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:: PC Perspective . News . Graphics Card
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 .:Graphics Card News
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Graphics Card
Today NVIDIA announced the release of a completely new series of mobility GPUs that finally round out the Fermi architecture to the world of notebooks. The collection of seven new GPUs span a larger range of performance levels and are also our first taste of newer, smaller Fermi-dies from NVIDIA. Here is the raw data of the entire lineup of GeForce 400M products from the GTX 480M to the GT415M:
The GTX 470M appears to be based on the GF104 chip, aka the GTX 460 in the desktop world, while the GTX 460M and GT 445M are similarly sized and are more likely based on the upcoming GF106 GPU; the rest of the series, GT 435M through GT 415M, are built on the smallest Fermi die, GF108. Unfortunately NVIDIA wouldn't confirm this information, offer up die sizes, transistor counts or really anything that would allow us to make educated guesses about the underlying architectures. NVIDIA continues to hold its cards close to its chest. The main features of the new GeForce 400M series includes support for NVIDIA Optimus technology that allows notebooks to offer both discrete GPU performance levels and integrated graphics battery life. If you haven't heard about Optimus, you really should do some homework with our video review and catch up on what is without a doubt a very important feature for NVIDIA with the pending release of Intel's Sandybridge. Other than Optimus, NVIDIA continues to push 3D Vision technology as more notebooks are being released with 120 Hz LCD panels and the new fully integrated transmitters that alleviate the need to have a crummy little external box to carry around with you. 
Let's not forget the world of CUDA and GPU accelerated applications that can help mobile users quite a bit when it comes to tasks like video processing and photo editing on computers with typically slower standard processors. While we don't anything about the GPU pricing either (that is something NVIDIA wants to keep between it and its partners), one of the key selling points that NVIDIA discussed with us is that there will be options on the market come this holiday where notebooks with similar features and similar prices will differ based on the use of a discrete graphics chip. 
This somewhat vague example shows an HP machine that features an Intel Core i5 CPU with the integrated Intel HD graphics priced at the same $749 as an Acer notebook with a Core i5 CPU but including a GeForce 400M GPU. I'll be the first to admit that without the details NVIDIA did NOT provide for us this comparison is almost useless but it illustrates the goal of NVIDIA to offer similarly priced notebooks with discrete GPUs to other models on the market.
Six of the top seven notebook vendors are apparently going to have designs available using the NVIDIA GeForce 400M chips though we weren't offered any for a review today which is usually a bad sign in terms of real world adoption rates. Availability is supposedly immediate and we will be keeping our eyes out for new models on the market that integrate the 400M series.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Graphics Card
"ASUS is back making another play for your hard-earned upgrade money. This time, ASUS have brought out the EAH5870 V2 STALKER Edition, a Radeon HD 5870 with an improved cooling device. Does a bundled game and improved cooling device make up for its $100 price premium?" Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Graphics Card
Back in June during the Computex show in Taipei, we saw a very interesting pair of graphics cards in the Lucid suite. One combined a set of lower end GPUs in a multi-GPU single card design that otherwise hadn't existed while the other card showed a single AMD GPU and a single HYDRALogix 200 chip. (Note the small change from Lucid HYDRA to Lucid HYDRALogix.)
By adding the Lucid technology onto the graphics card the board manufacturer is enabling the use of HYDRALogix multi-GPU scaling technology (if you need to catch up on Lucid's technology, do so here) on basically ANY motherboard using this single card and any other PCIe video card installed in the system. Lucid is calling this new iteration of HYDRALogix "UNITY" for its ability to pair two completely independent graphics cards together in a single gaming system.
There a whole host of potential benefits to Lucid's UNITY technology when taken at face value: Card Manufacturers
Consumers
System Builders
In fact, the new UNITY designs from Lucid will not only support two graphics cards, but THREE if the motherboard has enough PCI Express slots to get the job done. All of the hardware communication then between the Lucid technology and the other GPUs is all handled by the single HYDRALogix 200 on the single UNITY graphics card the user purchases. Best of all, this solution does NOT prevent the user from using your standard SLI or CrossFire configurations should they wish to revert for specific games, etc.
Thus far only Radeon manufacturer TUL/PowerColor has announced support for Lucid's UNITY technology though Lucid continues to indicate that others are on the way. While they won't talk details, I am guessing the added cost of the Lucid chip is about $5, maybe less, plus the cost in redesigning the PCB of a graphics card to integrate it. If that is the case, it will be interesting to see what performance levels of cards will actually integrate it as that will indicate how reliable performance scaling actually is. Of course, if you don't want to get a UNITY graphics card and don't mind upgrading your motherboard, there are several upcoming Lucid-powered options coming out for various price points very soon. Lucid Introduces UNITY Graphics Board Architecture to Make HYDRALOGIX Multi-GPU Gaming Accessible to All
When combined with a HydraLogix graphics card, any system or graphics card turns into a multi-GPU platform
KFAR NETTER, Israel and SANTA CLARA, California – August 30, 2010 – Today LucidLogix Technologies (Lucid) announced its arming video card manufacturers with the new Unity™ graphics board architecture for the HydraLogix engine (previously known as HYDRA).
Now graphics board vendors for the first time can combine a single HydraLogix 200 real time distributed processor with any single NVIDIA or ATI GPU, creating an affordable, flexible multi-GPU-ready graphics card that can make any motherboard a high performance gaming system.
