GDDR5 | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 28 Jan 2021 10:06:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png GDDR5 | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Graphics cards prices may increase once again in February https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/joao-silva/graphics-cards-prices-may-increase-once-again-in-february/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/joao-silva/graphics-cards-prices-may-increase-once-again-in-february/#respond Thu, 28 Jan 2021 09:55:34 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=502667 Getting the latest graphics card from Nvidia and AMD at MSRP might get more difficult soon. According to a new rumour, the pricing of GDDR5 and GDDR6 memory will increase, affecting the retail price of most graphics cards starting next month. New generation graphics cards have faced tough times since launch. Not only is the …

The post Graphics cards prices may increase once again in February first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Getting the latest graphics card from Nvidia and AMD at MSRP might get more difficult soon. According to a new rumour, the pricing of GDDR5 and GDDR6 memory will increase, affecting the retail price of most graphics cards starting next month.

New generation graphics cards have faced tough times since launch. Not only is the cost of components and import tariffs causing prices to rise, but scalpers and a renewed interest in cryptocurrency mining have made the supply and demand issue for gaming graphics cards worse.

With some graphics cards being sold around 25% over MSRP, it seems that things may get even worse. As per mydrivers report, the price of GDDR5 and GDDR6 memory is also set to increase. This is said to impact GPU pricing from mid-February onwards, when manufacturing kicks off again following the Chinese New Year.

Exactly how much impact this will have is unknown currently, but it will affect the RTX 30 and RX 6000 series graphics cards. The cost of laptop GPUs for OEMs may also increase due to this.

KitGuru says: How do you feel about the pricing situation for new graphics cards? 

The post Graphics cards prices may increase once again in February first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/joao-silva/graphics-cards-prices-may-increase-once-again-in-february/feed/ 0
Nvidia could debut Pascal ‘GTX 1080’ in May https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/nvidia-could-debut-pascal-gtx-1080-in-may/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/nvidia-could-debut-pascal-gtx-1080-in-may/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2016 17:31:54 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=286756 Nvidia is gearing up to launch its new Pascal GPU architecture this year. While early rumours pointed towards a Q1 2016 release it is clear that the timeline has shifted a bit. The latest unofficial word on the street is that Nvidia may launch the GTX 1080 in May, with the card prepped to use …

The post Nvidia could debut Pascal ‘GTX 1080’ in May first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Nvidia is gearing up to launch its new Pascal GPU architecture this year. While early rumours pointed towards a Q1 2016 release it is clear that the timeline has shifted a bit. The latest unofficial word on the street is that Nvidia may launch the GTX 1080 in May, with the card prepped to use a fully enabled GP104 GPU core and 8GB of VRAM.

This news comes from Chinese site, Benchlife, so we don't know how valid it really is. However, according to the report, Nvidia's GTX 1080 could arrive in May, following a presentation of Pascal graphics cards at the Game Technology Conference this year. Nvidia may also launch a GTX 1070 in that same time frame.

NVIDIA-14nm-GPUs

Pascal will be based on the 16nm FinFET process and the new GP104 core may offer up to double the performance per watt and use a single 8-pin power connector. If this rumour is to be believed, though, then the GTX 1080 won't arrive with HBM and will instead use 8GB of GDDR5 VRAM. HBM 2 will likely feature on the flagship GP100 GPU-based card, like an 80Ti or Titan series product.

While we are currently going on the assumption that Nvidia's next card will be called the GTX 1080, the naming scheme is not confirmed. It is possible that Nvidia will switch its product naming up this year with the launch of Pascal.

KitGuru Says: Nvidia has been pretty quiet recently but hopefully we will hear something official on the launch of Pascal graphics cards soon. If the supposed GTX 1080 is coming in May, then it won't be long before we hear something more concrete. That said, this is all rumour for now so don't get your hopes up just yet. 

The post Nvidia could debut Pascal ‘GTX 1080’ in May first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/nvidia-could-debut-pascal-gtx-1080-in-may/feed/ 50
AMD unveils embedded ‘Tonga XT’ GPU with 2048 stream processors, 256-bit memory bus https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-unveils-embedded-tonga-xt-graphics-chip-with-2048-stream-processors-256-bit-memory-bus/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-unveils-embedded-tonga-xt-graphics-chip-with-2048-stream-processors-256-bit-memory-bus/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2015 21:10:30 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=269973 Advanced Micro Devices on Tuesday introduced its new lineup of embedded graphics processing units designed for various special-purpose and professional applications. Among the new embedded graphics solutions that AMD introduced, there is AMD Embedded Radeon E8950 MXM module, which is based on the highly-anticipated “Tonga XT” silicon with all stream processors activated. The AMD Embedded …

The post AMD unveils embedded ‘Tonga XT’ GPU with 2048 stream processors, 256-bit memory bus first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Advanced Micro Devices on Tuesday introduced its new lineup of embedded graphics processing units designed for various special-purpose and professional applications. Among the new embedded graphics solutions that AMD introduced, there is AMD Embedded Radeon E8950 MXM module, which is based on the highly-anticipated “Tonga XT” silicon with all stream processors activated.

The AMD Embedded Radeon E8950 MXM module features 2048 stream processors, 128 texture units, 32 raster operations pipelines and 256-bit memory controller. The chip is based on the GCN 1.2 architecture, it fully supports decoding/encoding of ultra-high-definition videos using H.265 and H.264 codecs. The GPU is compatible with DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5, OpenCL, Mantle and Vulkan application programming interfaces. The small form-factor solution carries 8GB of GDDR5 memory and can drive up to six displays.

amd_embedded_radeon_e8950_1

The AMD Embedded Radeon E8950 is the company’s most powerful and feature-rich embedded graphics solution designed for high-end casino and arcade gaming machines, medical imaging devices and military/aerospace applications. The product has maximum single precision compute performance of around 3TFLOPS.

“The demand for rich, vibrant graphics in embedded systems is greater than ever before, and that demand is growing,” said Scott Aylor, corporate vice president and general manager of AMD Embedded Solutions. “Our latest additions to the embedded product lineup help designers build mesmerizing user experiences with 4K multi-screen installations and 3-D and interactive displays. In addition, the powerful capabilities of our GPUs can address the toughest parallel compute challenges.”

amd_embedded_radeon_e8950

In addition to the high-performance Radeon R8950, AMD also introduced slightly less powerful solutions, including the Radeon R8870MXM and the Radeon E8870PCIe with up to 768 stream processors as well as the Radeon E6465MCM, the E6465MXM and the E6465PCIe with up to 128 stream processors.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: If AMD now offers “Tonga XT” for embedded systems, it is only a matter of time before the company rolls-out its Radeon R9 380X based on the same chip.

The post AMD unveils embedded ‘Tonga XT’ GPU with 2048 stream processors, 256-bit memory bus first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-unveils-embedded-tonga-xt-graphics-chip-with-2048-stream-processors-256-bit-memory-bus/feed/ 2
AMD Radeon R9 380X with ‘Tonga XT’ to hit the market in late October https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-radeon-r9-380x-with-tonga-xt-gpu-to-hit-the-market-in-late-october/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-radeon-r9-380x-with-tonga-xt-gpu-to-hit-the-market-in-late-october/#comments Thu, 17 Sep 2015 21:05:07 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=268228 Advanced Micro Devices and its partners are gearing up to release the Radeon R9 380X graphics card featuring the code-named “Tonga XT” graphics processing unit. The product is expected to hit the market next month and will become a good addition to the company’s lineup for the holiday season. Manufacturers of graphics cards already have …

The post AMD Radeon R9 380X with ‘Tonga XT’ to hit the market in late October first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Advanced Micro Devices and its partners are gearing up to release the Radeon R9 380X graphics card featuring the code-named “Tonga XT” graphics processing unit. The product is expected to hit the market next month and will become a good addition to the company’s lineup for the holiday season.

Manufacturers of graphics cards already have samples of the fully-fledged “Tonga” graphics chip with 2048 stream processors, 128 texture units and 32 raster operations pipelines. AMD is expected to start shipping commercial versions of the “Tonga XT” GPUs shortly and makers of add-in-boards should be able to start selling their Radeon R9 380X products sometimes in late October, reports Fudzilla.

The AMD Radeon R9 380X graphics adapters will carry 4GB of GDDR5 memory, which indicates a 256-bit memory bus, not a 384-bit memory interface, as expected by several unofficial sources. Usage of 256-bit memory interface should simplify printed-circuit boards of the graphics cards and make them cheaper. As a result, makers of add-in-boards will be more flexible in terms of final pricing.

amd_radeon_r9_280

Performance of AMD Radeon R9 380X in actual games should be higher than that of the Radeon R9 280X (aka Radeon HD 7970) despite of wider memory interface supported by the latter thanks to improvements on the micro-architectural level (such as better support for async shaders, improved performance of tessellation/gemetry and so on) and new techniques that improve effective memory bandwidth (e.g., delta colour compression).

AMD did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The Radeon R9 380X looks rather good on paper. However, its success will be determined by pricing. Right now, AMD and its partners sell the Radeon R9 380 for $249, whereas the Radeon R9 390 is priced at $349. Keeping in mind that AMD used to sell its Radeon R9 290-series products for as low as around $250, it is hard to imagine that a product with lower performance for $299 will become a success. If AMD actually wants to fight back market share from Nvidia, it will have to reconsider its prices for the holiday season. As a result, it is logical to expect that the launch of the Radeon R9 380X will be accompanied by changes in AMD’s price-list.

The post AMD Radeon R9 380X with ‘Tonga XT’ to hit the market in late October first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-radeon-r9-380x-with-tonga-xt-gpu-to-hit-the-market-in-late-october/feed/ 15
AMD preps Radeon R9 380X with fully-fledged “Tonga” GPU https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-preps-radeon-r9-380x-with-fully-fledged-tonga-gpu/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-preps-radeon-r9-380x-with-fully-fledged-tonga-gpu/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2015 21:25:11 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=267731 Advanced Micro Devices is reportedly working on a new graphics card based on its code-named “Tonga” graphics processing unit. The Radeon R9 380X will be powered by the fully-fledged GPU with all stream processors activated. Performance of the product will be similar to that of the Radeon R9 280X. The AMD Radeon R9 380X will …

The post AMD preps Radeon R9 380X with fully-fledged “Tonga” GPU first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Advanced Micro Devices is reportedly working on a new graphics card based on its code-named “Tonga” graphics processing unit. The Radeon R9 380X will be powered by the fully-fledged GPU with all stream processors activated. Performance of the product will be similar to that of the Radeon R9 280X.

The AMD Radeon R9 380X will feature “Tonga” GPU with 2048 stream processors as well as 384-bit memory bus, reports Expreview. The graphics board will offer considerably higher performance than the Radeon R9 380, but will also consume more power. Thanks to the GCN 1.2 architecture, the new graphics adapter will significantly outperform the Radeon R9 280X, which is based on the outdated “Tahiti” graphics chip.

xfx_radeon_r9_380x

AMD reportedly decided not to offer Radeon R9 285X with unlocked “Tonga” chip last year because it considered its power consumption too high. Right now, the company needs a new product that would feel the gap between the Radeon R9 380 and the Radeon R9 390-series products.

AMD’s partners among graphics card makers have already received the unlocked “Tonga” graphics processor and are reportedly preparing adapters based on their own designs of printed circuit boards. One of such graphics cards developed by XFX has been pictured.

