Asus Mars II - DUAL GTX480 GPU - Leaked Pictures!
Mars II Sneak Peak!
Published: 16th July 2010 | Source: Asus | Price: TBC |
Mars II - The Worlds Fastest Graphics Card in the making?
Very recently, we were privileged enough to get our grubby hands on the monstrous Asus Aries dual HD 5870 graphics card. The performance was astonishing and the craftsmanship was sublime. While the pricing was just as insane, we still commend Asus for their efforts. These extreme graphics cards are akin to the mouth watering concept cars at motor shows that never make it to production. The only exception is that Asus decided to offer a limited production run of their concept for those who will only accept the best... But what if even Aries isn't enough?
Yes, it is a rather chilling thought that a 2 x 1600 stream processor product with ramped up frequencies is inadequate for anyone, but we have recently learned that Asus are at it again. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the MARS II.
...and this is it. Now obviously it doesn't take a genius to realise that this is a Dual GTX 480 graphics card. Sitting proudly on this enormous PCB are two GF100 cores and two dedicated banks of memory. It is not known if there are more memory ICs on the back of the graphics card but we could expect well over 3GB of on board memory!
We all know that the GTX 480 has incredible power demands, noted by the fact that it can consume as much as 30W more than the dual GPU HD 5970. As such, it comes to no surprise that nearly 50% of the PCB is populated by two sets of VRM sections. The Mars II's power demands are also more than obvious by the implementation of three 8pin PCI-E ports.
Like the Aries Graphics Card, the Mars II is also taller than the average GTX 480. Also if you are bonkers enough, it is also possible to pair two Mars II graphics cards thanks to the implementation of a SLI connector.
As unorthodox as this graphics card may seem, it is a truly impressive piece of engineering. While the original Mars and the ATi based Aries had dual GPU siblings in one way or the other, no Dual GTX 480 product exists at present. To see such a complex graphics card fused into a single PCB SLI solution is truly astonishing. With this in mind we are eager to see how well it performs, but also how Asus plan on cooling it!
Discuss the loonacy in our forums.
Most Recent Comments
ROFL... No way.. Just... NO FRICKING WAY.
Feelin' hot hot hot.
Feelin' hot hot hot. O.K now I have picked myself up from the floor and stopped laughing..
I can see 6 memory chips in and around the GPU. Doing some quick maths then..
256mbx6 = 1536mb per card.
512mbx6 = 3072mb per card.
LOL it can't be the latter, surely? I can't see how they could get 384mb chunks of ram?
I can see 6 memory chips in and around the GPU. Doing some quick maths then..
256mbx6 = 1536mb per card.
512mbx6 = 3072mb per card.
LOL it can't be the latter, surely? I can't see how they could get 384mb chunks of ram?
thats just epic
Ares had ram on the back of the board too....
Aye good shout Tom. I just wish I actually had the cash one day to get a MARS/ARES type card. To own a piece of hardware history would be awesome. I shudder to think what Asus will have to do to tame the thermal output of this. A custom watercooling solution perhaps? Seems a plausable option to me. Let the drooling commence.
Ah OK Tom I see...
Could well be sat in a billet sandwich
Could well be sat in a billet sandwich
epicness i didnt think this would come around for a long time till they sorted the heat problems out but damn asus just hit one outta the park i can deinately see this card being a fully thick triple slot card to cool those mofo's down
Anyone want to buy my two 480, now that does it I’m committing suicide tonight
lol i wouldnt start so fast mate if this is anything to go by its gonna outprice the ares easily i think
Course it will. Mind you they could skimp on the case and all that but I doubt it
Also.. I wouldn't be so fast either...
I would lay a serious bet that Nvidia will soon pump out something based on strapped 460s. The temps are right and the price would be oooh so right.
I would lay a serious bet that Nvidia will soon pump out something based on strapped 460s. The temps are right and the price would be oooh so right.
you and your double posting mate 
edit button will help 
edit button will help Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='thestepster'
lol i wouldnt start so fast mate if this is anything to go by its gonna outprice the ares easily i think
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yeah mate ur talkin easily £1200+ and u prob spent £700-800 on both yours so its already a win 
I wonder if I could convince the missus it's worth the money if I also use it to provide unlimited hot water for her bath?