Gamers and high performance PC enthusiasts will have even more options to configure multi-GPU systems, which until recently were limited to vendor-exclusive architectures or HydraLogix equipped motherboards. And mainstream graphics users can now buy even a $99 graphics card and upgrade their system in the future with the brand graphics card of their choice.
“The Unity architecture provides a win-win situation for the market and for consumers,” said Offir Remez, Lucid President. “Graphics board vendors can increase the total market for multi-GPU computing from the low end to the high end. And as a consumer, why wouldn’t you choose to buy a graphics card with HydraLogix on board? You only get more!”
The benefits of the UNITY architecture for HydraLogix include:
Card Manufacturers · Create multi-vendor-multi-GPU upgradeable cards by integrating a single, low-cost HydraLogix chip · Allow their customers to couple a UNITY type VGA with any additional existing or new VGA from any vendor on Intel or AMD motherboards · Create differentiated products by using any brand or GPU model, mixing and matching capabilities, power consumption and price points · Easy upgrade with additional cards Consumers · Add HydraLogix multi-GPU graphics capabilities to existing motherboards · Run multiple NVIDIA and/or ATI GPUs on any motherboard · Upgrade system performance simply by leveraging any existing GPUs by coupling with a new
· Combine a low cost graphics card with another for increased performance, or turn up the volume with multiple high end graphics card of choice · Combine both an AMD and NVIDIA GPU to enjoy the benefits of both graphics features and perfromance System Builders · Flexibly design custom systems at multiple price/performance targets · Save costs with royalty-free alternative to vendor-specific multi-GPU graphics architectures
Jon Peddie of Jon Peddie Research “The market for multi-GPU systems has shown continual growth even in a down economy. Lucid’s expansion of its HydraLogix technology to the graphics board further expands options for OEMs, ODMs and consumers, and should provide additional momentum to the growth of reasonably priced, high-powered gaming systems.”
Ted Chen, TUL CEO at TUL, maker of the 1st Unity architecture based VGA – the PowerColor Evolution “Lucid’s graphics card implementation of HydraLogix creates new marketing opportunities for graphics card vendors, and we’re proud to be first to offer this technology integrated into our graphics cards. With more options for consumers, we are looking forward to continued healthy growth for PC gaming technology.”
About HydraLogix Designed with the PC gamer in mind, The HydraLogix engine offers a flexible solution for performance hungry or cost sensitive consumers who may wish to upgrade to multiple GPUs from a variety of vendors. This Lucid approach provides interoperability among GPUs and chipsets, auto-correct load balancing and multiple GPUs that simultaneously process.
The HydraLogix 200 currently supports both dual and triple multi-GPU configurations, and provides 80% or more graphics acceleration for popular PC games.
Pricing & Availability The Lucid UNITY architecture for graphics board with HydraLogix 200 engine are both available now to graphics board OEMs. With multiple configurations of the HydraLogix engine, vendors can provide nearly limitless combinations of GPUs to meet a variety of target audiences and price points.
Consumer graphics boards are expected to be available for the holiday buying season 2010 at accessible prices under $199.
About Lucid LucidLogix Technologies has reinvented multi-core graphics with its HydraLogix real-time distributed processing engine that improves visual computing for both business and gaming applications. A fabless SoC provider, headquartered in Kfar Netter Israel with sales and marketing in Santa Clara, California, Lucid’s innovations are protected by more than 60 patents and patents pending. For more information visit the Lucid website or follow @LucidHYDRA on Twitter.
About TUL
TUL is a leading supplier of AMD graphics cards under the PowerColor brand. We offer award-winning products based on our technology leading componments, quality design and superb engineering. TUL employs more than 150 talents worldwide, with offices in China, Europe, Russa and USA to support over 300 channel partners and distributors in 50 plus countries. For more information visit: www.powercolor.com.
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Graphics Card
A second piece of AMD "news" is hitting the streets this Sunday night, and that is the delivery of a device to enable three-display Eyefinity support for non-DisplayPort monitor users for under the $100 price tag that has existed for a full year. When AMD first launched the Radeon 5000-series of graphics cards in September of 2009, we were very excited about Eyefinity gaming technology and how it could revolutionize PC gaming. At the time it was expensive, DP monitor support was low and the active adapters to make it work with DVI monitors were almost impossible to find. We were given many AMD's employees words and told many promises about support and lower cost options coming "very soon."
About a year later, DP monitors are only slightly more prevalent, the "thin bezel" Samsung displays are just finally trickling into the market and those $100 adapters are still $100 and hard to find. Sigh. But good news! AMD has worked with several companies to produce a lower cost, active DP-to-single-link-DVI adapter that will be for sale very soon (today actually!) for only $30. The adapter only supports resolutions up to 1920x1200, which should be more than enough for nearly all users and those of you with triple 30" panels can probably afford the $100 adapter anyway. 
We have this new adapter in house and it is working just fine in our triple panel configurations! I only wish it were out about 10 months earlier so we could have really driven home the advantages of buying low cost displays for gaming. Better late than never I guess! Considering that NVIDIA Surround still requires at least two cards in SLI, AMD's edge in value for three panel gaming will only increase with the release of these units. Several partners of AMD will be offering the adapters in one form or another: Sapphire, XFX, PowerColor, Accell, Weison and more. They will come in both mini-DP and DP flavors with DVI outputs. Look for them on Amazon.com, MicroCenter.com, NCIX, etc. The adapters are easy to install, there is no software to worry about so anyone looking for a way to get three panels running on cheap(er) will be glad to see these for sale! Finally!