AMD did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: While it is great to see AMD working on a new graphics card, it is completely unclear why the company did not introduce a product with “full” “Tonga” graphics processor unit earlier.

The post AMD preps Radeon R9 380X with fully-fledged “Tonga” GPU first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-preps-radeon-r9-380x-with-fully-fledged-tonga-gpu/feed/ 18
Sapphire unveils Nitro R7 360 graphics adapter for mini-ITX systems https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/sapphire-unveils-nitro-r7-360-graphics-adapter-for-mini-itx-systems/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/sapphire-unveils-nitro-r7-360-graphics-adapter-for-mini-itx-systems/#respond Wed, 09 Sep 2015 07:00:51 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=266823 Sapphire Technologies has introduced a new entry-level graphics card designed for mini-ITX systems. The new Sapphire Nitro R7 360 is powered by “Bonaire” graphics processing unit and may be used as an inexpensive upgrade for older PCs or building of home-theater personal computers (HTPCs). The Sapphire Nitro R7 360 graphics adapter is based on the …

The post Sapphire unveils Nitro R7 360 graphics adapter for mini-ITX systems first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Sapphire Technologies has introduced a new entry-level graphics card designed for mini-ITX systems. The new Sapphire Nitro R7 360 is powered by “Bonaire” graphics processing unit and may be used as an inexpensive upgrade for older PCs or building of home-theater personal computers (HTPCs).

The Sapphire Nitro R7 360 graphics adapter is based on the “Bonaire” graphics processing unit with 768 stream processors, 48 texture units, 16 raster operations pipelines and 128-bit memory controller. The GPU uses AMD’s GCN 1.1 architecture and supports DirectX 12 application programming interface, AMD TrueAudio technology and advanced video processing capabilities. The graphics board carries 2GB of GDDR5 memory operating at 6.5GHz.

sapphire_radeon_r7_360

The Sapphire Nitro R7 360 graphics adapter sports DVI-I, HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.2 outputs. The card is equipped with a simple dual-slot cooling system and is only 170mm long.

The new graphics card from Sapphire is already available for around £90.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The Sapphire Nitro R7 360 graphics adapter was not designed to run demanding video games. It will hardly deliver decent performance in AAA titles, but if you are building a small general-purpose PC with rich multimedia capabilities, the new graphics board from Sapphire is a thing to consider.

The post Sapphire unveils Nitro R7 360 graphics adapter for mini-ITX systems first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/sapphire-unveils-nitro-r7-360-graphics-adapter-for-mini-itx-systems/feed/ 0
PowerColor Devil 13 Dual R9 390 16GB comes with Razer Ouroboros mouse https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/powercolor-devil-13-dual-core-r9-390-16gb-comes-with-free-razer-ouroboros-mouse/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/powercolor-devil-13-dual-core-r9-390-16gb-comes-with-free-razer-ouroboros-mouse/#comments Sat, 05 Sep 2015 00:45:22 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=266319 PowerColor has introduced the world’s first consumer-class graphics card with 16GB of onboard memory. The new adapter carries two AMD Radeon R9 390 “Hawaii” graphics processing units and will be one of the highest-performing graphics cards on the planet. Moreover, to emphasize that the new card is premium product, PowerColor bundles a free Razer mouse …

The post PowerColor Devil 13 Dual R9 390 16GB comes with Razer Ouroboros mouse first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
PowerColor has introduced the world’s first consumer-class graphics card with 16GB of onboard memory. The new adapter carries two AMD Radeon R9 390 “Hawaii” graphics processing units and will be one of the highest-performing graphics cards on the planet. Moreover, to emphasize that the new card is premium product, PowerColor bundles a free Razer mouse with it.

The new PowerColor Devil 13 Dual-Core R9 390 16GB is based on two AMD Radeon R9 390 “Hawaii” graphics processing units with 2560 stream processors, 164 texture units, 64 raster operations pipelines as well as 512-bit memory bus. The GPUs are clocked at 1000MHz and each chip is equipped with 8GB of onboard GDDR5 memory operating at 5400MHz.

powercolor_power_color_radeon_devil_13_dual_r9_390

The PowerColor Devil 13 Dual-Core R9 390 graphics board relies on a custom printed-circuit board with an advanced 15-phase voltage regulator module powered by an International Rectifier PowerIRstage IC [integrated circuit] and featuring solid-state ferrite-core chokes as well as high-end solid-state capacitors. The board uses a PLX PCI Express bridge and features four 8-pin PCIe power connectors, which can deliver a total of 600W of power to the board (in addition to 75W supplied by the PCIe x16 slot).

The new Devil 13 graphics card is equipped with a triple-slot cooling system that features numerous heat-pipes as well as a large aluminum radiator and three high-end fans. The PowerColor Devil 13 Dual Core R9 390 has LED backlighting that glows a bright red color, pulsating slowly on the Devil 13 logo.

Enormous power draw, sophisticated VRM and the large cooling system should help the graphics adapter to demonstrate unprecedented overclocking potential for a dual-GPU board.

powercolor_power_color_radeon_devil_13_dual_r9_390_1

The graphics card has peak compute performance of 10.24TFLOPS, far above any single-chip graphics solutions available today. Still, keeping in mind that the dual-chip PowerColor Devil 13 Dual-Core R9 390 relies on AMD CrossFire multi-GPU technology that supports many, but not all games, performance of the adapter depends on AMD’s drivers. In some games, the novelty will behave like a single-chip AMD Radeon R9 290 graphics board.

The “Hawaii” (aka “Grenada”) graphics chip is based on the GCN 1.1 architecture and while it is rather powerful, it does not support numerous latest technologies that AMD’s latest “Fiji” processors offers. Nonetheless, the GPU fully supports DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5, OpenCL 2.1, Vulkan and Mantle application programming interfaces along with various modern features. AMD originally introduced its “Hawaii” in late 2013.

powercolor_power_color_radeon_devil_13_dual_r9_390_2

To emphasize that the PowerColor Devil 13 Dual Core R9 390 was designed for demanding gamers, the manufacturer bundles free wireless Razer Ouroboros mouse with 8200dpi sensor with it. The mouse costs $149/€149/£129.

The PowerColor Devil 13 Dual Core R9 390 will be available starting from the 17th of September for €699.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It is completely unclear why PowerColor decided not to use fully-fledged “Hawaii” graphics processing units on the world’s first consumer 16GB graphics adapter. Without any doubts, the Devil 13 Dual Core R9 390 is one of the most powerful graphics cards ever built, but it could have been even more powerful. On the other hand, for €699 the card looks rather good, especially considering the fact that it comes with a Razer Ouroboros mouse. Nonetheless, keep in mind that there is Radeon R9 Fury X2 incoming, which will offer considerably higher performance…

The post PowerColor Devil 13 Dual R9 390 16GB comes with Razer Ouroboros mouse first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/powercolor-devil-13-dual-core-r9-390-16gb-comes-with-free-razer-ouroboros-mouse/feed/ 11
Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 990M is based on ‘Maxwell’ GM204 graphics chip https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/nvidias-geforce-gtx-990m-is-based-on-maxwell-gm204-graphics-chip/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/nvidias-geforce-gtx-990m-is-based-on-maxwell-gm204-graphics-chip/#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2015 03:22:46 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=266080 Nvidia Corp. is gearing up to introduce its GeForce GTX 990M, an all-new graphics processing unit for laptops. Despite expectations, the company will continue to use its GM204 chip for its new adapter designed for gaming notebooks. Nvidia GeForce GTX 990M graphics processing unit for mobile computers will use fully-fledged GM204 processor with 2048 stream …

The post Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 990M is based on ‘Maxwell’ GM204 graphics chip first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Nvidia Corp. is gearing up to introduce its GeForce GTX 990M, an all-new graphics processing unit for laptops. Despite expectations, the company will continue to use its GM204 chip for its new adapter designed for gaming notebooks.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 990M graphics processing unit for mobile computers will use fully-fledged GM204 processor with 2048 stream processors, 128 texture units, 64 raster operations pipelines and 256-bit memory interface. The GPU operates at 1190MHz, according to ComputerBase, which tried out Asustek’s new ROG GX700 laptop powered by the new GPU.

nvidia_geforce_gpu_maxwell_gm104_650

The new GeForce GTX 990M should demonstrate performance on par with desktop GeForce GTX 980, which means that the new graphics adapter will be the highest-performing graphics solution for mobile computers. Thermal design power of the fully-fledged GM204 is pretty high, hence, the GeForce GTX 990M will be used only for ultra-high-end laptops.

Previously it was expected that Nvidia will use a version of its GM200 graphics chip for its GeForce GTX 990M adapter. However, even at low clock-rate, the GM200 may be too hot and power-hungry for laptops.

Nvidia did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: If Nvidia releases GeForce GTX 990M for notebooks, it is possible that the company is also gearing up to refresh its desktop product family with some new offerings.

The post Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 990M is based on ‘Maxwell’ GM204 graphics chip first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/nvidias-geforce-gtx-990m-is-based-on-maxwell-gm204-graphics-chip/feed/ 1
Micron begins commercial shipments of 20nm GDDR5 chips https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/micron-begins-commercial-shipments-of-20nm-gddr5-chips/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/micron-begins-commercial-shipments-of-20nm-gddr5-chips/#comments Sat, 27 Jun 2015 01:37:13 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=256317 Micron Technology has announced that it had begun commercial shipments of GDDR5 chips made using 20nm process technology. The company did not reveal any details, but it is highly likely that Micron initiated shipments of its 8Gb GDDR5 chips several weeks ago. “We commenced shipments of our first 20 nanometer graphics products,” said Mark Adams, …

The post Micron begins commercial shipments of 20nm GDDR5 chips first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Micron Technology has announced that it had begun commercial shipments of GDDR5 chips made using 20nm process technology. The company did not reveal any details, but it is highly likely that Micron initiated shipments of its 8Gb GDDR5 chips several weeks ago.

“We commenced shipments of our first 20 nanometer graphics products,” said Mark Adams, president of Micron, during the company’s quarterly conference call with investors and financial analysts.

Micron did not disclose technical specifications of GDDR5 chips made using 20nm fabrication process and so far even has not added them into its product catalogue. Keeping in mind that makers of DRAM generally make 8Gb memory ICs [integrated circuits] using their 20nm process technologies to keep die sizes and costs low, it is highly likely that the company initiated commercial shipments of 8Gb GDDR5 chips.

Earlier this year Micron said that it was sampling 8Gb GDDR5 memory ICs with two customers. 8Gb GDDR5 chips can be used for game consoles and graphics cards.

micron_ddr4_ddr_dram

Traditionally GDDR5 memory has been utilized mainly on graphics cards. Nevertheless, the main consumer of GDDR5 DRAM these days is Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 4 video game system, which at present uses 16 4Gb GDDR5 ICs. While 8Gb GDDR5 chips are useful for graphics cards with 8GB of memory onboard, they are even more valuable for the PlayStation 4, which needs 8GB of DRAM and which production costs have to be cut down. Thanks to 8Gb chips, it is possible to simplify printed circuit board design of the console and also save some money on memory chips, precisely what Sony needs.

