Graphics Cards - Page 252

AMD might not be friends with ORIGIN PC anymore, but it sure is BFFs with Maingear, who has just announced it will be fitting AMD's latest R9-290X GPU inside some of its upcoming systems.

While the rest of the new R7 and R9 GPUs are simple HD 7000 Series rebadges - which is unfortunate - the R9-290X is not. It's a true Hawaii core, and should pack quite a serious punch in the performance department. The R9-290X will ship with a glorious amount of RAM, 4GBs of GDDR5 to be exact, and it will also tow TrueAudio and 4K support, too.

Maingear will throw the R9-290X GPU in its Shift and F131 systems, where you'll also receive a copy of Battlefield 4, with Battlefield 4 themed cases and hardware, too. These Maingear systems will be "limited edition" builds, so you'll have to be quick to snap them up. Maingear's Shift setup will feature two R9-290Xs in CrossFire, and it will support up to three cards in CF with either the FX 9370 or 9590 CPU and a starting price of $3,789.

Today VisionTek announced the launch of five new AMD Radeon R Series graphic cards that are designed to provide extreme performance at almost any budget level. The new cards are built on the AMD Radeon R7 and R9 series GPUs and feature some very powerful features with prices starting at just $69.

The newly introduced video cards are comprised of three R7 series and two R9 series GPUs. These two new lines of GPUs from AMD are the first to offer support for DirectX 11.2 and the stunning 3D visual effects, life like visuals and realistic lighting this new standard brings forth. The cards also offer AMD's PowerTune, ZeroCore and App Acceleration technologies that greatly enhance not only the performance, but the entire user experience.

"We're very pleased to announce a new line of high performance graphics cards utilizing AMD's incredible new R7 and R9 Series GPUs," said Mark Bilson, Executive Vice President of VisionTek. "Our cards will redefine the gaming experience due to their visual, audio, and compute capabilities. And because they're priced attractively, these cards should be among the best-selling tech products in the fourth quarter. To coin a phrase from AMD, 'Radeon Is Gaming' truly defines our new line."

Just in time for AMD to announce its next-gen R7 and R9 series of GPUs, NVIDIA is using this time to drop its prices on its popular mid-range GPUs. This includes the GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST 1GB and 2GB models, as well as the GTX 660.

We now have pricing of the GTX 650 Ti BOOST 1GB and 2GB models for $129 and $149 respectively, while the GTX 660 is now priced at $179. The GTX 760 has a suggested etail price of $249, and the GTX 770 starts at $399. This is a great time to pick up a new GPU, with next-gen titles about to hit like Battlefield 4 and Watch Dogs. If you enjoy the GeForce side of things, prepare your wallets!

DigiTimes is reporting from "sources from graphics card players" that NVIDIA is preparing to drop its prices on its range of GeForce GPUs in late November to compete with the onslaught AMD is preparing with its next-gen R7 and R9 series of GPUs.

There's another rumor that would peg NVIDIA to releasing one or two new GPUs in the $149-$249 segment, which is the hottest market, especially for the holiday season. Better yet, next-gen consoles will be released and people will want to upgrade their PCs to play these new, next-gen games at higher resolutions or graphic details.

Numerous GPUs from AMD's upcoming lineup are simple re-badges of current HD 7000 series GPUs, which will give NVIDIA the chance to come in and kick some doors down with its new pricing. We could also expect a new high-end dual-GPU card which will be based on two GK110 cores, which could arrive as the GeForce GTX 790.

We're not far away from the retail launch of AMD's next-gen Radeon GPUs, but ahead of that we have a look at XFX's Radeon R9 280X Double Dissipation GPU which looks unbelievably hot.

XFX has donned the new GPU in a completely new cooling design, which just looks beautiful. The color scheme is black and red with silver trims, with dual 100mm fans and copper heat pipes and an aluminum heatsink underneath keeping everything nice and cool, and quiet. Underneath the exotic-looking cooling setup, we have the Tahiti XTL GPU.

The Tahiti XTL GPU features 2048 Graphics CoreNext stream processors, 128 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and a 384-bit memory bus that supports up to 3GB of RAM. We should expect the pricing on this GPU to sit somewhere between $299 and $329.

The AMD event is well and truly underway in Hawaii, but one of the more interesting things to arrive from the event is AMD's new TrueAudio technology. There's not many technical details on TrueAudio at the moment, but the way AMD describes it, TrueAudio would be an audio DSP built into its coming GPUs.

