Latest from Asus: Race-car inspired graphics cards?

Just when you thought you have seen the last tacky CPU cooler or graphics card, along comes Asus with a zany range of graphics cards that bear a cooler shaped like… a Formula One car.

Its new Formula series graphics cards, featuring ATI’s HD4890 and HD4770 graphics chips, will come with a cooler that is not just shaped like a Formula One car, but actually claims the benefits of aerodynamics.

This, says the Taiwanese electronics maker, offers 7 per cent better airflow for superior cooling. On the cooler is what it calls a Micro Surface Treatment Technology that is said to improve heat dissipation by up to 14 per cent.

Not just that, the airflow mechanism is claimed to be dust-proof, thus extending the Formula graphic cards’ lifespan by 25 per cent over cards with traditional cooling. And among the other figures trotted out: 33 per cent better heat dissipation and 30 per cent quieter operations.

We leave it to you to tell us if Asus lives up to its claim. The heat pipes at the side do look good at dissipating heat, though we are not sure if there’s a need for aerodynamic qualities… your graphics card isn’t moving any where fast in your PC, is it?