Micron’s revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2015 were $3.85 billion and were 8 per cent lower compared to the Q2 FY2015 and 3 per cent lower compared to the Q3 FY2014. The company’s net income for the quarter was $491 million. Micron’s compute networking business unit (CNBU), which sells GDDR5 memory among other things, posted revenue of $1.514 billion and operating income of $266 million. Declines in revenue and profits were conditioned by lower average selling prices due to weak sales of personal computers.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Samsung has been shipping 8Gb GDDR5 chips in high volume for some time now, but they never showed up on graphics cards, possibly because Sony is the only buyer of such ICs at the moment. Looks like the company is indeed preparing a new version of PS4 with fewer memory chips, a new printed circuit board as well as a new system-on-chip from AMD.

The post Micron begins commercial shipments of 20nm GDDR5 chips first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/micron-begins-commercial-shipments-of-20nm-gddr5-chips/feed/ 3
AMD Radeon 2015 roadmap leaks: Whole lineup now revealed https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-radeon-2015-roadmap-leaks-whole-lineup-now-revealed/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-radeon-2015-roadmap-leaks-whole-lineup-now-revealed/#comments Tue, 09 Jun 2015 22:29:16 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=253645 A web-site has published a slide that reveals AMD’s graphics products lineup that will be available later this year. The image does not only unveil the names and positioning of AMD’s upcoming Radeon solutions, but also code-names of the new graphics processing units from the company. If the slide published by VideoCardz is genuine, then …

The post AMD Radeon 2015 roadmap leaks: Whole lineup now revealed first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
A web-site has published a slide that reveals AMD’s graphics products lineup that will be available later this year. The image does not only unveil the names and positioning of AMD’s upcoming Radeon solutions, but also code-names of the new graphics processing units from the company.

If the slide published by VideoCardz is genuine, then AMD’s new lineup of graphics adapters will consist of seven new models based on various graphics processing units. The flagship products based on the code-named “Fiji XT” and “Fiji Pro” graphics processors will not formally belong to the Radeon R9 300-series. Previously it was reported that the new boards will carry the Radeon Fury brand-name. It is noteworthy that the new Radeon Fury graphics cards based on the “Fiji” GPUs will be available a little later than the members of the Radeon R9 300-series, which may indicate that the new flagship products will not hit the market right after formal announcement of the 16th of June.

The high-end Radeon R9 390 and R9 390X will be based on the “Grenada” graphics processing units, which are claimed to be improved versions of the “Hawaii” chips with higher clock-rates and revamped architecture. Both boards will carry 8GB of memory and will cost $329 and $389, respectively, according to WccfTech. Higher clock-rates of GPU and memory will help the new cards to offer performance that will be higher than that of Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 970, but it is unclear how the Radeon R9 390-series will compare against GeForce GTX 980.

amd_radeon_roadmap_2015

AMD also plans to introduce Radeon R9 380 with 4GB of memory based on the code-named “Antigua” chip also known as “Tonga Pro”. The product is expected to cost $235. In addition, AMD wants to offer Radeon R9 380 with 2GB of memory for $195.

AMD also intends to roll-out Radeon R7 370 and Radeon R7 360 based on the “Pitcairn” and “Bonaire” graphics processors, which have been available for years. The outdated GPUs will address $100 – $175 market segment. Keeping in mind that graphics boards based on the “Pitcairn” and “Bonaire” GPUs have been available for years, it is unlikely that the new Radeon R7 will actually get popular. People who wanted them have already bought such boards.

AMD did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Although AMD’s Radeon R9 390-series graphics adapters may actually be rather competitive, it is obvious that they are late. AMD needed to respond to Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 970 and 980 last September, but decided to cut prices of existing solutions, not offer anything new.

The post AMD Radeon 2015 roadmap leaks: Whole lineup now revealed first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-radeon-2015-roadmap-leaks-whole-lineup-now-revealed/feed/ 46
AMD teases ‘Fiji’, but refuses to reveal ‘Fury’ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-teases-fiji-but-refuses-to-reveal-fury/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-teases-fiji-but-refuses-to-reveal-fury/#comments Thu, 04 Jun 2015 07:30:34 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=252659 At a press conference at the Computex trade-show Advanced Micro Devices has officially demonstrated its first graphics processing unit with high bandwidth memory (HBM) code-named “Fiji”, which is set to power AMD’s next-generation flagship graphics card known unofficially as the Radeon Fury X. But while the company did show its “Fiji” chip, it did not …

The post AMD teases ‘Fiji’, but refuses to reveal ‘Fury’ first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
At a press conference at the Computex trade-show Advanced Micro Devices has officially demonstrated its first graphics processing unit with high bandwidth memory (HBM) code-named “Fiji”, which is set to power AMD’s next-generation flagship graphics card known unofficially as the Radeon Fury X. But while the company did show its “Fiji” chip, it did not want to show the “Fury” card, reports Leo Waldock, a KitGuru editor, from Taipei.

amd_radeon_fiji
AMD “Fiji” graphics processing unit is held by Lisa Su, chief executive of AMD. Photo by WccfTech

Leo arrived at Nangang at 9am and was told the floor was closed to the Press until 9:30am. He took the opportunity to head up to Sapphire, who were in a separate room, so he could say hello and grab a chair. At the Sapphire booth, Leo bumped into Ron Myers, Corporate Vice President of Corporate Marketing at AMD. Ron is a big guy in every sense of the word and only slightly intimidating.

Earlier AMD waved a “Fiji” chip around on stage. They refused to give its name but the unnamed chip had four stacks of HBM so it was “Fiji”, no question.

AMD is showing a running and apparently fully working version of “Fiji” to customers but not to the Press, so Leo asked Ron if he might relent. They both knew the other side of the Sapphire NDA door was the card Leo wanted to see, so Leo asked if he could see the card and take photos.

“How about static without performance?” Leo asked.

“No,” said Ron, and that was the end of that.

sapphire_nda_demo
The closed door

While it was impossible to take photos of the AMD Radeon Fury X, Leo tried to discuss some aspects of the flagship graphics card that only features 4GB of memory (compared to 12GB on Nvidia’s GeForce GTX Titan X). His question about the 4*1GB limit was side-stepped so it is unclear whether AMD could install 8GB of HBM if they choose. A natural guess is they cannot. Ron Myers assured that 4GB of high bandwidth memory is plenty for 4K gaming so it is not just a question of the amount of memory, but also the speed and bandwidth. Put it another way, the requirement for 8GB (or whatever) is in combination with the current, slower bandwidth.

Apparently, AMD wants to build the marketing impetus for the 16th of June, when the first reviews hit the Web, or the 24th, when the graphics cards hit the stores. The problem is, many aspects about the graphics board are already known: it has 4GB of memory, it has short printed circuit board, it requires two 8-pin PCI Express power connectors, it is power hungry (may consume up to 375W of power), it uses hybrid liquid cooling system, etc. The main intrigue about the AMD Radeon Fury X graphics board is its performance. Obviously, a static image of the product cannot reveal any performance details. Moreover, an image of the graphics card itself was recently published by Johan Andersson, technical director of Frostbite at Electronic Arts, in a Twitter post.

amd_radeon_fiji_unofficial
Image of AMD Radeon Fury X published by Johan Andersson

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It is hard to understand why AMD is not prepared to show “Fiji” to the Press. During the conversation Leo called the chip both “Fiji” and “Fury” and Ron did not blink, so we know that it is the correct name.

The post AMD teases ‘Fiji’, but refuses to reveal ‘Fury’ first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-teases-fiji-but-refuses-to-reveal-fury/feed/ 31
The name of flagship AMD Radeon revealed: Fury is back https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/the-name-of-flagship-amd-radeon-revealed-fury-is-back/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/the-name-of-flagship-amd-radeon-revealed-fury-is-back/#comments Sat, 30 May 2015 00:50:24 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=251878 AMD’s next next-generation flagship Radeon graphics card will be the world’s first add-in-board to use stacked high-bandwidth memory (HBM) that will ensure unprecedented performance and will open a number of new doors for graphics adapters. It is rather ironic that for a graphics card that shows the future of GPUs, AMD has reportedly decided to …

The post The name of flagship AMD Radeon revealed: Fury is back first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
AMD’s next next-generation flagship Radeon graphics card will be the world’s first add-in-board to use stacked high-bandwidth memory (HBM) that will ensure unprecedented performance and will open a number of new doors for graphics adapters. It is rather ironic that for a graphics card that shows the future of GPUs, AMD has reportedly decided to use a name from the past.

In a bid to emphasize that its next-generation flagship Radeon graphics adapter based on the code-named “Fiji” graphics processing unit is a very special product, Advanced Micro Devices plans to assign a special name to it, not a model number. The new top-of-the-range graphics board from the company will reportedly be called AMD Radeon Fury, which should imply how furiously fast the new GPU is.

AMD’s flagship Radeon Fury “Fiji XT” graphics processing unit is reportedly based on the revamped GCN 1.3 architecture and integrates 4096 stream processors (64 compute units), 256 texture units as well as all-new memory controller to support vertically stacked high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips with 1024-bit input/output interface. The top-of-the-line Radeon graphics adapter is expected to carry 4GB or 8GB of HBM memory with up to 640GB/s of bandwidth (thanks to 4096-bit memory bus and 1.25GT/s transfer rate). The Radeon Fury graphics card will feature a hybrid liquid cooling system and will require two 8-pin PCI Express power connectors.

amd_radeon_artwork_angle_new

The AMD Radeon Fury reminds of ATI Rage Fury, a popular graphics card for gamers from ATI Technologies in 1998. The add-in board was among the first graphics adapters to feature 32MB of SDRAM, but it was not nearly as popular as 3dfx Voodoo or Nvidia Riva TNT. While it did demonstrate great performance in 32-bit colour mode, it was not a dream graphics solution and certainly was not a legend.

It is interesting to note that the dual-chip Radeon Fury Maxx launched in 1999 introduced the alternate frame rendering multi-GPU technique to the consumer market, but received a bad reputation for poor drivers and lag issues. Nowadays all multi-GPU sub-systems use AFR method of multi-GPU rendering.

AMD did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The Radeon Fury is definitely a nice name. Moreover, many experienced gamers will clearly remember good-old days of 1998 – 1999 as well as the ATI Rage Fury and the ATI Rage Fury Pro graphics cards (which were actually manufactured by ATI in Canada back then!). But the key to success of AMD’s new flagship is not nostalgia. They keys to success are actual performance in video games, price and availability. Will AMD Radeon Fury deliver? Let’s wait and see! In the meantime, let's think, what variations of AMD Radeon Fury we can expect from Advanced Micro Devices. The dual-chip could be called Radeon Fury Maxx, whereas a slightly slower version could carry the name Radeon Fury Pro…

The post The name of flagship AMD Radeon revealed: Fury is back first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/the-name-of-flagship-amd-radeon-revealed-fury-is-back/feed/ 28
AMD’s new flagship Radeon ‘Fiji XT’ pictured: moderate size, LCS https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amds-next-gen-flagship-radeon-fiji-xt-pictured-moderate-size-hybrid-cooler/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amds-next-gen-flagship-radeon-fiji-xt-pictured-moderate-size-hybrid-cooler/#comments Sat, 23 May 2015 01:16:56 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=250824 Johan Andersson, technical director of Frostbite at Electronic Arts, has published a picture of AMD’s next-generation flagship graphics card code-named “Fiji XT” in a Twitter post. The new top-of-the-range AMD Radeon graphics solution does not look like graphics cards available today. As it appears, the new enthusiast-class AMD Radeon “Fiji XT” graphics adapter will use a closed-loop …

The post AMD’s new flagship Radeon ‘Fiji XT’ pictured: moderate size, LCS first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Johan Andersson, technical director of Frostbite at Electronic Arts, has published a picture of AMD’s next-generation flagship graphics card code-named “Fiji XT” in a Twitter post. The new top-of-the-range AMD Radeon graphics solution does not look like graphics cards available today.

