How long until we get tiny GPU coolers?

[iamdarkyoshi]

So just a bit of a thought. I am sitting here with a piddly 8400 GS graphics card on my desk, and the cooler is absolutely adorable.

 

 

And so I was wondering something. With GPUs getting so damn power/performance efficient, how long do you think it will be until we see everyday gaming machines with tiny GPU coolers? Just look at the GPUs we had at the beginning of 2015, and the ones we have now. With today's GPUs taking a pretty fast leap into absurd performance, how long until a GPU with a tiny-ass cooler is good enough for the average gamer?

[TheKDub]

High end cards - Never
Lower end cards - Pretty sure some already have tiny coolers.

They may be "getting more power efficient", but they're also shoving more shit into the cards, so they're using around the same amount of power and kicking out the same amount of heat, but are more powerful.

[thekeemo]

They would need to go back to 15w going to take a while..

[Octavialicious]

I don't see it happening, mostly because it's silly. An ITX GTX 970 will fit into almost anything that 8400 can fit in

[Atmos]

"power efficient" =/= Low Power

 

In the foreseeable future we will not see coolers like this save on very small, and underpowered hardware, just like an 8400gs.

[ThatOneRussian]

 the cooler is absolutely adorable.

 

 

that quote is epic

[iamdarkyoshi]

"power efficient" =/= Low Power

 

In the foreseeable future we will not see coolers like this save on very small, and underpowered hardware, just like an 8400gs.

I meant efficient in terms of computing power to power consumption. How long until a GPU taking about the same amount of power as this one has enough computing power for an average gamer?

[Atmos]

I meant efficient in terms of computing power to power consumption. How long until a GPU taking about the same amount of power as this one has enough computing power for an average gamer?

 

The same statement stands.

 

As we get more and more advanced, there gets a point where even nvidia stops going for power consumption, and has to focus on performance instead.

There's no reason to have a greatly underpowered peice of hardware, just to let it have a tiny cooler, when a normal cooler means it can be far, far more powerful.

 

Pretty much, no time in the foreseeable future will we see this, and if or when we do, we'd consider hardware running off a cooler of that size to be about as powerful as that 8400gs is today.

[hypnodog]

I meant efficient in terms of computing power to power consumption. How long until a GPU taking about the same amount of power as this one has enough computing power for an average gamer?

Well, the 750 Ti already has coolers around that size, so if the 950 was more LP oriented it could possibly have that cooler lol

okay maybe the 940 or 930 instead lol