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Graphics Card
All of you ATI fan boys are going to need a new moniker: AMD is officially announcing that they are phasing out the "ATI" name completely and will be replacing it with the "AMD" brand in all areas. Since the merger of ATI and AMD back in 2006 the debate has quietly been raging on when, or if, the ATI brand that we all know and love would filter its way out of relevance. Later this year, that process will begin.
AMD claims that after doing some extensive surveys of a worldwide "discrete graphics aware" audience they found a few interesting points that indicated permission from the community to make this move:
The new generation of GPUs will be called "AMD Radeon Graphics" while the currently existing products will continue to hold their ATI nomenclature until their own untimely demise. 
Also interesting is the branding that omits the "AMD" brand; that will be used for OEMs that are sensitive to putting both an Intel CPU and AMD GPU logo on the same machine. Honestly though, this will likely prevent some confusion for the average consumer. 
As 2011 nears you can see that AMD is taking a big step forward in reducing its branding and logo systems going from 18 in 2009 to 7. Obviously I wouldn't place bets on us not seeing additional logos in the coming months as new processors Fusion technologies are introduced, but it's a start. A big part of this consolidation is also based on the move to the hybrid CPU/GPU chips that AMD calls "Fusion" as it consolidates all the companies technologies one brand AND one processor. AMD is betting the farm on its Fusion technology and the branding aspect is just one of many internal indications of this dramatic shift. In the end, I think some people will blow this pronouncement out of proportion and it is overall a good move for the company going forward. But, I must admit, I weep a single tear as I post this logo for perhaps the last time: 
Ryan Shrout | Source: AnandTech | Subject: Graphics Card
Must be something in the water today; another leak as apparently sprung out about hardware that shouldn't be available yet. This time, the news is found at a Chinese website called PCinLife.com where a user has apparently taken time to share some basic performance information about the upcoming Radeon HD 6870 graphics card from the Northern Isles family rumored to have been taped out. The leak comes in the form of a 3DMark Vantage screenshot and a GPU-Z screenshot, so take it for what its worth:
The 3DMark Vantage score of 11,600 is easily better than the HD 5870 and the NVIDIA GTX 480, both of which are under 9000 in our most recent results. The HD 5970, a dual-GPU graphics card, scores about 11,500; this would be a nice boost in performance from a GPU that is really just a minor tweak of the currently available parts on the same 40nm process.
If we believe what GPU-Z is telling us, the upcoming Cayman XT GPU is running at the same 850 MHz clock speed as the current Radeon HD 5870 while the memory speed has been increased to 1.6 GHz! The GPUID matches up with some other leaked code name information courtesy of the Catalyst 10.8 drivers, so while we are always curious about the authenticity of these things, it does get more credible with the matching information.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Graphics Card
[H]ard|OCP but the claimed Crossfire improvements of the Catalyst 10.8 release to the test in their latest article. The two games that were singled out as improved by AMD were Aliens vs. Predator and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 so of course [H] had to test them. Believe it or not, [H] saw a 70% improvement from AvP just from updating the driver and a 44% jump from Bad Company. If you are a fan of those games and use multiple GPUs then get updating!
"CrossFireX gets a performance boost in two games thanks to a new CrossFireX Application Profile update. Performance in Aliens vs. Predators and Battlefield Bad Company 2 has been greatly improved, finally. CFX users will want to make sure to check this out. We will have the new CAP file hosted here locally for our readers." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Graphics Card
Last Monday [H]ard|OCP investigated the performance differences between running a CrossFire/SLI system with both cards operating at 16x as opposed to one at 16x and one at 8x, which is more common on motherboards than true double 16x. The differences were so minute you almost had to squint to see them. Today they extend that testing by moving the second card into a PCIe slot that can only support 8x speeds. If you are wondering why someone would do that, the reason is cooling as using the 8x slot places that second video card further away from the primary GPU thus adding to your ability to cool them.
The first observation they made seems obvious, running both cards at 8x does indeed negatively affect performance but the second observation is less obvious and more valuable. Running the second card at 8x has no effect until you move to resolutions that require multiple monitors to reach at which point you begin to notice some negative effects, as you can see in their full review. "In our continuing coverage of Multi-GPU configurations with varying PCIe Bandwidth, we put x16/x16 and x8/x8 PCIe to the test. Does having less PCIe bandwidth make difference in gaming? We know that a "lesser" motherboard can save you money. Using GeForce GTX 480 SLI we show you the real-world differences." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: techPowerUp! | Subject: Graphics Card
The Zotac GTX 460 Amp! Edition sports a 100MHz overclock on its GDDR5 and a 135MHz overclock on the GPU core and seems to sit at about the limit of the silicon on this card as TechPowerUp couldn't get much more out of the card when they tried pushing it further. They benchmarked it on over a dozen games as well as the usual benchmarks and saw slightly better performance than the stock GTX 460 so the actual street pricing on this card is going to be very important. The custom cooler was effective but they were sad to see that it did not extend to the GDDR5.