As it appears, the new enthusiast-class AMD Radeon “Fiji XT” graphics adapter will use a closed-loop hybrid liquid cooling solution that is supposed to ensure quiet operation and maximum efficiency. The board will no longer support DVI connectors and will only feature DisplayPort and HDMI outputs.

The new top-of-the-range Radeon graphics adapter will not be very long, like today’s high-end graphics cards from AMD or Nvidia Corp. In fact, the length of the graphics card seems to be comparable to the length of ATI Technologies’ advanced graphics adapters that were available a decade ago. Therefore, it will be possible to build a very high-performance small form-factor gaming PC using a “Fiji XT” with liquid cooler.

amd_radeon_fiji_unofficial

AMD’s flagship Radeon “Fiji XT” graphics processing unit is reportedly based on the revamped GCN 1.3 architecture and integrates 4096 stream processors (64 compute units), 256 texture units as well as all-new memory controller to support vertically stacked high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips with 1024-bit input/output interface. The top-of-the-range Radeon graphics adapter is expected to carry 4GB or 8GB of HBM memory with up to 640GB/s of bandwidth (thanks to 4096-bit memory bus and 1.25GT/s transfer rate).

Mr. Andersson did not reveal any additional information regarding the upcoming flagship graphics card from AMD,

“This new island is one seriously impressive and sweet GPU,” said the game programmer.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Tweets like the one made by Johan Andersson are clearly sanctioned by AMD and are intended to attract attention to the product. In fact, the amount of teases – both official and unofficial – that AMD and its partners have made regarding “Fiji XT” is quite overwhelming. Let’s just hope that performance of the product will be a breakthrough.

The post AMD’s new flagship Radeon ‘Fiji XT’ pictured: moderate size, LCS first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amds-next-gen-flagship-radeon-fiji-xt-pictured-moderate-size-hybrid-cooler/feed/ 4
AMD’s flagship ‘Fiji XT’ to use new branding and cost $849 – rumours https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amds-flagship-fiji-xt-to-use-new-branding-and-cost-849-rumours/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amds-flagship-fiji-xt-to-use-new-branding-and-cost-849-rumours/#comments Tue, 19 May 2015 22:59:14 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=250180 The next-generation top-of-the-range AMD Radeon graphics card may no longer carry a model number, but will introduce a new brand akin to Nvidia Corp.’s GeForce Titan, according to a media report. The highest-performing single-chip graphics adapter is also rumoured to cost unprecedented amount of money for an AMD single-GPU solution. In a bid to emphasize …

The post AMD’s flagship ‘Fiji XT’ to use new branding and cost $849 – rumours first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
The next-generation top-of-the-range AMD Radeon graphics card may no longer carry a model number, but will introduce a new brand akin to Nvidia Corp.’s GeForce Titan, according to a media report. The highest-performing single-chip graphics adapter is also rumoured to cost unprecedented amount of money for an AMD single-GPU solution.

In a bid to emphasize extreme performance of its next-generation flagship graphics solution based on the code-named “Fiji” graphics processing unit and 8GB of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), AMD will not call it the “Radeon R9 390X,” but will introduce a separate branding akin to Intel’s Extreme Edition or Nvidia’s Titan, reports SweClockers. Back in the days ATI Technologies offered Radeon X800 XT Platinum Edition, which featured improved performance compared to the Radeon X800 XT, but had the same GPU configuration.

At present it is unclear how many “Fiji”-based graphics card models AMD intends to release, but previously it was reported about three solutions with different GPU configurations, cooling systems, performance and prices.

amd_radeon_artwork_angle_new

Fudzilla reports AMD’s new top-of-the-range graphics card will cost $849. If AMD releases three “Fiji”-based graphics adapters, then it can sell the highest-performing product in the lineup for $849. However, if the number of solutions in the lineup will be limited to two, then it will be rather hard to successfully position them while selling one for $849.

AMD’s “Fiji XT” GPU is reportedly based on the revamped GCN 1.3 architecture and integrates 4096 stream processors (64 compute units), 256 texture units as well as all-new memory controller to support vertically stacked high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips with 1024-bit input/output interface. The top-of-the-range Radeon is projected to feature 8GB of HBM memory with up to 640GB/s of bandwidth (thanks to 4096-bit memory bus and 1.25GT/s transfer rate).

AMD did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: While it makes some sense to introduce a rival for Nvidia’s GeForce GTX Titan X with a loud name, in a bid to actually re-capture market share, AMD will still need both Radeon R9 390X and Radeon R9 390 that do not cost nearly $850. Therefore, we are likely to see three graphic cards based on AMD’s code-named “Fiji” GPU.

The post AMD’s flagship ‘Fiji XT’ to use new branding and cost $849 – rumours first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amds-flagship-fiji-xt-to-use-new-branding-and-cost-849-rumours/feed/ 26
AMD to start actual sales of Radeon R9 300-series in mid- and late-June https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-to-start-actual-sales-of-next-gen-radeon-r9-300-series-in-mid-and-late-june/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-to-start-actual-sales-of-next-gen-radeon-r9-300-series-in-mid-and-late-june/#comments Wed, 13 May 2015 02:11:26 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=249187 Advanced Micro Devices plans to formally unveil its new family of graphics adapters at the Computex Taipei 2015 trade-show in early June, but the actual sales of its new graphics adapters are expected to start later next month. AMD’s partners will begin to sell Radeon R9 380, R9 370 and R7 360 graphics cards as …

The post AMD to start actual sales of Radeon R9 300-series in mid- and late-June first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Advanced Micro Devices plans to formally unveil its new family of graphics adapters at the Computex Taipei 2015 trade-show in early June, but the actual sales of its new graphics adapters are expected to start later next month.

AMD’s partners will begin to sell Radeon R9 380, R9 370 and R7 360 graphics cards as well as their derivatives on the 18th of June, 2015. The flagship products – the AMD Radeon R9 390-series – will hit the market on the 24th of June, 2015, reports BenchLife web-site citing undisclosed sources.

Developers of graphics cards often begin selling their latest products a couple of weeks after official announcements. A slight delay with the Radeon R9 390-series introduction will hardly harm its sales.

amd_radeon_artwork_angle_new

As reported, the new flagship graphics solutions from AMD – the Radeon R9 390-series graphics cards – are based on the code-named “Fiji” graphics processing unit. The GPU reportedly features revamped GCN 1.3 architecture and integrates 4096 stream processors (64 compute units), 256 texture units as well as all-new memory controller to support vertically stacked high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips with 1024-bit input/output interface. The top-of-the-range Radeon R9 390X is expected to feature 8GB of HBM memory with up to 640GB/s of bandwidth (thanks to 4096-bit memory bus and 1.25GT/s transfer rate).

AMD did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It has taken AMD quite a long time to prepare the world’s first graphics card with HBM memory, but it looks like the company is on the home straight now.

The post AMD to start actual sales of Radeon R9 300-series in mid- and late-June first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-to-start-actual-sales-of-next-gen-radeon-r9-300-series-in-mid-and-late-june/feed/ 5
Supply of AMD Radeon R9 390-series may be constrained – report https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/supply-of-amd-radeon-r9-390-series-may-be-constrained-report/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/supply-of-amd-radeon-r9-390-series-may-be-constrained-report/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2015 09:02:55 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=246173 Supply of next-generation AMD Radeon R9 390-series graphics cards is expected to be very short initially. A media report suggests that the main reason behind supply constraints is limited availability of high-bandwidth memory made by SK Hynix. Even though Advanced Micro Devices taped out its code-named “Fiji” graphics processor that powers the Radeon R9 390-series …

The post Supply of AMD Radeon R9 390-series may be constrained – report first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Supply of next-generation AMD Radeon R9 390-series graphics cards is expected to be very short initially. A media report suggests that the main reason behind supply constraints is limited availability of high-bandwidth memory made by SK Hynix.

Even though Advanced Micro Devices taped out its code-named “Fiji” graphics processor that powers the Radeon R9 390-series graphics cards in the middle of 2014 and currently its yields should be high, there is a major problem, which could hamper availability of such adapters: yields of high-bandwidth memory at SK Hynix. According to a report from TweakTown, there will not be enough memory available to fulfill AMD’s needs in the coming months.

amd_radeon_r9_295x2_295_x2_1

The first-generation HBM (HBM1) stacks four DRAM dies with two 128-bit channels per die on a base logic die using through silicon vias (TSV), which results into a memory device with a 1024-bit interface. The first-gen HBM stacks are made using proven 29nm (which SK Hynix calls “2xnm”) process technology. High-bandwidth memory comes in HBM 4Hi stack (4 high stack) packages, which are tested by SK Hynix before shipments. Each HBM 4Hi stack is placed on an interposer next to the graphics processing unit, a process that has not been used for graphics cards before.

It is unclear whether yields of HBM memory is the only problem that affects availability of AMD’s Radeon R9 390-series graphics cards, or there is a combination of problems that involves HBM, usage of interposer, testing procedure of multi-die devices and so on.

sk_hynix_hbm_dram_1

AMD Radeon R9 390-series graphics adapters will be the first add-in-boards to utilize HBM memory. The new graphics processing unit from AMD reportedly packs 4096 stream processors/64 compute units, 256 texture mapping units and has a 4096-bit memory interface. The Radeon R9 390’s memory bus operates at up to 1.25Gb/s data-rate (1.25GHz effective DDR frequency) and delivers massive 640GB/s memory bandwidth.

AMD did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: If AMD really has problems with production of its Radeon R9 390-series graphics cards, then it explains why the company wants to release the whole lineup of next-gen adapters at once. On the other hand, the company itself expects its GPU market share to increase after it releases its new graphics solution. If AMD cannot ship enough graphics cards, then its market share will drop, not increase.

The post Supply of AMD Radeon R9 390-series may be constrained – report first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/supply-of-amd-radeon-r9-390-series-may-be-constrained-report/feed/ 16
AMD reiterates plans to introduce new Radeon R9 300 GPUs in June https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-reiterates-plans-to-introduce-new-radeon-r9-300-series-gpus-in-june/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-reiterates-plans-to-introduce-new-radeon-r9-300-series-gpus-in-june/#comments Sat, 18 Apr 2015 10:28:04 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=245701 Advanced Micro Devices has reiterated plans to start high volume shipments of new graphics products and accelerated processing units later in this quarter with meaningful revenue contribution starting in the second half of the year. As reported, AMD is set to officially release its new lineup of GPUs in June. Because of weak demand for …

The post AMD reiterates plans to introduce new Radeon R9 300 GPUs in June first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Advanced Micro Devices has reiterated plans to start high volume shipments of new graphics products and accelerated processing units later in this quarter with meaningful revenue contribution starting in the second half of the year. As reported, AMD is set to officially release its new lineup of GPUs in June.

