The next generation Xbox console, rumored to be named Xbox 720, will be sporting a GPU based on the Radeon 6000 series, according to a rumor from IGN. The Radeon 6000 series was launched last year, and the Xbox 720 version will reportedly be close to the Radeon HD 6670 — a mid-range GPU. Despite being a mid-range GPU in 2011, it’s still said to be 6 times more powerful than the current Xbox 360 ATI GPU. Mass production of the chip is said to start in late 2012, which could mean a new console launch at the very end of 2012 or the beginning of 2013. Compared to the Wii U, another new console that’s launching this year, the Xbox 720 GPU will be around 20% more powerful.
AMD has revealed its new flagship graphics card, the new, dual GPU Radeon HD 6990. The card sports two power-optimized HD 6970 GPUs, with a total of 4 GB of memory, and over 3,000 shaders, making it the most powerful graphics card you can find on the market today. Power wise, you better have a good power supply, because this card requires a massive 300 W of power when under load. AMD hasn’t revealed a price, but don’t expect this card to retail under $500.
AMD is set to reveal its new graphics card line up, the Radeon 6000 series very soon, and recent performance previews suggest it’s set to take the lead as the most powerful GPUs on the market. Now the tech guys from Chiphell.com managed to get a pic of the new cards, a first. AMD is expected to make an announcement in the upcoming weeks.
AMD has launched the first sub-$100 graphics cars which supports DirectX 11. The AMD Radeon HD 5670 is more than three times smaller in chip-size than the flagship DX11 card from AMD, and supports Direct Compute 5.0, Eyefinity multi-monitor gaming, among other things.
E3 is not the only trade show that’s going on these days. In Taiwan, the Computex 09 show is also well under way, and one of the big events was AMD showcasing world’s first DirectX 11 graphics chip. Windows 7 will bring along DX11 when released later this year, and AMD will have a graphics card ready. One of the key benefits of DX11 is GPGPU and better support for multicore processors. Arch rival Nvidia is also expected to have a DX11 card ready for Windows 7 launch.
AMD’s flagship graphics card, the Radeon 4890, has become the first graphics card to be factory clocked at 1 GHz. Overclockers have had 1 GHz+ cards for years, but this is the first time in history that a factory clocked card came with a standard 1000 MHz clock, which of course, means that it’s covered by the warranty — something which user-overclocked cards are not.
The card, made by Sapphire, also features a 1100 MHz GDDR5 memory clock and a new cooling system to deal with all the heat a 1GHz CPU generates. No information on pricing/availability was released, but you can expect to pay a premium for the bragging rights.
There is a new game console set to hit the market and it goes by the name of EVO Smart Console. The EVO Smart Console will be powered by an AMD Athlon 2.4GHz processor, and will be accompanied by a Fedora-based Linux distro. The open-source console will give you game play, Internet access, VoIP communications and HD video playback all in one box.
It should work with Envizions “cloud” computing service, where users can pick up Amiga-based games and a video on demand service where you can choose from over 10,000 titles. The beta shipment for developers will begins next week with approximately 100 units. More systems will be released later.
Specs:
- AMD Athlon 64×2 5600 2.4GHz processor
- ATI HD 3200 graphics processor
- 2GB DDR2 RAM
- Supports H.264 VC1
- MPEG2 video codecs
- DVI and HDMI connectivity
- 120GB hard drive
- CD/DVD ROM
- Integrated biometric scanner
You can pre-order the EVO Smart console for $380.
(Source) Linuxdevices via Slippery Brick
With the economy worsening, computer hardware manufacturer AMD has disclosed that it will cut 1100 jobs and temporarily reduce pay for all remaining employees.
The cuts affect 9% of AMDs 12,000 employees. Of the 1100 positions, 900 will lose their jobs, with the other 300 stemming from attrition and the sale of one of its business units.
Theres more bad news: those who stay will get their salary reduced, too. This will depend on the role of the employee, with CEO and executive chairman seeing salaries cut by 20%, vice presidents and other top management will lose 15%, regular staffers 10% and hourly workers 5% less. AMD has also indefinitely suspended 401(k) matching.
AMD has announced its brand new graphics platform for notebooks, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series. Since I currently have an HD 3000 series which has been working more than fine so far, I’d be quite interested in what the HD 4000 will bring to PC gaming, and particularly to notebook gaming.
The new graphics platform should be twice as fast and it should support GDDR5 RAM and Microsoft DirectX 10.1. An HD 4000 card will encode and decode HD video and it will get that DVD content to 1080p resolution without involving the CPU. Hi-definition audio via HDMI with 7.1 digital surround sound and DisplayPort Audio are other features of the HD 4000. These are going to be the first mobile graphics platform to offer such services.
The new graphics cars are to be expected in Q1 of 2009. You will be able to choose from ATI CrossFireX-capable HD 4800, the HD 4600, the HD 4500 and 4300. The first one will combine two GPUs while the second one is optimized for performance and energy efficiency. The last two will prioritize battery life but they will still get the job done. Expect Asus and MSI laptops to carry the new ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4000, but soon others will follow.
Graphics and CPU maker AMD is planning a big supercomputer for cloud rendering. The supercomputer, titled Fusion Render Cloud, will consist of at least 1,000 Radeon HD 4870 graphics cards.
AMD claims that the supercomputer cloud deliver games and other 3D intensive applications to computers and even mobile phones, where the games will be rendered in the cloud, as opposed to rendering them on the phones, which are usually weak for the complex animations and renders. In addition, AMD claims that even movie CGI rendering will be possible on the new system.
More information can be found here.