For as long as I can remember, PC game audio has shifted to software away from hardware, but now we're seeing a change in the opposite direction. It comes at a great time, since Windows Vista ushered in the big changes to Windows' audio stack, but moving to software isn't the best solution. We saw the hardware audio scene mostly die, with DirectSound 3D all but disappear.

New consoles (with AMD APUs) and Windows 8 is thankfully changing this, and AMD hopes to capatilize on this. AMD wants to offload audio processing to its DSP in order to take advantage of the better capabilities of task-dedicated hardware. This isn't something that is new, but it is something we haven't seen much investment in over the last decade.

AMD GPU14 - AMD kicked off its GPU14 Conference in Hawaii by announcing five new video cards that span the gamut of pricing and performance. AMD's Matt Skinner took the stage to announce the new AMD R9 and R7 series of enthusiast level graphics cards and lead off by saying that AMD's new GPUs are built using the same technology that is featured in all the upcoming next-gen consoles.

Up first is AMD's Radeon R7-250, a budget friendly GPU that packs in 1GB of RAM and scores >2000 in 3DMark FireStrike. The R7-250 will retail for $89 or less. Next up the chain is the all new Radeon R7-260X, a GPU that hits the midrange market with 2GB of GDDR5 memory and scores >3700 in 3DMark FireStorm all for just $139.

Up next is the first card in the R9 series, the Radeon R9-270X, an upper level $199 GPU that features 2GB of GDDR5 and scores >5500 in 3DMark FireStorm. The R9-280X is the first high-end GPU that AMD announced and features 3GB of GDDR5 RAM. The R9-280X scored more than 6800 in 3DMark FireStorm and will retail for $299.

Our own Shawn Baker is in Hawaii right now probably enjoying a cocktail and Luau or two for the AMD event that it set to take place in the following hours, but ahead of the unveiling, AMD is promising to fix some of its issues.

We should see the chipmaker improve CrossFire, Eyefinity and Linux support, on top of unveiling a bunch of next generation GPUs. We should expect the R9-290X "Hawaii" GPU unveiled tomorrow, which should retake the performance crown from NVIDIA. Ahead of this, AMD's Corporate VP of Visual Computing, Raja Koduri, walked up to the banks of Hawaii's Diamond Head mountain to provide a quick tease of what's coming in the software side of things.

AMD is going to be working on its support for CrossFire and Eyefinity (finally), with the aim set on improving the various frame pacing issues that should allow for a more consistent frame rate, and should put an arrow in the leg of stuttering. We should also see an improvement made to Linux support, where AMD seems to constantly lag behind NVIDIA in.

Earlier this morning we saw AMD's Radeon R9 290X leak in a series of photos and benchmark test, but that was not the only upcoming GPU to surface in leaked images. AMD's Radeon R7 260X has also appeared in some newly leaked photographs that show off a uniquely designed ducted cooling solution.

The R7 260X is an upper mid-range graphics card that is said to be based off of the "Bonaire" silicon that is featured in the company's Radeon HD 7790 high-in the GPU, but as TechPowerUp reports, it is more likely that the card is based on the "Curacao" architecture given the PCB and component layout on in the photo below. AMD is hosting a press event in Hawaii this Wednesday the 25th and is widely expected to launch its Hawaii-based GPUs. Our own Shawn Baker will be on hand covering the event so stay tuned.

AMD is expected to unleash it's "Hawaii" GPUs this week, with the newly named Radeon R9-290X leading the pack. There's now a new leak, with some naked shots underneath the heatsink and fan, in all its naked glory.

As you can see, the full PCB features the usual 8+6-pin PCIe power connectivity, which should provide a GPU that comes under the 300W TDP. We can see the numerous GDDR5 chips spread around the GPU socket, but eagle-eyed readers should note there are 16 GDDR5 chips... which means we could expect 4GB and 8GB versions of the new GPUs. This is going to be great for Eyefinity and 4K display setups.

This could all lead down the rabbit hole of a 512-bit memory bus, which would give the new Hawaii GPUs some incredible memory bandwidth. There are some benchmark scores, which I wouldn't put too much faith into right now, but if that's something you want to check out, by all means be our guest!

Early this morning, video card manufacturer HIS accidentally leaked the SKUs and details on seven new GPUs the company will be offering from AMD's upcoming R-200 series. It appears that with the pending 4K refresh happening in the video resolution world AMD is looking to dump the Radeon HD name for its video cards and replace it with a new system that makes it easier to identify which cards are which.