Because of weak demand for personal computers, AMD’s issues with channel inventory as well as competitive positions of its products, shipments of AMD microprocessors and graphics processing units have been dropping for about a year now. Moreover, AMD’s CPU and GPU market shares have been decreasing for many quarters in a row as well. As a result, the primary tasks for AMD’s management is to boost sales and improve positions on the market. According to the chief exec of the company, this is exactly what AMD plans to do in the second half of the year after launching “Carizzo” accelerated processing units, Godavari (Kaveri Refresh) APUs and all-new Radeon graphics processors in the late second quarter.

“As we go into the second half of the year, we would like to see some regain of share in both the desktop and the notebook business,” said Lisa Su, chief executive officer of AMD, in the company’s quarterly conference call with investors and financial analysts. “I talked about Carrizo being a strong product for us, I talked about some of our graphics launches that we will talk about later this quarter.”

amd_radeon_artwork_angle_new

As reported, AMD plans to officially introduce its new Radeon 9 300-series graphics processors in June, around the Computex Taipei 2015 trade-show. According to sources with knowledge of AMD plans, this time the company will take a rather untraditional approach to introduction. Instead of unveiling numerous new graphics cards one after another, the company is going to reveal the whole family at once. As reported, the new series will contain both new and old graphics processing units.

Based on media reports and sources with knowledge of AMD’s plans, it is expected that the Radeon R9 300-series family will contain three all new graphics processors: Fiji, Grenada (improved Hawaii) and Trinidad. In addition, some forecast that AMD to finally use Tonga XT chip with all compute units/stream processors activated.

Here is the compilation of what we do know about the Radeon R9 300-series range so far (please keep in mind that not all model numbers and specifications may be accurate):

  • AMD Radeon R9 390/390X – Fiji Pro/Fiji XT graphics processing units featuring GCN 1.3 architecture with up to 4096 stream processors and 4096-bit interface to HBM memory. Price range: $649 and upwards.
  • AMD Radeon R9 380/380X – Grenada Pro/Grenada XT graphics processing units featuring GCN 1.2 or GCN 1.3 architecture with up to 2816 stream processors and 512-bit interface to GDDR5 memory. Price range: $249 – $299 – $329. Since “Grenada” GPU is basically a revamped “Hawaii”, it is possible that instead of making a new GPU, AMD will simply use the old one under a new moniker.
  • AMD Radeon R9 375X – Tonga XT graphics processing units featuring GCN 1.2 architecture with up to 2048 stream processors and 384-bit interface to GDDR5 memory. Price range: around $229.
  • AMD Radeon R9 375 – Tonga Pro graphics processing units featuring GCN 1.2 architecture with up to 1792 stream processors and 256-bit interface to GDDR5 memory. Price range: around $199.
  • AMD Radeon R9 370/370X – Trinidad Pro/Trinidad XT graphics processing units featuring GCN 1.3 architecture with up to 1536 stream processors and 256-bit interface to GDDR5 memory. Price range: $119 – $149.

The situation with the upcoming Radeon R7 300-series look less clear. On the one hand, AMD could continue offering its code-named “Curacao” graphics processing units for Radeon R7 360-series graphics cards, but the company could also introduce something powered by the GCN 1.2 or the GCN 1.3 for the price range of around $100.

amd_radeon_graphics_artwork

If the compiled information about the new Radeon R9 lineup is correct, then AMD’s positions in the second half of this year will be somewhat better than today. Still, given that the market is very competitive, a lot depends on Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 900-series refresh plans. Nonetheless, AMD remains optimistic about its future products.

“I think from the standpoint of being able to capture more of the market and increase more to where our normal shares are in graphics, I think that something that we believe we can make progress towards,” said Ms. Su.

AMD did not comment on the potential Radeon R9 300-series lineup.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It will be interesting to see how successful will the new Radeon R9 300-series family be. Releasing one new graphics card after another ensures that every GPU receives a lot of attention from the media. When AMD launches the whole lineup at once, the press concentrates on the flagship product and hardly covers mainstream offerings. As a consequence, some customers may never learn about AMD’s new offerings in the $100 – $200 range.

The post AMD reiterates plans to introduce new Radeon R9 300 GPUs in June first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-reiterates-plans-to-introduce-new-radeon-r9-300-series-gpus-in-june/feed/ 134
Price drops of AMD Radeon R9 290-series are over, price-tags freeze https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/price-drops-of-amd-radeon-r9-290-series-are-over-price-tags-freeze/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/price-drops-of-amd-radeon-r9-290-series-are-over-price-tags-freeze/#comments Thu, 09 Apr 2015 12:04:51 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=244172 Prices of AMD Radeon R9 290-series graphics cards seem to have stabilized both in the U.S. and in Europe. Apparently, supply and demand of such graphics adapters are now balanced and there is no need to further cut the prices. At present the most affordable AMD Radeon R9 290X boards in the U.K. are priced …

The post Price drops of AMD Radeon R9 290-series are over, price-tags freeze first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Prices of AMD Radeon R9 290-series graphics cards seem to have stabilized both in the U.S. and in Europe. Apparently, supply and demand of such graphics adapters are now balanced and there is no need to further cut the prices.

At present the most affordable AMD Radeon R9 290X boards in the U.K. are priced between £245 and £265 inc VAT. The cheapest AMD Radeon R9 290X  graphics cards cost $279 – $299 in the U.S. after mail-in-rebate. Prices in Eurozone vary greatly, but inexpensive Radeon R9 290X adapters cost between €330 and €350. The most affordable Radeon R9 290 graphics cards are currently priced at $240 (after mail-in-rebate) – $260, £220 – £230 and €285 – €300 in the U.S., the U.K. and Eurozone, respectively.

All of these prices have been stable for over a month now, which means that neither AMD nor its partners have reduced prices of the Radeon R9 290-series products any further. Moreover, some AMD Radeon R9 290X graphics cards even got more expensive recently. Stabilization of the prices indicates that either AMD and its partners can no longer reduce prices without facing massive losses, or the companies no longer need to maximize sales of such hardware in the channel.

amd_radeon_r9_290_2

Back in early January, 2015, chief executive officer of AMD revealed that the channel still contained excessive amount of the current-generation Radeon inventory. The company vowed not to announce any new graphics adapters in the Q1 2015 and instead concentrate on selling through the existing add-in-boards.

“From Q1 to Q2, I think the largest improvement will be around the channel health,” said Lisa Su. “We have had this channel problem for a couple of quarters, and it is important for us to correct that. We definitely reduced some inventory in Q4, and we will take significant action to reduce that inventory in Q1, and that will give us an opportunity to return to a more normal desktop channel business.”

AMD and its partners among makers of add-in-cards and retailers started to cut-down prices of AMD Radeon R9 graphics adapters in September ’14 following launches of Nvidia Corp.’s GeForce GTX 970 and 980 graphics boards. AMD said that it needed to reposition some of its products in order to better compete against rivals and to lower inventory. Market sources revealed that demand for high-end AMD graphics cards was constrained because many of those who used advanced Radeon graphics adapters for crypto-currency mining started to sell their hardware off via Internet auctions in the third quarter of 2014.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: If you were planning to get a Radeon R9 290-series graphics card when the prices hit the bottom, then you probably have missed your chance already since many models actually got slightly more expensive in the recent couple of weeks. However, unless demand for the Radeon R9 290-series drops significantly in the coming months because the market expects arrival of the Radeon R9 390-series in June, the prices of the Radeon R9 290-series graphics adapters will remain on the current levels for a long time.

The post Price drops of AMD Radeon R9 290-series are over, price-tags freeze first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/price-drops-of-amd-radeon-r9-290-series-are-over-price-tags-freeze/feed/ 7
AMD Radeon R9 390X to cost more than $700 – report https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-radeon-r9-390x-to-cost-more-than-700-report/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-radeon-r9-390x-to-cost-more-than-700-report/#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2015 02:56:31 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=240402 Although the Radeon R9 390X will offer significantly higher performance than existing graphics cards from Advanced Micro Devices, it will also cost considerably more than current graphics adapters from the company. In fact, the new flagship graphics solutions from AMD will be more expensive than all single-chip Radeon graphics boards ever introduced. Heise.de reports citing sources …

The post AMD Radeon R9 390X to cost more than $700 – report first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Although the Radeon R9 390X will offer significantly higher performance than existing graphics cards from Advanced Micro Devices, it will also cost considerably more than current graphics adapters from the company. In fact, the new flagship graphics solutions from AMD will be more expensive than all single-chip Radeon graphics boards ever introduced.

Heise.de reports citing sources with knowledge of AMD’s plans that the AMD Radeon R9 390 graphics adapter will cost around $700, whereas more advanced AMD Radeon R9 390X will be priced at over $700. The price of the AMD Radeon R9 390X WCE [water-cooled edition] is unknown, but it will naturally be very high. The Radeon R9 380X will carry $400 price-tag, whereas the Radeon R9 380 will be available for around $330.

Previously the most expensive single-chip Radeon graphics cards cost no more than $649, but, apparently, the company wants to increase pricing of its flagship products going forward.

amd_radeon_artwork_angle_new

The Radeon R9 390-series graphics cards will be the first add-in-boards to use high-bandwidth memory (HBM) from SK Hynix in the world. Extreme performance in ultra-high-definition resolutions that the new cards will provide will justify their high prices.

AMD did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It is noteworthy that AMD wants to position its upcoming Radeon R9 390X above the GeForce GTX 980, but clearly below the GeForce GTX Titan X, which is expected to cost between $999 and $1349. For some reason AMD does not want to compete against Nvidia’s graphics cards at the same price-points.

The post AMD Radeon R9 390X to cost more than $700 – report first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-radeon-r9-390x-to-cost-more-than-700-report/feed/ 177
AMD Radeon R9 390X to feature 8.6TFLOPS performance, 8GB HBM memory https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amdradeon-r9-390x-to-feature-8-6tflops-performance-8gb-hbm-memory/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amdradeon-r9-390x-to-feature-8-6tflops-performance-8gb-hbm-memory/#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2015 00:20:37 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=240343 A web-site has published excerpts from an alleged AMD presentation that describes the company’s upcoming Radeon R9 390X graphics card. As expected, the new top-of-the-range graphics from Advanced Micro Devices will feature unprecedented performance thanks to massive amount of compute horsepower and high-bandwidth memory. The slides from an AMD presentation for its partners, which were …

The post AMD Radeon R9 390X to feature 8.6TFLOPS performance, 8GB HBM memory first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
A web-site has published excerpts from an alleged AMD presentation that describes the company’s upcoming Radeon R9 390X graphics card. As expected, the new top-of-the-range graphics from Advanced Micro Devices will feature unprecedented performance thanks to massive amount of compute horsepower and high-bandwidth memory.

amd_radeon_shop-home-component

The slides from an AMD presentation for its partners, which were published by Videocardz web-site, reveal a number of previously unknown details about the Radeon R9 390X. As expected, the code-named Fiji XT graphics processing unit has 4096 stream processor and 4096-bit HBM memory bus. However, unlike previously suggested, the graphics card carries 8GB of memory, not 4GB of HBM DRAM.

AMD-Radeon-R9-390X-Specifications

The forthcoming Radeon R9 390X GPU will feature improved GCN 1.3 architecture with full DirectX 12 implementation. According to AMD, the new chip will support new dual-GPU modes as well as specialized render modes for VR gaming. The processor will also support new H.265/HEVC decoder.

