ATI preps internal CrossFire connector

ATI's Radeon X1950 line-up is to be accompanied later this year by the X1650 mainstream graphics chip series, if the latest leaks coming out of Asia are to be believed. The GPU family is said to include the X1650 XT and X1650 Pro - the former uses a new, internal cable for CrossFire connections.

The Radeon X1650 line-up comprises the X1650 Pro and X1650 XT, according to Chinese-language site HKEPC. The write-up claims the two are based on the RV530/535 and RV560 cores, respectively. The X1650 XT has 24 pixel shaders, runs at 600MHz - the memory's clocked to 1.4GHz effective - and can do "full-speed HDR with AA".

The X1650 XT is essentially the replacement for the X1800 GTO. The X1650 Pro, on the other hand, succeeds the X1600 XT, which is based on the same GPU - it seems a rebranding exercise as much as a technology upgrade. Likewise, the upcoming X1300 XT is based on the same RV530/535 CPU is the current X1600 Pro, which it's said to be set to replace. The RV535 is said to be the 80nm die-shrink of the RV530. The RV560 is also an 80nm part.

Like the RV570-based Radeon X1950 Pro, the X1650 XT is due to ship in October, according to presentation slides published with the report. The RV570 is fabbed at 80nm too, we hear. ®