of mobile DRAM offerings. The new package paves the way for single-package smartphones and tablets with 8 GB of memory and is based on the company’s yet unannounced 16 Gb LPDDR4 ICs (integrated circuits).

The 8 GB (64 Gb) LPDDR4 package stacks four 16 Gb DRAM parts that feature a 3733 MT/s transfer rate and provide up to 29.8 GB/s of bandwidth when connected to an application processor using a 64-bit memory bus. The 8 GB DRAM package from SK Hynix comes in a standard 15 mm × 15 mm 366-ball or 376-ball form-factor which is compatible with mainstream mobile devices. The 366-ball FBGA package can be PoP stacked with a mobile SoC or a UFS NAND storage device and is available to customers of the company now. The 376-ball FBGA will be available in Q1 2017.

SK Hynix uses its 21 nm manufacturing technology to produce the 16 Gb LPDDR4 memory devices. By contrast, Samsung, which also recently added an 8 GB LPDDR4 package to its own product lineup, uses its ’10 nm-class’ fabrication process to make 16 Gb ICs. Thinner process technology has allowed Samsung to increase interface data rate of its 8 GB LPDDR4 package to 4266 MT/s (14% higher compared to data-rate of SK Hynix’s offering).

SK Hynix 8 GB LPDDR4 DRAM Packages
  H9HKNNNFBUMUBR-NMH H9HKNNNFBMMUDR-NMH
DRAM IC Capacity 16 Gb
Number of DRAM ICs 4
Data Rate 3733 MT/s
Bus Width x64
Bandwidth 29.8 GB/s
Package FBGA-366 15 mm × 15 mm FBGA-376 15 mm × 15 mm
Voltages 1.8V / 1.1V / 1.1V 1.8V / 1.1V / 0.6V
Process Technology 21 nm
Availability Q4 2016 Q1 2017

The 8 GB LPDDR4-3733 package from SK Hynix features industry-standard LPDDR4 voltages, but neither the company’s website nor the product catalog reveals the expected power consumption. Since the company keeps using its 21 nm fabrication process for its 16 Gb LPDDR4 ICs, the DRAM devices will likely consume more power than their 12 Gb predecessors. Of course, SK Hynix may have refined the design of its LPDDR4 circuits to optimize their power consumption, which will be particularly important in mobile categories.

SK Hynix did not make any formal announcements covering the new 8 GB LPDDR4-3733 packages, which may be an indicator that it has not delivered any commercial batches of the product yet. Nonetheless, the addition of the 8 GB LPDDR4 stacks to the company’s product catalog means that they are production ready and it is reasonable to expect at least select devices to use them in 2017.

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