The new simplified naming scheme works something like this. R9-280X stands for Radeon Generation 9 Model 280 Variant X. AMD says that this new naming scheme will make it easier to classify future generation cards and will enable consumers to quickly chose the right card for their needs.

Now that we have the naming scheme covered, let's move on to the leaked cards. It appears that the HIS R9-280X iPower IceQ X2 will be at the top of the list and will sport 3GB of GDDR5 Memory. The HIS R7-240 iCooler will round out the list with 1GB of GDDR5. Not much is else is known about the new R-200 series, but the complete leaked list can be seen below.

Today KFA2, Galaxy's premium brand of graphics cards, released its all new GeForce GTX 780 HOF Edition GPU. The company says that each of the new GTX 780 HOF GPUs are hand-picked and then given an incredible factory overclock of 1058MHz. This makes the card as much as 20-percent faster than a standard GTX 780.

The company has added a new Hybrid Vapor Chamber Heat Pipe Cooler that is said to transfer heat 30x more efficient than copper. Twin 90mm fans are specially designed with grooved blades to reduce noise while increasing cooling efficiency. In a press release, KFA2 said that the GTX 780 HOF edition has been completely redesigned and populated with the highest quality components possible.

KFA2 has also added a new Hyper Boost button that acts as a hardware supercharger and increases core clock speeds by up to 8-percent. The company says that multiple world record benchmark scores have been broken already by just using this button. In my opinion, this is one of the best looking GPUs on the market aside from a GTX TITAN. The all white PCB combined with the mech-styled cooler creates a look that just screams power!

Today NVIDIA announced a partnership with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment that will give those who purchase new NVIDIA GeForce-based GPU's the highly acclaimed Batman: Arkham Origins video game. The new title in the Batman series features an expansive Gotham City, and introduces a new original prequel storyline set several years before the events that took place in Batman; Arkham Asylum, and Batman Arkham City.

"The Batman: Arkham games are visually stunning and it's great that we are able to continue building upon the amazing graphics with Batman: Arkham Origins," said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "With NVIDIA's continued support, we are able to deliver an incredibly immersive gameplay experience."

And if you're attending PAX PRIME this weekend, anyone attending the sneak peek of Batman: Arkham Origins will also have the chance to purchase a bundle package at the special kiosk inside the NVIDIA booth, and will receive a limited-edition Batman lithograph. Eligible GPU's include the GeForce 660, 660TI, 670, 680, 760, 770 or 780 high-end graphics cards.

Now this is some exciting news from VideoCardz.com, who is reporting that NVIDIA is working on two new video cards that we should see in the very near future. The first of which brings back the Ultra moniker, something I've been missing for years, and a dual Kepler GPU.

The two GPUs in question would land as the GeForce GTX Titan Ultra, and the dual-GPU GeForce GTX 790. The GTX Titan Ultra would be a GK110 part, which is the same silicon found in the GTX Titan and GTX 780, but it would have all of those 2880 CUDA cores enabled for some serious graphics bench pressing. RIght now, the GTX Titan has 2688 CUDA cores enabled, and the GTX 780 has just 2304 CUDA cores enabled. This should give the GTX Titan Ultra a nice boost over its predecessor.

NVIDIA isn't stopping there though, as we should expect a GeForce GTX 790 sometime in the future. This would pack in two GK110 cores, but we don't know how many CUDA cores NVIDIA would enable per GPU. We should expect two fully-enabled GPUs on the GTX 780, as they'd need to be cut down to not leap over the 300W threshold.

If you've ever stared at your multiple graphics cards set up and thought to yourself "man that SLI bridge sure is ugly," then a fresh announcement from EVGA is sure to put a smile on your face. Earlier today, EVGA announced what amounts to a cosmetic upgrade for enthusiasts who run multiple NVIDIA graphics cards.

The EVGA Pro SLI Bridge is an aesthetically pleasing replacement for the typical ribbon cable-based SLI bridge that comes with all NVIDIA SLI compatible graphics cards. While it offers nothing in terms of better performance, it should really clean up the look of multiple GPU setups and give enthusiasts just a little more bragging rights about the bling in their case.

The bridge appears to be made out of plastic and features brushed aluminum panels on top with the EVGA logo front and center. Things are accented by backlighting that is provided by small LEDS shining through EVGA logos on each panel. This backlighting will only work when the bridges are used on NVIDIA GeForce GTX 700-series or later graphics cards, including the GeForce GTX Titan. EVGA says that the bridges are compatible with all brands of NVIDIA graphics cards and will be available in the coming weeks.

