Just look back to the ASUS ROG MARS, launched just under a year ago and marked by pulling two GeForce GTX 285s on to one PCB. Putting that extreme know-how into good use, the simply massive ROG ARES, released last week, purports to be the fastest graphics card in the world.
The two special-edition cards serve as a warm-up and prelude to the maddest project of the lot - putting two GeForce GTX 480 GPUs on to one PCB.
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Based on a stupefying-sized PCB and carrying what are rumoured to be two full-fat GeForce GTX 480 GPUs (GF100-375-A3) internally hooked-up via a high-speed NF200 bridging chip, the MARS II has the provenance to provide some electrifying numbers.
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Each GPU's six 64-bit memory controllers are serviced by, we imagine, double-density, double-width GDDR5 - that or a further 12 chips on the back. Three eight-pin PCIe connectors provide enough juice - to the tune of 450W-plus, it is reasonable to assume - and we're guessing that the sheer size of the proposed cooling would make the ARES' blush. Indeed, it wouldn't be surprising if this was a watercooling-only product.
Should this product come to bear before the next round of GPU updates, the MARS II would be the baddest - and undoubtedly most expensive - graphics card in the world.
