http://www.silentpcreview.com/news-2011-01-13.htm

News for 2011 Jan 13th (2011-01-13)

* Displayport adapters add new convenience and extend capabilities
* Arm continues to steal market share from x86 and PC sales growth will slow
* Tablets will change the computer industry
* Rising tablet usage could hurt DRAM consumption
* Bulldozer performance Rumor makes the rounds
* Triple slot factory installed coolers on video cards may be a new trend
* Video card pricing comparison for 2011 January

See URL above for more detail and links to articles

I just hope that AMD have put as much effort into making Bulldozer as efficient as it would appear to be fast..

Well if they truly do have a product that is 50% faster than their current 125W X6 Thuban (which drops from 3.3 to 2.9 at 95W) they won't have as much pressure to push the voltage to hit the highest clock speed and we could see more low TDP parts.

We know the old 6 core chip gets upstaged by a new 16 core MCM (different core designs so it depends on the workload how much faster the extra cores will make it) but they'll also make a 8 core chip which will replace the current X4 and X6 models.

If you trust the roadmap from last fall they'll still have 125W and 95W TDP but the 125W will be for 8 cores only. Some 8x will be 95W and all 6x and 4x Bulldozers will be 95W. If you believe the Wikipedia article Min Power Usage is 10 watts.

I'm also hoping that instead of selling lower binned TDP parts they'll just sell a 95W part and let you use a PowerTune like control to lower the power draw of the CPU just like they currently offer for their video cards.

See the Anandtech explanation and screenshots

-20% on a 95W TDP would be like having a 75W TDP for free which would be fine by me vs paying extra for a 65W TDP. Lets just hope they implement that and it isn't just on my wish list.

Booyah!
Now we'll still have to wait to see single threaded performance, per thread performance, etc. much less a closer to home source. Good time for a leak to take some steam out of Sandy Bridge.

What language is that? Turkish? (judging by TL currency) Whatever it is I don't see it in Babelfish

no thanks to triple slot cooler, GPU manufactures should look into making things smaller and more efficient rather then making a larger cooler to compensate with heat and noise.
GPU sizes are already getting out of hand, 2 slots and 10.5" should be the absolute maximum size for any GPU

How do you feel about the Accelero S1 + a 120mm fan that many here on SPCR use? If you slap a S1 + fan on a single slot card it becomes a 3 slot card (without the other 2 slot covers).

I don't mind a 3 slot intrusion with a 2 slot cover or 3 slot cover solution as long as it isn't bumping into the card in the 4th slot. It's when the 3 slot solution interferes with the backside of the 4th slot that I'd say they've gone to far.

The ASUS GTX 580 3 slot is pushing that. I'm not sure how much those fans could breath if I slap a card right next to them. If that card is fine being squeezed in next to another equally long card OK they get away with it but if that card overheats when you put a long card next to it they are cheating calling it a 3 slot design.

It'll be interesting to see the reviews on tech sites and the reviews on newegg/amazon from end users when this thing gets put to the test in poorly ventilated and/or crowded PCs.

Recap of the video card recommendations with a twist - I think it's silly to make recommendations $10 apart so I'm going to condense their recs to a smaller list.

With Fans and with a gamer attitude
----------
Best under $50 AMD 4650/4670 depending on where and when you buy it.
Best under $100 AMD 5670
Best under $150 AMD 5770
Best under $200 AMD 6850 or Nvidia GTX 460
Best under $300 AMD 6950
Best under $400 2x AMD 6850 or 2x Nvidia GTX 460
Best under $500 2x AMD 6870

Now with my personal opinion tossed in the mix from a SPCR attitude of noise we can't just name chips we have to be specific on the card to be sure you get a quiet or silent card.

Fanless or with almost silent fans and a gamer attitude
---------------------
Best under $50 none

Best under $100 PowerColor Go! Green 5570 GDDR3 or HIS Silence Radeon HD 5550 GDDR5 and either one will be slower than the $50 choice from the list above

Best under $150 GIGABYTE Silent Cell GV-R575SL-1GI Radeon HD 5750 (no Displayport)

Best under $175 PowerColor SCS3 5750 or MSI R5770 Hawk Radeon HD 5770. MSI Hawk 5770 is very quiet for a fanned card, PowerColor 5750 is fanless but not as fast at gaming. Most die hard SPCR types would choose the fanless option. Why pay more vs the Gigbyte silent cell 5750, at this price point you get Displayport.

Best under $200 GIGABYTE Silent Cell GV-R577SL-1GD Radeon HD 5770 or PowerColor Go! Green AX5750. The Go green uses less power and will fit in smaller cases but the Gigabyte is a faster gaming card. Both are silent.

Best under $300 None

Best under $400 None

So what if you want something faster than a 5770 that is silent. Either wait for a fanless 6xxx card or Buy a AMD 6850 and replace the stock heatsink with something that will turn the card into a 3 slot solution. No factory card fits the bill yet but new cards will come.

Note all this is written from a retail perspective. If you need a cheap silent card you might want to look at the Lab Samples Clearance. Last I checked there was a video card or two there.