Do you remember the days when video cards were only as large as your hand? I personally remember installing a TNT2 — and at the time, I thought that was big. Now you’ve got dual-GPU monsters like the just-leaked 5870 X2 coming out which, in addition to taking up two PCI-e slots and requiring a secondary power source, are nearly a full foot long. Not that you’d be buying one unless you’re rich as Croesus and have a case as long as the Nile, but no matter what you’d have to choose your motherboard carefully, since not everyone designed the layout planning on accommodating a damn sub sandwich.
On the plus side, you know this thing is going to be a killer card. With the 5870 already king of the hill, it’s sheer excess to put two of them together. That’s why I recommend getting the 5850 X2; with most of the horsepower of the 5870 and a significantly lower price, it’s both powerful and practical.
Interestingly, the cards shown off seem to be missing an HDMI out, which at first sounds like a bad idea, but actually makes sense: an card like this will be bought only by enthusiasts, who certainly will have a separate video card and sound system.
Damn, those are some big cards.
[via SlashGear]