"ZOTAC's new GTX 460 Amp! Edition is the highest clocked GTX 460 version available right now. Its clock speeds of 810 MHz core and 1000 MHz memory ensure it delivers substantially improved performance over the GTX 460 reference design. ZOTAC is also using a custom cooling solution and includes a full version of Prince of Persia with their card." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Neoseeker | Subject: Graphics Card
The Sapphire HD 5770 FLEX
is much like any other HD 5770 out there apart from one very important point, with a pair of DVI ports an HDMI port and a DisplayPort on the back this card can support 4 monitors. Even better is the included HDMI to DVI adaptor which will allow you to use 3 DVI displays without having to resort to an expensive active DisplayPort to DVI adaptor. Now, being an HD 5770 you have to make some allowances as you are not going to be driving Metro 2033 on three 30" LCDs at full settings, but you should be able to manage many games on three monitors at 5760 x 1080 with lowered settings. Check it out in action at Neoseeker.
"The Sapphire HD 5770 FLEX brings EyeFinity to the HD 5xxx series of graphics cards, supporting up to three monitors on a single card without resorting to DisplayPort connectors unless you want to add a FOURTH one. Neoseeker puts the card through its paces to see how well it handles all those displays." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Silent PC Review | Subject: Graphics Card
HIS' new Silent series has three new members, two HD 5550s in 512MB and 1GB versions and an HD 5570. Card of that particular series are a little less powerful than what a gamer desires, but there silence along with the size and output capabilities make them desirable for HTPC usage. The 1GB HD 5550 is a little different from its brothers being a half height card and using DDR2 or GDDR3 running at a lower speed, allowing the card to use 9W idle and 27W on loadthe lowest in SPCR's testing. Overall the temperatures ended a little above what SPCR would like, even on a silent card but they certainly did the job.
"The HIS HD 5550/5570 are a trio of budget graphics cards that have good potential for silent cooling. Though not great for 3D performance, they are energy efficient and they are all equipped with fanless heatsinks." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Graphics Card
As you probably heard on Podcast #115, the gang was rather unimpressed at Blizzard's choice to disable anti-aliasing of any sort on systems using AMD GPUs. nVIDIA users could benefit from AA if they used the driver override to trump StarCraft II's settings but AMD users could not. The new release of the beta Catalyst 10.7 changes that and you can now fire up AA on AMD cards and you can see how that effects performance in Ryan's update to the SartCraft II GPU testing here. For those with smaller monitors, the performance hit may not be worth it but if you are playing on a 30" monitor or even on multiple monitors then this will really change the way the game looks.
"I do find it interesting, but not surprising, that AMD basically is eating crow when it comes to what they said in this public release about AA in StarCraft II the day the game launched. To quote from AMD's PR: We are committed to making AA perform at an acceptable level before we release it to our customers. We will continue to work with Blizzard on this matter and hope to offer our customers an acceptable AA solution at a later date. Just three days later we see the Catalyst 10.7 beta that is experiencing the same dramatic performance hit that NVIDIA is seeing; obviously AMD decided it was better to appease complaining fans and journalists rather that actually have "AA perform at an acceptable level before we release it to our customers."" Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Digitimes | Subject: Graphics Card
Jon Peddie Reseach who have been collecting and analyzing data about the graphics card industry have noticed some big changes over the past year. With the advent of decent onboard video solutions, capable of playing not only casual games but also managing 1080p resolutions JPR saw a decline of 21% in the sales of discreet GPUs. The biggest impact comes from the move to mobile platforms like laptops that use embedded GPUs more often than a discreet card and which have been selling incredibly well over the past 6 months. The arrival of high end Fermi cards from nVIDIA could cause a bit of a sales spike, something that nVIDIA needs as they have lost a large share of the market to AMD and Intel. As you can see from the tables at DigiTimes, nVIDIA has lost 26% market share over the quarter and a massive 32% loss compared to last year.
"Jon Peddie Research (JPR) has announced its estimated graphics chip shipments and supplier's market share for the second quarter of 2010 with overall graphics chip shipments up 4% from the first quarter, while discrete GPUs for desktop fell 21.4%, reflecting the tremendous growth in notebooks. For the first half of 2010, graphics chip shipments are up 38.6% from the same period a year ago. Clarksdale, Atom for netbooks, and strong notebook growth helped Intel maintain its leadership position in shipments for the second quarter. AMD led the market with the biggest gains for both discrete and integrated desktop products in the company's history. On a quarterly basis Nvidia had double-digit losses in every segment except notebook integrated where they showed a 10% gain in shipments from last quarter." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: AMD | Subject: Graphics Card
No more jaggies in Starcraft 2 for AMD GPU users with the release of the Catalyst 10.7 beta as Anti-Aliasing is now supported at the driver level. For those like Ryan playing on a six screen EyeFinity setup this is a huge improvement even though it is also a huge performance hit. Drop by to grab yours, but remember that this is a BETA, not a WHQL driver so you may find some bugs that haven't been fully ironed out yet.
We have just released the ATI Catalyst 10.7a beta driver for Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP. This update brings Anti-Aliasing support (which must be enabled through the ATI Catalyst Control Center) for StarCraft II, as well as a performance enhancement for Eyefinity users running with Quad ATI CrossFireX configurations. Performance Improvements The following performance gains are noticed with this release of Catalyst 10.7:
Resolved Issues for All Windows Operating Systems
Resolved Issues for the Windows 7 Operating System
Resolved Issues for the Windows Vista Operating System
Resolved Issues for the Windows XP Operating System
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Graphics Card
Since having only nVIDIA Surround on a machine with a pair of GTX480's doesn't allow you to compare the real differences between nVIDIA and AMD's multiple monitor solutions [H]ard|OCP is upgrading one of their machines with an ASUS ROG Matrix 5870 Platinum. Drop by to see a video of it in action along with a few hints as to how powerful (and overclocked) this particular personal build will be.