;D
;D
asus is trying to make an all in one game and breakfast cooker. getting some heating coils and attach to this card and get ready to cook your breakfast while you play crysis at max LOL
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Originally Posted by name='WanderingPanther'
I wonder if I could convince the missus it's worth the money if I also use it to provide unlimited hot water for her bath?
;D |
now thats bad ass stuff! rig it to your cold water feed ha ha ha ha
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Originally Posted by name='thestepster'
yeah mate ur talkin easily £1200+ and u prob spent £700-800 on both yours so its already a win
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they will more than likely make these ones triple slots with massive super awsome asus heatsinks
And of course there is the problem of heat. If you haven't already take a look at the original MARS. Total epic failorz.
Looked nice, sounded great on paper.. Choked better than a perverted porn star.
The ARES was always going to be teh win because it was running far cooler components. The MARS 2 will suffer all of the same problems of the MARS IMO because the cooler just can not be big enough. It's hard enough keeping a single 480 on a leash, WTF is going to happen with two within 6 inches of eachother?
I really look forward to relishing the review though. We should give it to some one who needs to lose some weight, because running that thing would drop off water weight like sitting in a sauna
Looked nice, sounded great on paper.. Choked better than a perverted porn star.
The ARES was always going to be teh win because it was running far cooler components. The MARS 2 will suffer all of the same problems of the MARS IMO because the cooler just can not be big enough. It's hard enough keeping a single 480 on a leash, WTF is going to happen with two within 6 inches of eachother?
I really look forward to relishing the review though. We should give it to some one who needs to lose some weight, because running that thing would drop off water weight like sitting in a sauna
Choked better than a perverted porn star- dude where on earth do you get these fraises from
google ha ha ha ha
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Originally Posted by name='thestepster'
they will more than likely make these ones triple slots with massive super awsome asus heatsinks
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but thats a budget company mate they aint nothing like asus not to mention this cards going to be a 'special'
i dont think they are gonna be tamed completely not even close but i think asus can kinda reign them into some kinda 'acceptable' level
i dont think they are gonna be tamed completely not even close but i think asus can kinda reign them into some kinda 'acceptable' level
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Originally Posted by name='thestepster'
but thats a budget company mate they aint nothing like asus not to mention this cards going to be a 'special'
i dont think they are gonna be tamed completely not even close but i think asus can kinda reign them into some kinda 'acceptable' level |
was that not gtx280's? i think im gonna give them the benefit after they seen the flaws with the first mars and the bad ass job they done with the ares (i know its a cooler card and all but the performance levels of it were crazy)
A builder is only as good as the tools he holds in his hands.
A builder is only as good as the tools he holds in his hands. Is that from Google too?
Yes it's all from google. You see, cyborgs intercepted my brain.
if u lyk i kan tipe lk ths?
if u lyk i kan tipe lk ths?
Thank god there was no porn in it this time
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Originally Posted by name='silenthill'
A builder is only as good as the tools he holds in his hands. Is that from Google too?
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The thought I had earlier was why bother with an air cooler? Anyone who can afford one can afford water, many will already have it, and for what looks like to be a very special card, some will even design a rig around it. May as well ship them with a waterblock.
I also thought, why not team up with CoolIT and have an integrated solution? Not as neat if you have WC already, but pretty cool (hopefully!).
I also thought, why not team up with CoolIT and have an integrated solution? Not as neat if you have WC already, but pretty cool (hopefully!).
many cards out there actually ever ship like that? im only aware of the hydro copper gtx280's
Quite a few if memory serves but they usually have a £60 premium above buying a card and fitting your own block.
i seen 2 of them going for £140 each locally
What 280s? They're old hat now.
You can get 5870s, 5970s and so on. All pre modded with a block on. But as I say, if you take the cost of the card, add a waterblock and compare the prices you are literally paying £60 over the price of both the card and waterblock for the company to fit it for you.
You can get 5870s, 5970s and so on. All pre modded with a block on. But as I say, if you take the cost of the card, add a waterblock and compare the prices you are literally paying £60 over the price of both the card and waterblock for the company to fit it for you.
but mate if it doesnt fold its of no interest to me 
but they might be old but they still fold pretty good 7500ppd, see youe 3870x2? that will do only 2k my 8800gt's do two and a half times that
but they might be old but they still fold pretty good 7500ppd, see youe 3870x2? that will do only 2k my 8800gt's do two and a half times that
what's all this talk about folding can someone please explain to me, I feel like someone from another planet and why can't ATI card fold, oh I got a bad headache this morning, it's that mars 2, I couldn't stop thinking about it all night
Im prettu sure you would need a seriously beefy PSU and a case with good cooling to own one of those along with winning the lottery.