In a bid to install 8GB of memory, AMD used multi-layer 1GB chips from SK Hynix on dual-link interposer. Previously it was believed that AMD would only equip its new graphics card with 4GB of memory. Peak memory bandwidth of the Radeon R9 390X will be 640GB/s.

amd_hbm

The Radeon R9 390X will have peak compute performance of 8.6TFLOPS, which is even higher than that of the GeForce GTX Titan X.

AMD-Radeon-R9-390X-4k-and-VR

In addition to traditional version, AMD plans to introduce Radeon R9 390X WCE [water-cooled edition] with improved performance that will be designed specifically for enthusiasts. The typical version of the R9 390X will require one 6-pin and one 8-pin auxiliary PCIe power connectors, whereas the WCE will use two 8-pin connectors to deliver more power to the graphics adapter and improve its overclocking potential. It is unclear whether AMD plans to release Radeon R9 390 in addition to the R9 390X and the R9 390X WCE.

AMD-Radeon-R9-390X-vs-290X-performance

According to AMD’s own performance estimates, the Radeon R9 390X will be 55 – 65 per cent faster than the Radeon R9 290X.

AMD did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Since AMD is already showcasing Radeon R9 390X in action, it is not surprising that its specifications show up on the web. Still, we have no idea whether these specs are final.

The post AMD Radeon R9 390X to feature 8.6TFLOPS performance, 8GB HBM memory first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amdradeon-r9-390x-to-feature-8-6tflops-performance-8gb-hbm-memory/feed/ 31
AMD to introduce its Radeon R9 300-series lineup at Computex https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-to-introduce-its-radeon-r9-300-series-lineup-at-computex/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-to-introduce-its-radeon-r9-300-series-lineup-at-computex/#comments Thu, 05 Mar 2015 11:05:20 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=238767 Sources with knowledge of Advanced Micro Devices’ roadmap have revealed that the company plans to introduce its new family of Radeon R9 300-series graphics cards closer to Computex than CeBIT, as originally planned. AMD had hoped to push out one or two new cards in March and then re-brand many others to refresh the range. …

The post AMD to introduce its Radeon R9 300-series lineup at Computex first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Sources with knowledge of Advanced Micro Devices’ roadmap have revealed that the company plans to introduce its new family of Radeon R9 300-series graphics cards closer to Computex than CeBIT, as originally planned. AMD had hoped to push out one or two new cards in March and then re-brand many others to refresh the range. That is no longer the plan.

The challenge for Advanced Micro Devices is that it needs to achieve two rather different (and sometimes opposing) tasks in the first half of this year. It must significantly reduce inventory in the channel and it has to try and boost its dropping market share. If AMD does not ship anything new, its own sales and market share will decline. However, if AMD ships brand-new offerings, older hardware stalls in the channel, impacts prices and makes it difficult to sell new products.

FOLLOW UP: AMD demonstrates unannounced flagship Radeon R9 at GDC.

amd_radeon_artwork_angle_new

According to sources from the Far East, AMD originally wanted to unleash at least one of its all-new Radeon R9 300-series graphics card at the CeBIT trade-show in early March. These new cards would feature the company’s latest high-end GPU and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). If AMD’s engineers have done a good job, then this Radeon R9 290-series replacement would be the company’s fastest card ever, especially with the latest games running ultra-high-definition resolutions like 4K or 5K. If that happens, then the launch would significantly disrupt sales of all other Radeon R9 series products, so the company decided not to unveil its new top-of-the-range graphics boards this month.

Once AMD has a new Radeon R9-class product ready, it could change the schedule again, but it seems that the company does not want to launch its new product as soon as possible. In the wake of the GeForce GTX 970 memory allocation issue for Nvidia, a new launch might have helped AMD capture market share, but it now seems to be taking other factors into account.

The sources with knowledge of AMD plans revealed to KitGuru that Computex has been targeted as the launch timeframe for AMD’s upcoming graphics adapters and a “full line up” was demanded from senior management and engineers. Instead of launching just one new graphics solution and a load of re-brands, AMD intends to roll-out a whole new range of graphics cards at Computex in early June. At present details about the lineup are not clear, but expect several all-new graphics solutions to be unveiled, whereas some re-branded products will likely show up in the following months.

amd_radeon_shop-home-component

While AMD does not comment on reports about product plans and launch schedules, the company indirectly confirmed that its new graphics processing units will be out rather later than sooner during the Morgan Stanley Technology, media and telecom conference this week. Apparently, AMD considers second half of this year as a time when it will try to regain lost market share from Nvidia.

“We are confident that as we get into the second half of 2015 with the launch of that [new graphics] product, we will gain back the market share which is low from my standpoint and historically,” said Devinder Kumar, chief financial officer of AMD. “We need to be significantly higher than where we are right now.”

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The reason why AMD prefers to delay introduction of new graphics processing units seems could be rather simple: sales dynamics of Radeon R9 280- and 290-series is not very good in the first quarter and AMD’s partners need additional time to get rid of them. Still, while AMD’s plan regarding launch timeframe seems to be clear now, the details about the exact lineup will probably remain in doubt until the last moment. KitGuru will continue to investigate AMD’s intentions in the coming weeks.

The post AMD to introduce its Radeon R9 300-series lineup at Computex first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-to-introduce-its-radeon-r9-300-series-lineup-at-computex/feed/ 148
Nvidia CEO addresses GeForce GTX 970 scandal in a letter to customers https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/nvidia-ceo-addresses-geforce-gtx-970-scandal-in-open-letter-to-customers/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/nvidia-ceo-addresses-geforce-gtx-970-scandal-in-open-letter-to-customers/#comments Tue, 24 Feb 2015 23:54:36 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=237359 Jen-Hsun Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp. on Tuesday wrote an open letter to the company’s customers covering the recent GeForce GTX 970 controversy. The head of the GPU developer admitted that the company failed to communicate how memory sub-system works on the GeForce GTX 970, but said that the graphics card should still …

The post Nvidia CEO addresses GeForce GTX 970 scandal in a letter to customers first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Jen-Hsun Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp. on Tuesday wrote an open letter to the company’s customers covering the recent GeForce GTX 970 controversy. The head of the GPU developer admitted that the company failed to communicate how memory sub-system works on the GeForce GTX 970, but said that the graphics card should still be considered as a “4GB” adapter. He promised not to make the same mistake again.

“Some of you are disappointed that we didn’t clearly describe the segmented memory of GeForce GTX 970 when we launched it,” wrote Mr. Huang. “We invented a new memory architecture in Maxwell. This new capability was created so that reduced-configurations of Maxwell can have a larger framebuffer. […] GTX 970 is a 4GB card. However, the upper 512MB of the additional 1GB is segmented and has reduced bandwidth.”

Although Mr. Huang admitted that the GeForce GTX 970’s memory sub-system works rather oddly, he did not reveal why the company incorrectly stated the amount of raster operations pipelines (64 instead of 56) and level-two cache size (2048KB instead of 1792KB).

nvidia_geforce_gtx_titan_z_huang

“Unfortunately, we failed to communicate this internally to our marketing team, and externally to reviewers at launch,” Mr. Huang acknowledged.

This is the not the first time Nvidia admits is mistake and blames poor communication within the company for the incorrect advertising. However, Nvidia offers no compensation to customers, who bought the GeForce GTX 970 based on specifications of the product.

Last week an end-user sued Nvidia for incorrect advertising and demanded a refund from the company.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: While it is good to see that Nvidia’s chief executive officer takes the GeForce GTX 970 issue very seriously, he did not reveal anything new and did not propose anything to owners of the graphics cards. While it is obvious that the GeForce GTX 970 is a great performer for the money, it is clear that many people are disappointed with the fact that they did not get what they paid for (and some even report about issues like micro-stuttering, which is a clear driver problem) and providing them some kind of a compensation would be a good step. It is unknown why Nvidia does not want to give anything back to its customers in this case.

The full text of Jen-Hsun Huang’s letter reads as follows:

Hey everyone,

Some of you are disappointed that we didn’t clearly describe the segmented memory of GeForce GTX 970 when we launched it. I can see why, so let me address it.

We invented a new memory architecture in Maxwell. This new capability was created so that reduced-configurations of Maxwell can have a larger framebuffer – i.e., so that GTX 970 is not limited to 3GB, and can have an additional 1GB.

GTX 970 is a 4GB card. However, the upper 512MB of the additional 1GB is segmented and has reduced bandwidth. This is a good design because we were able to add an additional 1GB for GTX 970 and our software engineers can keep less frequently used data in the 512MB segment.

Unfortunately, we failed to communicate this internally to our marketing team, and externally to reviewers at launch.

Since then, Jonah Alben, our senior vice president of hardware engineering, provided a technical description of the design, which was captured well by several editors. Here’s one example from The Tech Report.

Instead of being excited that we invented a way to increase memory of the GTX 970 from 3GB to 4GB, some were disappointed that we didn’t better describe the segmented nature of the architecture for that last 1GB of memory.

This is understandable. But, let me be clear: Our only intention was to create the best GPU for you. We wanted GTX 970 to have 4GB of memory, as games are using more memory than ever.

The 4GB of memory on GTX 970 is used and useful to achieve the performance you are enjoying. And as ever, our engineers will continue to enhance game performance that you can regularly download using GeForce Experience.

This new feature of Maxwell should have been clearly detailed from the beginning.

We won’t let this happen again. We’ll do a better job next time.

Jen-Hsun

The post Nvidia CEO addresses GeForce GTX 970 scandal in a letter to customers first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/nvidia-ceo-addresses-geforce-gtx-970-scandal-in-open-letter-to-customers/feed/ 14
Nvidia slammed with class-action lawsuit over GeForce GTX 970 specifications https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/nvidia-slammed-with-class-action-lawsuit-over-geforce-gtx-970-specifications/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/nvidia-slammed-with-class-action-lawsuit-over-geforce-gtx-970-specifications/#comments Sat, 21 Feb 2015 02:47:09 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=236873 While only a small fraction of GeForce GTX 970 owners plan to return their graphics cards to stores following a scandal with the product's specs, there are still quite a lot of people, who got upset not only because the company originally published incorrect specifications, but because it decided to remain silent even after the …

The post Nvidia slammed with class-action lawsuit over GeForce GTX 970 specifications first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
While only a small fraction of GeForce GTX 970 owners plan to return their graphics cards to stores following a scandal with the product's specs, there are still quite a lot of people, who got upset not only because the company originally published incorrect specifications, but because it decided to remain silent even after the mistake was uncovered. Apparently, those people have decided to take Nvidia Corp. to court because of it.

Andrew Ostrowski, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, this week filled a class-action suit against Nvidia in the U.S. district court for the northern district of California. The complaint accuses Nvidia and Gigabyte Technology of misleading advertising, unfair business practices, unlawful business practices, and deceptive business practices. The lawsuit seeks a jury trial as well as disgorgement, restitution, injunctive relief and all the other damages and reliefs permitted under California law.

nvidia_geforce_gtx_970_980_pcb_assembly_970

Back in January it was discovered that Nvidia incorrectly declared the amount of raster operations pipelines (ROPs), actual memory bandwidth, capacity of L2 cache and the amount of high-speed onboard memory for its GeForce GTX 970 graphics adapter. Instead of 64 ROPs, the GPU features only 56 ROPs; actual usable memory bandwidth at present is less than 224GB/s; the L2 size is 1792KB, not 2048KB; and the amount of memory should be indicated as 3.5GB + 0.5GB because only 3.5GB can be accessed with maximum data-rate due to limitations of the cut-down GM204 architecture of the GeForce GTX 970.