"Looking to replace my Radeon HD 5970 and decided to go with ASUS' ROG Matrix 5870 Platinum that we recently reviewed. It is loaded with features rarely seen on video cards and I thought it would find a good home in my personal rig. And yes, we have a purpose behind our upgrade too." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Graphics Card
Today should have been a good day for NVIDIA - StarCraft II was released and only their cards support anti-aliasing out of the gate AND the new Fermi-based Quadro graphics offer a significant jump in performance over previous generation parts and AMD's FirePro options. Apple apparently had other plans though and has updated its entire line of iMac and Mac Pro computers with a collection of new hardware that apparently leaves NVIDIA out in the cold.
The all-new iMac system line up moves completely into the world of the Intel Core i3 and Core i5 processors which means the use of any NVIDIA chipsets in the base models is no longer possible. The 9400M/ION chipset was dependent on Apple continuing to use the Core 2 processors and with that gone we are left with integrated CPU-based graphics options and discrete solutions from AMD/ATI.
You can see in the image above that all four of our starting configurations include ATI options, the least expensive of which is the aged 4670 card. The highest available option on the 27-in model is the HD 5750 which currently sell in the discrete PC market for about $125; these are much better options than the integrated Intel graphics but are no where near the performance level of the options available to PC users. UPDATE: It was just pointed out to me by a couple people that Apple had in fact removed NVIDIA options from the iMac in its previous update 6-9 months. So while the timing our news post here is a bit off, the point is still valid that Apple has slowly been fazing NVIDIA solutions from its computers.
The product description pages talk about the inclusion of discrete graphics for "3D applications and games" but there is a conspicuous lack of promotion of OpenCL-based GPGPU applications that were talked about when NVIDIA was the discrete GPU of choice in the iMac. This either means that the new ATI graphics cards don't support OpenCL to the same degree as NVIDIA's options but I think Apple would likely not have made the move if ATI didn't support the existing software infrastructure.
There is also no mention of the on-the-fly GPU switching that was introduced with the updated MacBook Pro machines and the Intel Arrandale CPU / NVIDIA GPU combination. Because these are desktop systems the need for power efficiency is less vital so not being about to integrate the feature with ATI's graphics could easily be overlooked. There are other interesting hardware changes than the move to ATI graphics cards on the iMac lineup including the option to select BOTH an SSD and standard HDD in the 27-in model for both speed and capacity. That option will increase your system cost by $750 or $900 depending on your choice of a 1TB or 2TB hard drive to go along with the 256GB unnamed SSD and quickly brings the total system to the $3000 mark. Processor options have also increased across the board with the lowest end model feature a dual-core HyperThreaded Core i3 processor running at 3.06 GHz and the highest cost option based around the quad-core Core i7. Also announced was an update to the Mac Pro desktop system (coming in August) that includes dual-socket 6-core Gulftown processors from Intel that we have had access to on the PC space since March. The base price on that model will run you $4999 while the quad-core Mac Pro being the entry point at $2499. Still, the default GPU has changed to the ATI Radeon HD 5770 which is a bit confusing as this is still a mid-range option by anyone's scale though the Mac Pro will have the option to upgrade to an HD 5870 for more serious 3D power. 
Those of you with money will also be able to throw as much as 32GB of memory, 4TB of standard hard drives and as many as four SSDs in there for a truly impressive workstation. Just make sure you have that corporate AmEx at the ready for the August release. What will the move away from NVIDIA graphics mean for the Mac lineup and for NVIDIA in particular? While the Mac sales weren't keeping the NVIDIA financials afloat, they were definitely a feather in the cap for the company in terms of design wins. Over the few years the NVIDIA exclusive has existed though there have been numerous technology problems from their products including over heating mobility GPUs and delayed chipsets and Apple was more than willing to give AMD a try to fulfill their customers needs. Now, will this lead to seeing AMD processors in Apple computers down the line as well...?
Let the conspiracy theories begin!
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Graphics Card
If you haven't checked out my wicked-awesome StarCraft II Performance Review, you definitely should, and where the hell have you been? The game is out now so you might already have it in your system, but now you should be even more interested in my results and the news we have for you tonight.
One of the big keys to the SCII article linked above was the issue surrounding AA (anti-aliasing): Blizzard didn't feel the need to include it (and why the hell not is beyond me) but NVIDIA enabled it in their driver using a brute force method that, by the company's own admission, was less efficient than it could be with developer assistance.
Here is one example of AA at work in the StarCraft II game - surely you can see the advantages of having the ability to enable it on your system can provide, given appropriate GPU horse power. 
Yes, on the GTX 460 for example, it does take a LOT of the performance away from the game in terms of raw frame rate. But even the aging GTX 260 was able to eek out 38 FPS with AA turned up to 4x in our testing.
When I wrote the original article I said this: While I was excited to learn that NVIDIA had been working on a way to get AA working with StarCraft II even if the developer didn't take the time to implement one, I was disappointed to basically see no response from AMD and its driver team when I asked about the possibility of seeing it for users of ATI cards as well.