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Originally Posted by name='steve30x'
Im prettu sure you would need a seriously beefy PSU and a case with good cooling to own one of those along with winning the lottery.
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Originally Posted by name='thestepster'
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='silenthill'
I’m thinking of working overtime for the next few months or maybe selling the house furniture and even the dog and even that wouldn’t cover the bill, It’s just crazy the price of the MARS II IS going to be a world record.
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http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/3GB-N...5MHz-448-Cores
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Originally Posted by name='silenthill'
Ok I’m at work and I installed the folding software on my work pc hope this doesn’t make it slow
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='thestepster'
what spec is the pc mate?
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Originally Posted by name='AlienALX'
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All that is is a 480 with everything unlocked. I see what you're saying though, but if one was to be really pedantic I could point you to a listing where a Voodoo 6000 (one of about two) sold on Ebay recently for $1800
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Originally Posted by name='silenthill'
It’s a amd 940 3GHz with a gtx 250
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You’ve got to be joking those cards are ancient history now
I think it is a 512MB XFX GTS 250 Green
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='silenthill'
I think it is a 512MB XFX GTS 250 Green
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I actually thought about this last night. I dread to think what these cards are costing to produce.
Doing some maths I came up with the following regarding the Ares. The retail price is £1199. There were a thousand made. So that means a final selling price of £1199000.
I've been out of retail for a long time now but I do remember that the profit margins weren't very big selling PC hardware. So let's say OCUK are making a couple of hundred quid out of each unit, that leaves Asus with around £999 ish per unit. Reculating that to the thousand produced gives you nine hundred and ninety nine thousand pounds. Pretty much a million quid.
What I don't know of course is how much the cards cost to make. I have a rough idea of component costs of the main GPU and ramdacs as it's quite easy to work out, but the only black hole is how much Asus paid to have the custom PC and cooler designed. I bet it was a pretty bloody penny though ! Good R&D doesn't come cheap, that much I know from working in R&D for a speaker company. Once the R&D was done though component costs could be driven to almost nothing but the costs of R&D took years to recover and profit from.
I also know that any kind of billet CNC doesn't come cheap, and I would imagine copper machining costs even more. And of course the cooler and PCB are the parts on this that Asus will have to live and die by. The rest has all been taken care of by Nvidia (or in the case of the Ares ATI).
Sorry if that's boring.. I just find it intriguing.
Doing some maths I came up with the following regarding the Ares. The retail price is £1199. There were a thousand made. So that means a final selling price of £1199000.
I've been out of retail for a long time now but I do remember that the profit margins weren't very big selling PC hardware. So let's say OCUK are making a couple of hundred quid out of each unit, that leaves Asus with around £999 ish per unit. Reculating that to the thousand produced gives you nine hundred and ninety nine thousand pounds. Pretty much a million quid.
What I don't know of course is how much the cards cost to make. I have a rough idea of component costs of the main GPU and ramdacs as it's quite easy to work out, but the only black hole is how much Asus paid to have the custom PC and cooler designed. I bet it was a pretty bloody penny though ! Good R&D doesn't come cheap, that much I know from working in R&D for a speaker company. Once the R&D was done though component costs could be driven to almost nothing but the costs of R&D took years to recover and profit from.
I also know that any kind of billet CNC doesn't come cheap, and I would imagine copper machining costs even more. And of course the cooler and PCB are the parts on this that Asus will have to live and die by. The rest has all been taken care of by Nvidia (or in the case of the Ares ATI).
Sorry if that's boring.. I just find it intriguing.
You forgot the VAT which is 17.5% so 1199000X0.175= 209825£ pure profit that goes to the government so they can give it to the poor bankers in time of need
Dude, please please please don't get me started on banks....
The Tories are going to put the VAT up to 20% by the end of this year so you can expect higher retail prices not that it will make any difference to us in Wales because everything is in a mess already
Yeah I'm aware of that. Only thing it will really screw me on is the cost of groceries tbh. I don't buy an awful lot and when I do I can seldom afford to buy new items any way so just scour Ebay
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