AMD unveils Radeon R9 and R7 series video cards, unifying graphics code for PCs and consoles

AMD unveils Radeon R9 and R7 video cards, unifying graphics code for PCs and consoles

Graphics cards aren’t normally our go-to choices for audio processing, but we may have to make exceptions for AMD’s just-unveiled Radeon R9 and R7 lines. The R9 290X (shown above), R9 290 and R7 260X (after the break) will support TrueAudio, a new programmable pipeline that enables advanced audio effects without burdening a PC’s main processor or a dedicated sound card. Not that the range will be lacking in visual prowess, of course. While the company isn’t revealing full specifications, it claims that the R9 290X flagship will have five teraflops of total computing power versus the four teraflops of the previous generation. The boards will ship sometime in the “near future,” with prices ranging from $89 for an entry R7 250 to $299 for the mid-tier R9 280X. AMD isn’t divulging the R9 290X’s price, but pre-orders for the card will start on October 3rd.

The firm has also revealed a new programming interface, Mantle, that makes the most of the Graphics Core Next architecture found in many of its recent processors and video chipsets. Developers who build the low-level code into their games should get better performance from GCN-based devices without having to re-optimize for each platform — a title meant for Radeon-equipped PCs should still behave well on a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, for instance. Mantle will debut on Windows through a December update to Battlefield 4, and should spread to other platforms in the months ahead.

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Via: AnandTech

Source: AMD

MacBook Air gets gaming credentials through home-built external GPU (video)

MacBook Air gets some gaming credentials through homebuilt external GPU video

The MacBook Air’s integrated graphics all but rule it out as a serious gaming machine. However, Larry Gadea at the Tech Inferno forums has found a way to make the Air a powerhouse through an ad hoc external GPU. His design mates a PCI Express video card to the Mac’s Thunderbolt port through a combination of two adapters, a Boot Camp installation of Windows 7 and third-party software. The performance improvement is appropriately dramatic, leading to frame rates up to seven times faster than what Intel’s HD 5000 can manage. Just don’t expect to buy a pre-assembled version anytime soon — the peripheral needs a desktop-class power supply just to run, and Intel won’t issue the licenses needed to commercialize Thunderbolt GPUs. If you’re absolutely determined to get a Crysis-worthy ultraportable, though, you’ll find Gadea’s instructions at the source link.

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Via: MacRumors

Source: Tech Inferno

NVIDIA unveils GeForce GTX 760, brings modern Kepler down to $249 (video)

NVIDIA unveils GeForce GTX 760, brings modern Kepler down to $249 video

NVIDIA has been gradually lowering the base pricing for its desktop GeForce 700 series, but few outside of the hardcore gamer set would say the $399 GTX 770 was affordable. Enter the GeForce GTX 760: the Kepler-based chipset supports all the visual effects of its faster cousins, but at a more palatable $249 target price. Although it won’t rival the 770 in performance, it offers more bang for the buck than the GTX 660 it’s built to replace: the GTX 760 carries more processing cores (1,152 versus 960) and more memory bandwidth (192GB/s versus 144GB/s) while maintaining similar clock speeds. It can even punch above its weight class, as it’s reportedly up to 12 percent faster than the $299 GTX 660 Ti. Should that balance of price and performance sound especially sweet, you can pick up a GTX 760 board today from the likes of ASUS, EVGA, Gigabyte and others. Several PC builders, such as Falcon Northwest, Maingear and Origin PC, are also equipping their machines with the new mid-tier graphics from day one.

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Source: NVIDIA

NVIDIA announces GeForce GTX 770 for under $400, says it’s faster than last year’s GTX 680

NVIDIA announces GeForce GTX 770 for under $400, says it's faster than last year's GTX 680

It probably won’t come as a huge surprise, given the GTX 780‘s appearance last week, but today’s launch of the GTX 770 nevertheless brings us a very interesting product. The card is claimed to be about five percent faster than last year’s much more expensive flagship, the GTX 680, thanks to faster memory (7Gb/s instead of 6Gb/s), a slightly higher base clock speed (1,046 vs. 1,006MHz) and an equivalent number of CUDA cores (1,536). Seeing as how the the GTX 680 still holds its own with current games, this performance parity strikes us as something of a deal — assuming independent benchmarks back it up. We’re awaiting a confirmed US price, but we’ll eat our SATA cables if it’s anything other than $399 for a 2GB model (the press release just says “under $400”). UK and European prices match those of the GTX 670 (£329 inc. VAT, 329 euros exc. VAT), and availability begins today. Check out NVIDIA’s slide deck for more details, including power consumption and noise, SLI scaling (which looks healthy) and some in-house frame rate comparisons against other products.

Update: $399 is confirmed. The cables are safe.