... Anti-aliasing is another bonus for NVIDIA card users who pick up SC2 on launch day as it is something that only they will have unless ATI's driver team really gets on the ball and can integrate support in the next week or so. It would appear ATI took some of that to heart, but unfortunately, as we sit here on launch night, ATI users are still going to be without AA support in StarCraft II for some time longer. I got this official note from AMD tonight: As you know, AMD constantly strives to deliver great gaming experiences for our customers and the upcoming launch of Starcraft II is no exception. Blizzard’s focus on incredible game play for all, means that gamers using ATI Radeon products can enjoy smooth HD gameplay and industry leading image quality with our current generation of ATI Radeon products as well as many of our past generation cards.
Yes, this is the case; we proved it in our performance review from last week. I also find it interesting that AMD credited Blizzard's goal of "game play for all" rather than AMD's own hardware or software. Honesty is great, but not enough marketing/PR people read this note I guess. In discussions during the development of StarCraft II, Blizzard indicated that they would not initially include options to set levels of in-game anti-aliasing (“AA”). This meant that support for AA within StarCraft II would only be made possible by including it in the driver, an approach that could significantly impact performance.
Yes, it definitely does have an impact on the NVIDIA card performance as we mentioned in our performance article. Some third party reviews of the Starcraft II beta echo our concerns that AA can cause gameplay impairment. In these reviews, the third parties found that 4x AA led to a reduction in fps rendering at lower screen resolutions, which only became more noticeable at larger resolutions.
Again, also very true. They may be referring to our very piece. But I think the word "concerns" might be inappropriate. We have "concerns" about a great many things in life but what I had about AA in StarCraft II were "discoveries" that allowed me to recommend options to our users based on their hardware and our performance results. After evaluating our options, our engineering team opted not to provide AA support for StarCraft II within the Catalyst Control Center, even though the competition has included AA support in their driver at launch.
Hrrm. So AMD says it is not a technical limit but rather a deliberate decision made based on weighing options. We are committed to making AA perform at an acceptable level before we release it to our customers. We will continue to work with Blizzard on this matter and hope to offer our customers an acceptable AA solution at a later date.
AMD is basically telling us that enabling AA in the control panel didn't live up to their standards in terms of performance; fair enough I guess but wouldn't it be more fair for the user (and the press) to decide if it met "standards"? If I have a Radeon HD 5870 in my system (and I do) and I want to run at 1920x1080 at 4xAA with half the performance (still about 50 FPS) then I would consider that an "acceptable level" for me. So either AMD is being really picky here or there performance drops were going to be more noticeable than NVIDIA's. 
Here is my theory: if AMD's cards had their performance cut in half with the enabling of anti-aliasing then ATI's options would have looked even further behind the NVIDIA cards available today. From a marketing stand point I can see it being more beneficial to wait and integrate the feature later rather than implement it now and have another "loss" on the record books going into the game's official launch. It's disappointing for all of those gamers with ATI cards that might want to TRY to enable AA and see if they like the experience, but for now all we can do is wait. Happy gaming and good luck getting to work on time!! UPDATE 8/2/10 - AMD has released the Catalyst 10.7 beta driver that enables AA support. Check out our updated performance results for more information!
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: X-Bit Labs | Subject: Graphics Card
X-bit Labs took a Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD9 Super-Mainboard and attached two different sets of GPUs for testing, four Radeon HD 5870s in one case and three GTX 480s in the second. This board sports a pair of Nvidia NF200-SLI chips so there are plenty of PCIe lanes to go around and with the addition of a Xigmatek 1500W PSU to the installed Zalman 1000W PSU there is 2.5 kilowatts of power available for the system. While the results in and of themselves are incredible, showing off the incredible graphical power available to those who can afford it there is another important factor to remember when looking at the results; while the difference between the AMD and nVIDIA scores are definitive you should pay careful attention to how much benefit you get from adding that fourth HD5870 or the third GTX480 to the system. "We are going to test four Radeon HD 5870 graphics cards in CrossFireX configuration and compare them to a 3-way SLI configuration of three GeForce GTX 480 cards using the newest super-expensive mainboard with seven PCI Express slots onboard, four of which work in 16x mode." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Graphics Card
AMD's Gaming Evolved program is finally launching during the Comic-con event in San Diego. PC Perspective first saw the fruits of this developer and consumer campaign during GDC where AMD detailed its targets for innovation, industry standards and development support for gaming. The triple-headed goal for the program is summed up nicely with this Venn diagram:
While the goals are lofty the task is not an easy one as it involved many other companies and the ability to AMD to maneuver the industry in way that not only benefits the gamer but also that falls in line with AMD hardware, both CPUs and GPUs.
AMD is obviously attempting to passive aggressively take on NVIDIA's multiple programs that tend to keep gamers inside the NVIDIA ecosystem. Those include SLI (certification for motherboards), PhysX (only works on NVIDIA-only systems) and even 3D Vision. Whether or not PC gamer's really care about the different political views at play here has yet to be seen.
But AMD is obviously pulling out our openness and fair-play heart strings:
Also of interest, AMD and EA are showing off the upcoming Medal of Honor game that looks friggin' sweet!! 
