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MSI card-cooler 'inspired by weed'

The underwater variety, no less...

MSI engineers have found stimulation in the briny depths for its latest graphics card innovation: a cooling fan with vanes modeled on seaweed.

MSI's seaweed fan

MSI's seaweed fan close up

The Taiwanese company didn't say how it came up with the notion of basing its technology on underwater flora, but it did claim that the blade design makes for a more regular, streamlines airflow that results in higher air pressure.

The upshot: a frond-formed fan that is able to cool a throbbing GPU more efficiently than standard fans do, allowing it to spin more slowly and therefore more quietly.

MSI's seaweed fan

Those seaweed-shaped fan characteristics in full...

"The MSI thermal shielding extends the hood as close as possible to the bracket to decrease turbulence cause by the unnecessary blank zone," we're also told.

MSI's seaweed fan

With frond regards...

Hurrah!

Taiwanese cooling boffins, for this example of undersea arboreal inspiration, we salute you.

And the card itself? An Nvidia GeForce 9600 GSO running at 600MHz and attached to 384MB of 1.8GHz GDDR 3 memory. Two DVI ports and an HD TV output on the back, a DVI-HDMI adaptor in the box. Due to go on sale sometime very soon.

Latest Comments

Why not just buy a 9600 with no Fan...

... and bobs your uncle!

Considering this MSI card takes up 2 slots, you might as well go with the Gigabyte GV-NX96T1GHP - No fan and guarenteed zero noise! Put it in SLI no need to overclock and the results are shockingly good!

http://www.giga-byte.com/Products/VGA/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2804

Seaweed, whatever next!

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@Eddie

Shurly you don't mean "clear as mud", given the slant of the article !!

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@ Jonathon Edwards

I'll write it out 20x for homework... :)

In my defence though, physics A level was 26 years ago, so my memory is a little, erm, turbid...

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@Eddie

s/Reynaulds/Reynolds

My pleasure; don't mention it.

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Any kelp smokers here?

"can you smoke kelp?" .... Bounty • Wednesday 14th May 2008 17:31 GMT

The short answer is "Of course" but whether it does anything for you is as yet unknown?

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