AMD Southern Islands (Tahiti / HD 7900) Pictured

A mysterious picture has been posted by a member of Beyond3D forums, capturing two next-gen AMD graphics cards in Crossfire. These new graphics cards are certainly enthusiast (and power hungry) products of the upcoming Southern Islands family, most likely to be Tahiti XT - expected to be branded Radeon HD 7970.

The first visual observation is that these cards are hefty and approximately 10 inches long - or around the same length as HD 6970. They contain 12 memory chips (as demarkated on the picture - the 12th being at the edge of the PCI-e connector), which suggests a memory interface of 384-bit - a novelty for AMD/ATI GPUs. There seems to be a provision for 2x8-pin PCI-e power connectors on the PCB - or upto 375W power. However, both cards are powered by the SIG approved 6-pin + 8-pin configuration, powering upto 300W. The two cards are powered by a 850W power supply. This is no doubt a power hungry card, and all this power seems to be fed through a mammoth 20 phase VRM. 

The first Southern Islands / AMD Radeon HD 7000 series 28nm GPUs are set to release in January 2012, most likely around CES 2012 time. Whether it will be the above pictured enthusiast Tahiti / HD 7900 or the performance Pitcairn / HD 7800, as previously rumoured, remains to be seen.