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Graphics Card
The Gigabyte HD 5770 Super Overclockhas two rather hefty claims that it needs to match, the first is the claim that this card is 13% better than a stock HD 5770 and the second is that it is 4.3% better than a GTX 260. It's GPU is clocked 50MHz higher than the reference card at 900MHz but the memory remains unchanged at 4.8GHz effective, so on paper it does not look terribly impressive. [H]ard|OCP did manage a better overclock with some tweaking but they were not interested in raising voltages as they temperatures were already hitting 90C. Once the tests were finished [H] did not see verification of Gigabyte's claim but for the price they are asking it still does remain a good deal for those not needing the greatest GPU available.
"The Gigabyte HD 5770 Super Overclock provides us with "Ultra Durable" components, cherry-picked GPUs, higher GPU frequencies, and a new cooling solution. With all that, does it wipe the floor with a Radeon HD 5770? How about GBT's claims comparing its card to the aging GTX 260? We put it to the test." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Graphics Card
What you saw in Ryan's review of the GTX 460, the ease of overclocking the GPU and memory by an percentage not seen in a long time is not just a fluke. Take [H]ard|OCP's experience, the GPU clock on the 1GB GTX 460 reference card card went from 675MHz to 870MHz, the shader core hit 1.74GHz from 1.35 and the memory from 3.6GHz up to 4.4GHz. Not bad for a $200 card is it? You can also see some results from their tests in SLI in their follow up article.
"Today NVIDIA is answering the demands of money conscious gamers by introducing the new GeForce GTX 460. The GTX 460 is a refinement of the Fermi architecture, designed to land significant performance improvements for gamers resting in the $200 USD sweet spot. We will find out if this truly does deliver gaming bliss on the cheap and why NVIDIA is calling the GTX 460 an "Overclocker’s Dream." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: ASUS | Subject: Graphics Card
Fremont, CA (July 13, 2010) - ASUS is excited to launch their ENGTX460 series of graphics cards featuring NVIDIA’s latest GeForce 400 Series GPU design that delivers impressive DX11 graphics plus support for exciting technologies like NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround, PhysX and CUDA and enhanced tessellation performance. The ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP lineup goes further than reference solutions with a focus on quality, reliability and performance. These facets are driven through performance enhancing features like DirectCU thermal design, Voltage Tweak overvolting and reliability features like GPU Guard, EMI Shield and Fuse Protection. These innovative features ensure enhanced performance and superb overclocking ability. Better Cooling with Copper — DirectCU Technology
Pushing Boundaries Further with TOP selected GPUs
Elevating Gaming and Multimedia To A New Level Of Immersion
The all-new ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5, ENGTX460 DirectCU/2DI/1GD5, ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/768MD5 and ENGTX460/2DI/768MD5 deliver a full spectrum of features, performance and true Windows 7 optimization. With an MSRP starting at $199.99, ASUS’ 400 series extends the latest graphics technology to new audiences.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: ASUS | Subject: Graphics Card
Fremont, CA (July 13, 2010) - ASUS is proud to launch the new standard in flagship graphics performance, The Republic of Gamers ARES graphics card. Continuing the innovative and performance oriented tradition of all ROG products the ARES raises the bar for performance, cooling capabilities, design leadership and engineering expertise in a video card. The ARES graphics card lives up to its tagline of limited edition, unlimited power. With the integration of dual ATI Radeon 5870 GPUs in combination with 4 GB of high performance GDDR5 the ARES is upwards of 30% faster than reference 5970 solutions. Superior Design
Pushing Frame Rates and Breaking Records
ASUS EAH5870, 5850 and EAH5830 Series Featuring Copper and Direct Heatpipe Designs ASUS is launching the new EAH5000 Series range of graphics cards with innovative thermal and PCB designs that ensure exceptional performance results for gaming, HD media playback and overclocking activities. This continues ASUS’ trend of providing best-in-class designs, features and performance in a variety of video cards. Cooling is always a concern of top performing graphics solutions whether you are gaming, playing HD media content, or overclocking. The ASUS EAH5870V2 leads the way offering a custom designed copper heatsink and fins to allow for 17% cooler performance than reference solutions. The ASUS EAH5850 and EAH5830 graphics cards include DirectCU technology, which feature two 8mm specially-flattened copper heat pipes that contact the GPU directly. This allows the cards to dissipate heat up to 20% more effectively during gameplay and enable up to 35% quieter operation in idle mode than reference solutions. ASUS EAH5000 Series with Voltage Tweak for Great Overclocking Potential
Cutting-edge Design with a Focus on Safety and Reliability
The ASUS EAH5000 series is also equipped with the innovative GPU Guard. Originally used in military-grade products, GPU Guard effectively doubles the structural integrity of the graphics card to prevent PCB cracks from occurring. The cards also feature multiple sets of input fuses and additional EMI shielding, safeguarding both components and users. 