“The defendants engaged in a scheme to mislead consumers nationwide about the characteristics, qualities and benefits of the GTX 970 by stating that the GTX 970 provides a true 4GB of VRAM, 64 ROPs, and 2048 KB of L2 cache capacity, when in fact it does not,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants’ marketing of the GTX 970 was intended to and did create the perception among purchasers that the product was, in fact, able to conform with the specifications as advertised.”

GTX_970_Style

Nvidia has admitted that it incorrectly stated specifications of the GeForce GTX 970. The company said that all performance limitations associated with the specs cannot be cured with a driver update. However, the GPU developer did not promise any compensation to owners of such graphics cards. Moreover, Nvidia unofficially wants to distance itself from the scandal, according to a media report. By contrast, numerous retailers and graphics cards makers accept returns of the GeForce GTX 970 graphics adapters or provide partial refunds to their owners. Only between 1 and 5 per cent of owners have so far returned their GTX 970 add-in-boards.

Since the lawsuit is a class action one, it may be joined by other people, who believe that Nvidia and Gigabyte deceived them with the GeForce GTX 970 specifications.

Nvidia declined to comment on the lawsuit, reports PCWorld web-site. Gigabyte did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Usually proceedings like this one last for years, hence, do not expect any results any time soon. In fact, one of the reasons why the lawsuit was filled was the fact that Nvidia decided admit its mistakes, but offered nothing back to gamers. Keeping in mind that mobile Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M graphics processor is also affected by the same memory and ROP issues as the GeForce GTX 970, expect notebook gamers to slam Nvidia too…

The post Nvidia slammed with class-action lawsuit over GeForce GTX 970 specifications first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/nvidia-slammed-with-class-action-lawsuit-over-geforce-gtx-970-specifications/feed/ 171
Details about AMD Radeon R9 300-series product line emerge https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/details-about-amd-radeon-r9-300-series-product-line-emerge/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/details-about-amd-radeon-r9-300-series-product-line-emerge/#comments Tue, 10 Feb 2015 04:47:42 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=234827 As reported, Advanced Micro Devices plans to introduce its new Radeon R9 and Radeon R7 300-series products in the second quarter of the year. While the new product line will carry new model numbers, it will include graphics processing units that will not be exactly new. The Radeon R9 300-series lineup will consist of seven …

The post Details about AMD Radeon R9 300-series product line emerge first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
As reported, Advanced Micro Devices plans to introduce its new Radeon R9 and Radeon R7 300-series products in the second quarter of the year. While the new product line will carry new model numbers, it will include graphics processing units that will not be exactly new.

The Radeon R9 300-series lineup will consist of seven graphics adapters: Radeon R9 370/370X, Radeon R9 380/380X, Radeon R9 390/390X as well as dual-chip Radeon R9 395X2, reports 3DCenter. In addition, AMD intends to introduce Radeon R7 360/360X graphics boards for entry-level market segment.

The top-of-the-range Radeon R9 390/390X as well as the R9 395X2 graphics adapters will be based on the code-named “Fiji” graphics processing units. The new GPUs feature GCN 1.3 architecture, up to 4096 stream processors and will rely on high-bandwidth memory from SK Hynix.

amd_radeon_r9_295x2_295_x2_1

The high-performance Radeon R9 380/380X will be powered by the code-named “Grenada” graphics chip that will be a revamped version of the “Hawaii” GPU. The novelty will sport 2816 stream processors, 512-bit GDDR5 memory bus and will offer performance comparable to that of the Radeon R9 290/290X. It is unclear whether the chip will feature any architectural improvements over existing GPUs.

The Radeon R9 370/370X will rely on the code-named “Tonga” graphics processing unit with up to 2048 stream processors and 256-bit memory bus.

The Radeon R7 360/360X will use code-named “Trinidad” graphics chip with unknown specifications and GCN architecture.

All-in-all, only AMD Radeon R9 390/390X graphics card will feature an all-new graphics processor with improved architecture and considerably higher performance compared to chips that are available today. All other graphics boards in the lineup will be powered by GPUs that are similar to those, which are already on the market.

AMD did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: If the information about the Radeon R9 300-series lineup is correct, then the new product family will not be very impressive. To make the matters worse, AMD will barely improve performance of its graphics solutions compared to those available today.

The post Details about AMD Radeon R9 300-series product line emerge first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/details-about-amd-radeon-r9-300-series-product-line-emerge/feed/ 26
Nvidia will not admit guilt of the GeForce GTX 970 scandal https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/nvidia-will-not-admit-guilt-of-the-geforce-gtx-970-scandal/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/nvidia-will-not-admit-guilt-of-the-geforce-gtx-970-scandal/#comments Tue, 10 Feb 2015 03:27:34 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=234821 Although Nvidia Corp.’s partners will clearly suffer financial losses because of the scandal with incorrect specifications of the GeForce GTX 970, the designer of graphics processing units does not plan to admit its mistake at all costs, according to a media report. Even though return rates of the GeForce GTX 970 are very low, Nvidia …

The post Nvidia will not admit guilt of the GeForce GTX 970 scandal first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Although Nvidia Corp.’s partners will clearly suffer financial losses because of the scandal with incorrect specifications of the GeForce GTX 970, the designer of graphics processing units does not plan to admit its mistake at all costs, according to a media report.

Even though return rates of the GeForce GTX 970 are very low, Nvidia does not want to take responsibility for incorrect specifications and memory allocation issues. The company officially claims that the GeForce GTX 970 was designed this way and that its performance is rather high despite of the fact that it has 56 raster operations pipelines, 224-bit memory bus and 3.5GB of memory.

nvidia_geforce_gtx_970

Nvidia has not apologized to its customers for incorrect specifications and does not want to admit any guilt because this will give its partners an opportunity to ask for material compensation, reports Heise.de. Profit margins of graphics cards makers are pretty low, which means that for them even 1 – 5 per cent return rate could result in losses.

Since Nvidia does not want to admit its guilt, it is now illogical to expect any kind of compensation to the end-users.

Nvidia did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: While performance of the GeForce GTX 970 is pretty high and is very good for the money, Nvidia’s behaviour and arrogance greatly damages the company’s reputation.

The post Nvidia will not admit guilt of the GeForce GTX 970 scandal first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/nvidia-will-not-admit-guilt-of-the-geforce-gtx-970-scandal/feed/ 61
AMD: We are putting the finishing touches on the Radeon R9 300-series https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-we-are-putting-the-finishing-touches-on-the-radeon-r9-300-series/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-we-are-putting-the-finishing-touches-on-the-radeon-r9-300-series/#comments Fri, 06 Feb 2015 07:08:29 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=234357 A representative of Advanced Micro Devices has confirmed that the development of its forthcoming product family based on a new breed of graphics processing units is on the finish line. While the novelties will not hit the market shortly, they will likely enter production in the coming weeks. “We are still putting the finishing touches on …

The post AMD: We are putting the finishing touches on the Radeon R9 300-series first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
A representative of Advanced Micro Devices has confirmed that the development of its forthcoming product family based on a new breed of graphics processing units is on the finish line. While the novelties will not hit the market shortly, they will likely enter production in the coming weeks.

“We are still putting the finishing touches on the [Radeon R9 300] series to make sure they live up to expectation,” an unknown representative from AMD said in the company’s official Facebook account. “Cannot wait to reveal them though. We are pretty excited.”

amd_radeon_artwork_angle_new

Previously it was reported that the new flagship graphics solution from AMD is called Radeon R9 380X. The graphics card is expected to be based on the GCN 1.2 architecture, to feature 4096 stream processors, which, in case of the GCN 1.2 architecture, means 64 compute units and 256 texture units. The memory sub-system will rely on SK Hynix’s stacked high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips with 1024-bit input/output interface (compliant with the JESD235 standard) and up to 640GB/s of bandwidth (thanks to 4096-bit memory bus and 1.25GT/s transfer rate). The graphics boards will be equipped with 4GB of HBM memory.

It is expected that the Radeon R9 380X will provide over 50 per cent performance improvement compared to the Radeon R9 290X and will demonstrate particularly high results in ultra-high-definition resolutions thanks to massive memory bandwidth.

In addition to the high-end product, AMD is also working on a mainstream GPU code-named Trinidad, which is set to replace the AMD Radeon R9 270-series “Curacao” graphics processor that has been on the market for about three years now. The “Trinidad” graphics chip is expected to feature 1280 or more stream processors to deliver new levels of performance to the market segment.

amd_gaming_evolved_radeon_graphics_artwork_2

Even though AMD has confirmed development of its new-generation graphics solutions for a number of times, the company also said that it would release them only in the second quarter of the year, which means from April to July.

“Going into the second quarter and the second half of the year with our new product launches, I think we feel very good about where we are positioned there,” said Lisa Su, chief executive officer of AMD, during a conference call with investors and financial analysts. “Commercial will definitely be important, as well as improving our overall mix.”

If AMD plans to formally roll-out its new Radeon R9 380 and Radeon R9 380X graphics cards in April, then it should start production of cards in late February or early March.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It is rather ironic that AMD is consistently fuelling the discussion about its next-generation Radeon graphics processors, but does not launch them because it needs to sell off existing graphics cards first. Quite naturally, discussions about the next-gen always slowdown interest towards current-generation among enthusiasts.

The post AMD: We are putting the finishing touches on the Radeon R9 300-series first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-we-are-putting-the-finishing-touches-on-the-radeon-r9-300-series/feed/ 11
Return rate of GeForce GTX 970 after memory scandal is below 5% https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/return-rate-of-geforce-gtx-970-after-memory-allocation-scandal-is-below-5/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/return-rate-of-geforce-gtx-970-after-memory-allocation-scandal-is-below-5/#comments Fri, 06 Feb 2015 05:11:54 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=234345 Although the buzz in various forums and social networks about memory allocation issues of Nvidia Corp.’s GeForce GTX 970 is fairly loud, the amount of customers wishing to return their graphics cards to stores or manufacturers is fairly low. According to various sources polled by KitGuru, the actual return rate of the GeForce GTX is …

The post Return rate of GeForce GTX 970 after memory scandal is below 5% first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Although the buzz in various forums and social networks about memory allocation issues of Nvidia Corp.’s GeForce GTX 970 is fairly loud, the amount of customers wishing to return their graphics cards to stores or manufacturers is fairly low. According to various sources polled by KitGuru, the actual return rate of the GeForce GTX is below 5 per cent. The low return rate of the GTX 970 is good for Nvidia, its partners and the market

“I have heard as many as 5 per cent of the buyers are demanding a refund from the AIB suppliers,” said Jon Peddie, the principal analyst at Jon Peddie Research.

nvidia_geforce_gtx_970_1

While retailers and add-in-card vendors do not want to share a lot of details about the amount of customers wishing to return their graphics cards following the scandal with incorrect specifications and inability to use more than 3.5GB/s of memory, they also confirmed that the amount of returned GeForce GTX 970 is very low. According to some estimates, the return rate of the GTX 970 because of the aforementioned issues is between one and two percent.

