Colorful Designs Single-Slot ''Ultra Slim'' GeForce GTS 450 Graphics Card

[btarunr]

Colorful, the brains behind the iGame series of fully-loaded performance-thru-mainstream graphics cards is continuing to let its creativity fly. This time around, the company is working on a new GeForce GTS 450 graphics card that's "slim" in more ways than one. To begin with, the card will feature a single-slot cooling solution, next, the designers completely did away with "big" and redundant components on the PCB, and replaced them with higher-grade yet compact and less in number components. For example, while most other graphics card vendors fill up the 128-bit wide GDDR5 memory bus of the GeForce GTS 450 with eight 1 Gbit (128 MB) chips, with two chips sharing a 32-bit wide path, Colorful used just four higher-density memory chips. That's four 2 Gbit (256 MB) memory chips made by Hynix to achieve the same capacity, reducing board footprint, and possibly heat and energy draw.

All cylindrical capacitors are replaced by server-grade flatbed high-C POSCAP capacitors. The card uses a simple 3+1 phase VRM, driven by an ON-Semi made controller. The chokes used don't exactly sit on the PCB, rather, they're suspended in openings of the PCB, by their leads, this improves ventilation around the chokes, and reduces the size of the chokes on the obverse side, reducing the obstruction caused to the cooler. The PCB itself is well "ventilated". All free-space on the PCB is used to carve out vents for the cooler to draw in air from. Colorful did not mention when tentatively it plans to release this product.

[xrealm20]

wow - looks quite well designed. Wonder what the cooler will look like =)

[cadaveca]

Wow. Now there's some innovation. I love the air-suspension components. Novel idea, that one.

[Arrakis+9]

there also appears to be voltage measuring points above the pcie power connection... hmm..

[1c3d0g]

This is what more companies should aim for, innovation! I would love to buy this particular graphics card, it would suit my poorly OEM ventilated case quite well.

[(FIH) The Don]

Originally Posted by Arrakis+9

there also appears to be voltage measuring points above the pcie power connection... hmm..

maybe its for their own testing equipment

i doubt it will be good at overclocking with 1slot cooler

[TheLostSwede]

Am I the only one that noticed the sloppy soldering?
Besides, it's a GTS 450, who cares? Do this on a decent card and it might make a difference.

[Namslas90]

Originally Posted by TheLostSwede

Am I the only one that noticed the sloppy soldering?
Also, a thin PCB isn't a good thing, as if it gets hot, it'll warp easier...

See the label in third pic. That card was hand-made, no solder bath. It is real sloppy though and I would have expected better, especially if they were releasing photos of it to the press.

Nice Idea though, just what I need for a mini media rig.

[Jizzler]

Nice. Into the Folding box you go!

[TheMailMan78]

Looks fragile. But I like it.

[_JP_]

Originally Posted by TheLostSwede

Am I the only one that noticed the sloppy soldering?
Besides, it's a GTS 450, who cares? Do this on a decent card and it might make a difference.

It's a prototype, so it wasn't gone trough a solder bath, and it's good that they're trying these new ideas on a GTS 450. I like that approach, it means that if this works, they might try it on more powerful cards (e.g. GTX 460).

[Mussels]

i like the ideas behind this, good to see some TRUE innovation, as opposed to just slapping on a new sticker, 10Mhz overclock and claimings its the new bestest thing ever.

[Apocalypsee]

Wow they really did do something where no company ever did before. I'd imagine the cooler also would, instead of blowing directly to the backplate where the DVI/HDMI/VGA port is, is pushing air through the PCB and to the back of the card as well by having matching holes on the heatsink

Maybe some of you don't notice, the back of the card is just as important to cool as the front of the card. This vented PCB might be an answer to it

[KainXS]

it couldve been another 8800GT if nvidia marketed it right

I would buy a single slot one if nvidia backed it lol

colorful really stepped up though, they usually don't do quality like that

[micropage7]

i feel kinda skeptic bout the design, especially what they say ventilating holes, it makes the card pcb fragile and pcb wont dissipate heat fast so its not the effective way to gain lower temp next the card itself, its 450 that produces lower heat so it will be ok if they put the normal hsf + heat pipe

[tkpenalty]

Originally Posted by micropage7

i feel kinda skeptic bout the design, especially what they say ventilating holes, it makes the card pcb fragile and pcb wont dissipate heat fast so its not the effective way to gain lower temp next the card itself, its 450 that produces lower heat so it will be ok if they put the normal hsf + heat pipe

PCBs are very strong; a few holes like that wouldn't weaken the card too much.

This is something truely impressive. Instead of just trying to slap on bigger coolers they're acutally doing something that would differentiate this 450 from other 450s..

It'd be a lot better if they were just holes though. The structural integrity part could be dealt with easily by the means of a strengthening plate, though that would understandably increase the cost of the card. But yeah. Its nice to see a GPU manufacturer realise that heat rises.

[WhiteLotus]

hurray for single slot coolers!

[bear jesus]

It really looks like Colorful is the company to watch as far as new products go, out of all the company's that are producing custom cards colorful has been the only one producing card that are really that different from the standard better cooler/minor overclocks.

Although i damn them as i keep wanting to type colourful not colorful.... or should i damn myself for being a brit

[OneMoar]

meh I can just see it when those chokes start to heat up and the solder weakens ....

[bear jesus]

Originally Posted by OneMoar

meh I can just see it when those chokes start to heat up and the solder weakens ....

how hot do you expect them to get? it's only a 450.

[a_ump]

I agree 100% with all us saying its inventive and innovative. Also they say the holes are to help the heatsink get some air, but won't the draft of wind through the holes help cool the pcb around the holes, helping further cool components near it. Like that's what's pretty sweet bout it, a few holes and they'll get better cooling performance with the same tech we've had for a while, n it'll be free pretty much. Surprised this was never done before.

[pantherx12]

Originally Posted by OneMoar

meh I can just see it when those chokes start to heat up and the solder weakens ....

I've never had a choke be warm, let alone hot. even with obscene over-clocks.
( I don't think you've had hot chokes either, typically they are not a cooled component see this board for example http://www.techpowerup.com/img/08-09-18/02.jpg mosfets have heat-sinks, chokes don't ( the heat-sinks are just above them)

Aside from that, common solder melts at about 190 c, if anything on the card got that hot who would care about chokes, your card is probably going to burst into flames

[Reisigwurzler]

*edit
Are those grey R30 Ferrite mounted in PCB holes - flying - only held by the solder points?
I don't know any R30 which have less then 5 mm height so I' m only more interested in the cooling solution ^^
/edit

Nice Design, I wonder what they will do to the cooling system?

My single slot try for a little gaming/TV box was a GTS450 with "old Single Slot Card cooling system from 9000er series + friction saw + thermal compounds(for the RAM)".
It's working, but not that cool that I want it

[Assimilator]

This is awesome - would love to see the same design approach applied to a 460!