You can always count on NVIDIA to release something that gets your wallet craving an emptying, and today is no different with the announcement of their new professional-grade GPU, the Quadro K6000.

NVIDIA are calling their new Kepler-based, professional GPU "the fastest and most capable GPU ever built." It has replaced the Quadro 6000, and features an insane 12GB of DDR5 RAM, 2880 streaming multiprocessor cores, ultra-low latency video I/O and the ability to pump graphics out to four simultaneous monitors at 4K resolutions. Yeah, nice, isn't it?

Just how fast is NVIDIA's Quadro K6000? Well, Nissan have said they can nearly load almost-complete vehicle models using NVIDIA's new GPU. Impressive. It's actually not too badly priced either, comign in at $2250.

It looks like AMD could be jumping right into the HD 9000 series, skipping the HD 8000 series altogether, and this new next-gen GPU would be launching as soon as October.

The first HD 9000 series parts are set to be Curacao and Hainan, both 28nm-based chips on the GCN 2.0 architecture. The new architecture features an improved front-end with 4 asynchronous computing engines (ACEs) and 3 geometry engines, as well as more stream processors crammed in.

The reason for skipping the HD 8000 series is most likely because AMD are already re-badging HD 7000 series GPU's as HD 8000 series parts to OEMs. We should expect the Curacao XT to feature 2304 stream processors (36 compute units) 144 texture units, 48 render back ends and a 384-bit memory controller. The Hainan will be less powerful, featuring 1792 stream processors (28 compute units) 112 texture units, 32 render back ends and a 256-bit memory bus.

This morning, NVIDIA released the highly anticipated GeForce GTX 760 to the world. The 760 is a mid-range GPU that is said to be about 12% faster than its predecessor the GeForce GTX 660 Ti. Like it's GTX 770 and GTX 780 brethren, NVIDIA says that the GTX 760 features all the latest hardware and software features.

"For gamers seeking insanely fast performance and smooth frame rates for their favorite games, the choice is clear: NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPUs," said Scott Herkelman, general manager of the GeForce GPU business at NVIDIA. "At a starting price of only $249, the GeForce GTX 760 ushers in a new level of performance, features and affordability, so gamers can experience today's most graphically demanding titles with all the eye candy turned high. It's a great time to be a PC gamer!"

Powered by an NVIDIA Kepler architecture-based GPU with an incredible 2.3 gigaflops of processing horsepower, the GeForce GTX 760 is already dramatically more powerful than the next-generation game consoles expected by the end of the year. To satisfy gamer demands for greater customization and overclocking options, the GeForce GTX 760 includes NVIDIA GPU Boost 2.0 technology, which automatically increases the GPU's clock speed for enhanced performance, while adding temperature target and fan controls, as well as extra over-voltage headroom and optimizations for advanced water-cooling solutions.

Normally next-gen video cards get me all excited, but to tell you the truth folks, the HD 8970 isn't that exciting. First off, we should expect a refresh and nothing that is architecturally new, and normally that is ok - but I want boundaries being pushed.

There's new circling that AMD's Radeon HD 8970 has been pictured, with some specs attached to this boat that is barely being kept together out at sea. We should expect a 1000MHz Base Clock, 2304 Stream Processors, 48 RO's, 3GB of GDDR5, a 384-bit memory bus and a 250W TDP. So we're talking a slight bump on what we have with the HD 7970 - nothing exciting. The other issue is the HD 8970 actually already exists, with AMD selling it as an OEM-only product.

There are specs on AMD's website about it, which put it on level with their HD 7970. So while this video card could be the HD 8970, there's no real reason to care. I think we should expect something great from AMD toward the end of the year, considering they are the ones powering all three next-gen consoles...

Computex Taipei 2013 - We took a closer look at Sapphire's beautiful Atomic HD 7990 GPU in their room at Computex, and wow does it look great. Not only does it feature two Tahiti XT2 cores, but the cooling system on it is really something else.

There's six miniDisplayPort outputs, for some serious multi-monitor work and the power going into it is quite insane: 12 Phase/50 amp per phase to provide 600 amps total. This is provided by three 8-pin PCI Express power connectors. The water cooling on the Atomic HD 7990 is great, too, with a full copper water block on offer, with an ultra low noise pump and for the reservoir we have a front 5.25-inch reservoir with one pump pre-installed with the option of upgrading to a dual pump system.

The radiator is 240mm and fan wise we have two 120mm fans capable of 1200 RPM.