The returned GeForce GTX 970 will not vanish into thin air and will reappear on the market. Suppliers of graphics cards who voluntarily decided to accept returns will get them back, test them, ensure that they work properly and then will either market them again as new. They could also somehow rebrand the returned GeForce GTX 970 graphics boards. Those graphics cards that will not be accepted by manufacturers will be re-conditioned by retailers and will be sold with a discount. In short, all returned GeForce GTX 970 will shortly be available with 5% – 10% – 20% price reduction.

nvidia_geforce_gtx_970

Nobody knows for sure how many GeForce GTX 970 graphics cards have been sold so far, but even at 5 per cent return rate the amount of the boards set to return to the market will barely be significant. Still, it will have certain impact on the market.

“Let’s assume Nvidia sold 2.5 million of [GeForce GTX 970 cards], and 5 per cent are returned, that is 125 thousand add-in-boards (AIBs),” said Mr. Peddie. “Is that a lot when the total AIB market is going to be about 53 million in 2015? […] I suppose if 125 thousand GTX 970 turn up at half price then that is going to have some impact on AMD and Nvidia’s sales, but only for a short time, one quarter max.”

In reality, it is highly likely that the amount of GeForce GTX 970 set to be returned by the end-users because of the controversy will be a lot less than 100 thousand units. 100 thousand unhappy customers can create a lot of negative noise all over the Internet, but they will hardly have a significant impact on the market.

Last week Overclockers UK and Caseking.de – two leading European online stores from the U.K. and Germany – said that they would accept all GeForce GTX 970 graphics cards from all suppliers back if certain customers are unhappy. The window for returning a GeForce GTX 970 is between now and end of February.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: While it is unlikely that the returns of the GeForce GTX 970 graphics boards will have a significant impact on the market, it will still cause some negative effects. As a result, it is completely unclear why Nvidia decided not to react on the situation anyhow or settle with the end-users.

The post Return rate of GeForce GTX 970 after memory scandal is below 5% first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/return-rate-of-geforce-gtx-970-after-memory-allocation-scandal-is-below-5/feed/ 47
Alleged performance of AMD Radeon R9 380X in 3DMark revealed https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/alleged-performance-of-amd-radeon-r9-380x-in-3dmark-revealed/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/alleged-performance-of-amd-radeon-r9-380x-in-3dmark-revealed/#comments Wed, 04 Feb 2015 17:22:54 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=234002 A Chinese web-site has published what it claims to be preliminary performance benchmarks of an upcoming high-performance graphics card from Advanced Micro Devices. Just like previous unofficial test results, the new ones indicate that AMD’s forthcoming high-end graphics solution will beat everything that is available on the market today except the dual-chip Radeon R9 295X2. …

The post Alleged performance of AMD Radeon R9 380X in 3DMark revealed first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
A Chinese web-site has published what it claims to be preliminary performance benchmarks of an upcoming high-performance graphics card from Advanced Micro Devices. Just like previous unofficial test results, the new ones indicate that AMD’s forthcoming high-end graphics solution will beat everything that is available on the market today except the dual-chip Radeon R9 295X2.

amd_radeon_shop-home-component

Chinese-language Chiphell web-site has once again published alleged benchmark results of an unknown AMD graphics card that is claimed to be the forthcoming flagship Radeon R9 graphics solution. Recently AMD employees confirmed that the next-gen top-of-the-range single-chip solution will be called the Radeon R9 380X; hence, it is highly likely that the web-site published the so-called benchmark results of this product. The company used a picture of an island instead of an actual name on its graphs.

amd_radeon_r9_380_alleged_benchmark_results

According to the numbers released by the web-site, the alleged Radeon R8 380X scores 8374 points in the 3DMark FireStrike Extreme benchmark, which is considerably higher compared to the GeForce GTX 980 and the GeForce GTX 780 Ti. While the unconfirmed results look impressive, the numbers do not seem to be very consistent. The GeForce GTX 980 and the GeForce GTX 780 Ti usually demonstrate similar results in the 3DMark FireStrike Extreme. But Chiphell’s graph indicates that the former is considerably faster than the latter.

amd_radeon_r9_380_alleged_benchmark_results_1

Another graph published by the web-site reveals relative performance advantage the alleged Radeon R9 380X has over existing graphics adapters. If the numbers are correct, then the novelty is around 58 per cent faster than the GeForce GTX 970 and the Radeon R9 290X, which is something that was expected.

The data by Chiphell further shows that the Radeon R9 380X consumes up to 295W, but thanks to usage of a hybrid liquid + air cooler, the GPU temperature is only about 73°C.

In general, the published data looks interesting. However, it should be kept in mind that the Radeon R9 380X is due in several months’ time and it is unclear whether at present AMD has finalized specifications of the commercial product or not. Final configuration and final clock-speeds are usually finalized weeks before commercial shipments, whereas drivers are released sometimes days before the announcement. As a result, it is pretty hard to make conclusions about performance using preliminary hardware and software.

It is expected that the Radeon R9 380X is based on the GCN 1.2 architecture and sports 4096 stream processors as well as 4GB of stacked high-bandwidth memory (HBM) with up to 640GB/s of bandwidth.

AMD did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: If the Radeon R9 380X truly delivers 50 per cent performance improvement over the Radeon R9 290X, it will be a very good result that will probably let AMD and its partners to sell loads of such graphics cards. Unfortunately, we have no idea when exactly AMD plans to roll-out its new product. As a result, we do not know what Nvidia will use to compete against the new GPU from AMD. The Santa Clara, California-based GPU developer is not standing still and is working not only on its new-generation GeForce GTX Titan based on the code-named GM200 GPU, but is also developing new solutions to refresh its lineup this fall.

The post Alleged performance of AMD Radeon R9 380X in 3DMark revealed first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/alleged-performance-of-amd-radeon-r9-380x-in-3dmark-revealed/feed/ 52
Multiple graphics cards vendors accept returns of GeForce GTX 970 adapters https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/multiple-graphics-cards-vendors-accept-returns-of-geforce-gtx-970-adapters/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/multiple-graphics-cards-vendors-accept-returns-of-geforce-gtx-970-adapters/#comments Wed, 04 Feb 2015 05:01:13 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=233825 Although Nvidia Corp. still have not made any decisions about how to handle the situation with GeForce GTX 970 graphics cards and their incorrect specifications, a number of graphics cards suppliers now accept returns of such adapters, at least, in the U.K. and Germany. In the recent weeks it was discovered and then confirmed that …

The post Multiple graphics cards vendors accept returns of GeForce GTX 970 adapters first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Although Nvidia Corp. still have not made any decisions about how to handle the situation with GeForce GTX 970 graphics cards and their incorrect specifications, a number of graphics cards suppliers now accept returns of such adapters, at least, in the U.K. and Germany.

In the recent weeks it was discovered and then confirmed that Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 graphics card cannot use more than 3.5GB of its onboard memory at full speed and that it features lower amount of raster operations pipelines (ROPs) (56 instead of 64) than Nvidia initially advertised as well as cut-down L2 cache. As a result, a lot of end-users got so disappointed that decided to return their graphics adapters. Unfortunately, Nvidia officially has not made any announcements regarding returns or compensations to owners of the GeForce GTX 970, which is why at present all the returns are handled by retailers and graphics cards suppliers.

Overclockers UK and Caseking.de – two leading European online stores from the U.K. and Germany – said that they would accept all GeForce GTX 970 graphics cards from all suppliers back if certain customers are unhappy. The window for returning a GeForce GTX 970 is between now and end of February.

nvidia_geforce_gtx_970_980_pcb_assembly_970

Andrew “Gibbo” Gibson, purchasing manager at Overclockers UK, said that multiple graphics cards makers decided to support OcUK in terms of accepting returns. In particular, EVGA, Inno3D, KFA2 (formerly Galax), MicroStar International, Palit Microsystems and Zotac have officially confirmed plans to take the graphics cards back. Asustek Computer has not formally confirmed the intention, but the company has supported returns in the past. Gigabyte Technology does not support returns of GeForce GTX 970 graphics adapters, but could change its mind eventually.

Nvidia and Gigabyte did not comment on the news-story.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Nvidia’s partners have sold hundreds of thousands of GeForce GTX 970 graphics cards in the recent months. If one third of the GeForce GTX 970 owners decide to return their adapters, this will clearly hurt manufacturers financially. To avoid such problems (remember that companies like EVGA, Inno3D, KFA2 and Palit exclusively sell Nvidia GeForce graphics adapters), Nvidia will need to settle with the end-users. Unfortunately, so far Nvidia has not made any statements on the matter.

The post Multiple graphics cards vendors accept returns of GeForce GTX 970 adapters first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/multiple-graphics-cards-vendors-accept-returns-of-geforce-gtx-970-adapters/feed/ 30
AMD: Future GPUs will significantly boost performance in 4K resolutions https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-future-gpus-will-significantly-boost-performance-in-4k-resolutions/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-future-gpus-will-significantly-boost-performance-in-4k-resolutions/#comments Tue, 03 Feb 2015 07:12:10 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=233612 Even though modern graphics cards are powerful enough to play the majority of video games in ultra HD resolutions, two modern graphics cards are usually required to play all the latest video games in 4K (3840*2160) ultra-high-definition resolution with all graphics effects enabled. AMD believes that the forthcoming graphics chips will significantly improve performance in …

The post AMD: Future GPUs will significantly boost performance in 4K resolutions first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Even though modern graphics cards are powerful enough to play the majority of video games in ultra HD resolutions, two modern graphics cards are usually required to play all the latest video games in 4K (3840*2160) ultra-high-definition resolution with all graphics effects enabled. AMD believes that the forthcoming graphics chips will significantly improve performance in high resolutions and one GPU will be enough to enjoy titles in UHD mode.

“Ultimately, the evolution of GPU horsepower is the biggest factor in driving 4K forward,” said Robert Hallock, head of global technical marketing at AMD, in an interview with GamingBolt web-site. “Graphics being such an important part of our business, of course, you can count on great progress on that front as the years wind on.”

At present only elite enthusiasts play in 4K resolutions partly because UHD displays are still pretty expensive. Moreover, far not all gamers can afford several high-end graphics cards. AMD’s upcoming graphics adapter – the Radeon R9 380X – will feature 4096 stream processors as well as 4GB of high-bandwidth memory with up to 640GB/s bandwidth. Increased GPU horsepower and increased memory bandwidth will significantly improve performance in 4K resolution.

amd_radeon_r9_290_2

“If you think back to the launch of the AMD Radeon R9 290X, our graphics card marked arguably the first time anyone could reasonably expect to play games at 4K on a single GPU,” said Mr. Hallock. “Sure, there were some games that needed two for peak image quality, but one was and is pretty solid for the majority of titles. We were also the first company to offer full support for 4K SST displays in our driver.”

While it is clear that increased performance of upcoming high-end graphics processing units will make single-GPU 4K gaming a reality, it is completely unclear when performance mainstream graphics solutions will be able to provide decent amount of performance for UHD gaming.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Display resolutions have been increasing throughout the history of personal computers, therefore, UHD is the future of all displays and the future of PC gaming.

The post AMD: Future GPUs will significantly boost performance in 4K resolutions first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/amd-future-gpus-will-significantly-boost-performance-in-4k-resolutions/feed/ 11