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ASUS GTX 670 DirectCU Mini set at $399 with May 20th release, up for pre-order (video)

ASUS GTX 670 DirectCU Mini set at $399 with May 20th release, up for pre-order (video)

ASUS’ GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU Mini graphics card first broke cover in April without a price or concrete release date, but now Newegg has dished out just those details along with extra specs. Loaded with 1,344 CUDA cores and 2GB of 256-bit GDDR5 RAM, the silicon boats a base clock of 928Mhz and a boost speed of 1,006MHz. The 6.7-inch-long hardware bound for diminutive — or even full-size — PCs rings up at $399, and is slated for availability on May 20th. Click the source link below to pre-order the dual-slot dwarf or head past the break for the retailer’s unboxing video.

[Thanks, Cody]

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Source: Newegg

AMD details $999 Radeon HD 7990 graphics card, says it handles all top games at 4K

AMD details Radeon HD 7990 any game at 4K resolution for $999

We’ve seen plenty of the Radeon HD 7990 in action with Battlefield 4, but it’s taken AMD a little while to furnish us with full specs and pricing for its in-house reference design. Now that all the info is here, in the run-up to commercial availability in two week’s time, it’s finally possible to judge the pros and cons of what is arguably a very niche product. Read on past the break and we’ll do just that.

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Fusion-io bumps its ioFX super-SSD to 1.6TB, announces HP Workstation Z integration

Fusionio bumps its ioFX superSSD to 16TB, announces HP Workstation Z integration

We have a feeling graphics artists are going to be begging their studios for Fusion-io‘s latest ioFX super-SSD. After receiving critical acclaim for its 460GB version, the company has today introduced a massively-speced 1.6TB variant at NAB. Despite the space increase, the new unit is not bigger than its older sibling. In related news, HP has also signed on to integrate ioFX into its HP Z 420, 620 and 820 all-in-ones, and it’ll also give current workstation owners the option to simply add the card to their existing machines. Fusion won’t be releasing any details about pricing for the 1.6TB ioFX just yet — that’ll remain under wraps until its released this summer. For now, movie makers can net the 460GB one for $2K (about $500 less that its release price). Full press release after the break.

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ASUS unveils GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU Mini graphics card destined for little rigs

ASUS unveils GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU Mini graphics card destined for little rigs

It’s easy to chop and change components in spacious towers, but small PCs need upgrading, too. If your stunted desktop has fallen into the “minimum system requirements” category for the latest games, then maybe the newly announced ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU Mini graphics card will interest you. Quite the mouthful, we know, but its long name contrasts with its small size — the dual-slot, 2GB card measures 6.7 inches on its longest edge, shaving almost 3 inches off the reference design. There’s no reason you can’t put the card in a regular case, of course, but it’s intended mainly for compact rigs with mini ITX or micro ATX motherboards. We don’t have pricing or release info yet, but if the cost of NVIDIA’s GTX 670 is anything to go by, expect to drop at least a trio of Benjamins on the petite version. Glamor shots and all the finer specs are available at the source links below.

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Via: Fareastgizmos

Source: ASUS (1), (2)

AMD Radeon HD 7990 says hello, plays a bit of Battlefield 4 at GDC

AMD Radeon HD 7990 says hello, plays a bit of Battlefield 4 at GDC

Gamers were down-right spoiled at this year’s GDC with a full 17 minutes of beautiful Battlefield 4 in-game footage. Minds blown, AMD took responsibility for the part it played in the mess, admitting the demo was running on its Radeon HD 7990 graphics card. It’s the first time the company’s confirmed the existence of the long-fabled card, and went as far as calling the case-busting monster “the world’s fastest.” All we know is the card combines two of the HD 7970’s Tahiti GPUs — AMD’s not sharing the full specs — but the eagle-eyed folks at AnandTech have plucked a few extra details from the limited pictures available. They note the open-air cooling, which would require a drafty case but mean the fans should run fairly quiet, and that power consumption is likely to be no more than 375 watts. Not much to go on, we know, but we’ll be waiting eagerly for AMD’s full reveal. Now, your BF4 video awaits. (Warning: the game dialogue contains a few naughty words).

[Image Credit: AnandTech]

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Via: AnandTech

Source: AMD Gaming (Facebook)

AMD Radeon HD 7790 review roundup: what to expect from a $149 gaming card

AMD Radeon HD 7790 review roundup what to expect from a $149 gaming card

Mainstream gaming is all about 1080p. Monitors may be getting cheaper, making higher resolutions and multi-display setups ever more feasible, but Full HD is still sufficient for the average buyer. AMD knows it, and that’s why this morning’s announcement of the Radeon HD 7790 came with a straightforward promise: the ability to play the latest games at 1080p with high detail settings for a maximum outlay of $149. Such claims can’t be waved around without being tested, and indeed The Tech Report, HotHardware, Bit.tech and other sites have just returned their verdicts. Read on for our review roundup.

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