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: NVIDIA | Subject: Graphics Card
Not long ago we introduced the first Release 256 driver, packed with new features and performance. Today we announced yet another driver from our Release 256* family of drivers, version 258.96, which brings even more goodness to the gaming community. Version 258.96 is going through WHQL certification now, and we expect the certified version to be available within a week. The version 258.96 driver brings WHQL support for 3D Vision Surround technology - this immersive 3-monitor experience for 3D. It's winning the hearts of press and gamers alike. On the performance front, version 258.96 continues the trend of bringing even faster frame rates to the latest PC games. Take a look at the following improvements measured on a GeForce GTX 480: Version 258.96 also adds support for the just announced GeForce GTX 460. The WHQL-candidate version of 258.96 is posted here. This driver supports both desktop and notebook GeForce and ION GPUs on Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. Enjoy this driver and let us know what you think … I’m already looking forward to telling you all about the new Release 260 drivers which are coming in about a month’s time.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Graphics Card
Even setting aside the wide variety of overclocked versions of the GTX 460 there is still a choice between two models, a 768MB version that is pegged for $199 and a 1GB model that should sell around $229, which NewEgg more or less does seem to be offering them at. Other than the amount of memory both cards have the same specs, a GPU clocked at 675MHz, CUDA cores at 1.35GHz, and the memory at 3.6GHz. For [H]ard|OCP's testing they pulled out the Radeon HD 5830 as it is available at roughly the same price and compared the performance in various games, both at stock speeds as well as at the rather impressive overclocks that this series of card is able to hit.
You can see Ryan's take on this card in his full review, including an attempt to show how well optimized the various games are for utilizing CUDA cores. "Today NVIDIA is answering the demands of money conscious gamers by introducing the new GeForce GTX 460. The GTX 460 is a refinement of the Fermi architecture, designed to land significant performance improvements for gamers resting in the $200 USD sweet spot. We will find out if this truly does deliver gaming bliss on the cheap and why NVIDIA is calling the GTX 460 an 'Overclocker’s Dream.'" Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: GALAXY Technology | Subject: Graphics Card
Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong July 12th, 2010 - Galaxy Microsystems Ltd. a leading global manufacturer of graphics accelerators, today announced the immediate availability of the new Galaxy GTX 460 series of graphics cards featuring the industry’s first detachable fan cooling technology and DirectX 11 support for today’s hottest games. “Our new Galaxy GTX 460 graphics cards offer out of this world realism and performance at a price that is simply amazing.” said Shane Vance, US Sales for Galaxy. “And our new detachable fan makes it even easier to keep your card in peak condition”. Galaxy custom designed the GTX 460 series using top-grade components like solid capacitors so users get a high-performing, quality product, not a sticker on a reference model. Each card is tested in a static-free, factory environment by experienced technicians to ensure that only those cards that meet the “Galaxy Clocked” standard are overclocked. For those customers that demand the absolute fastest performance for their money, the Galaxy GTX 460 is also offered in a Super Overclocked edition. Galaxy GeForce GTX 460 1GB Super OC Edition:
Galaxy GeForce GTX 460 1GB GC Edition:
Galaxy GeForce GTX 460 768MB Super OC Edition:
Galaxy GeForce GTX 460 768MB GC Edition:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: ECS | Subject: Graphics Card
Taipei, Taiwan, July, 2010 – With innovative products that span multiple target markets, Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), the world's leading motherboard, graphics card, barebone system, and notebook manufacturer, launches the latest Black GTX 460 graphics card family with unbelievable overclocking capabilities and unmatched gaming performance to meet the requirements from critical gamers.
Unbelievable Overclocking Capabilities
Awesome Performance with High Efficient Cooling
ECS Black GTX 460 graphics card family comes with 336 powerful CUDA cores and 1024/768 MB GDDR5 256/192 bit data bus showing amazing gaming performance, with its fully OpenGL 4.0 and DirectX 11 supported, gamers can enjoy the incredibly detailed visuals and unprecedented level of detail and realism in the latest games. Visit ECS for more information and take gaming to a new level now.  
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Graphics Card
At 11" long, 5" wide and $1200 in the hole, there are not going to be many that can bring this card home, but those who do are picking up something special. Fitting a pair of HD5870 GPUs running full speed on a single PCB, plus 4GB of GDDR5 and managing to have the card running relatively quiet is quite a feat of engineering. It does slurp the power though a pair of 8-pin PCIe and an additional 6-pin allow this card to use 100 watts more than the HD 5970 or jsut over 50 watts more than the NVIDIA GTX 480; not too bad considering. The performance is also incredible, barring a few games that AMD's drivers do not seem to like yet so you aren't just buying a piece of impressive tech, you also get killer performance, especially if you have another Evergreen card to help with the work. Ryan's newly minted review is right here, so take a close look at this incredible single card graphics solution.
"If you want the fastest single graphics card on the market today, then the ASUS ARES is your one and only option. By combining a pair of TRUE Radeon HD 5870 GPUs with a total of 4GB of GDDR5 memory, ASUS has engineered a graphics card unrivaled anywhere else. The question is whether or not anyone can afford it! If you have $1200 burning a hole in your pocket and you don't know my address, then line up when they go on sale so you can own a piece of gaming nirvana." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Graphics Card
[H]ard|OCP pointed out that the might HD58xx series is now nine months old and they've decided to see just what has happened in the time between Catalyst 9.10 WHQL and Catalyst 10.6 WHQL. Starting out with raw performance numbers their tests revealed an interesting fact, while performance did increase a little it generally produced about the same numbers as the original driver. Do not draw the wrong conclusion from that as the small change is a good indicator that when the HD58xx's hit the street, they had solid drivers behind them; not bug ridden, unoptimized drivers that needed a few revisions to age into something useful. That meant the driver team could focus on features and basic improvements like bezel correction, Crossfire profiles and even a new generation of cards.
“Ever wonder just how much performance has improved with drivers since launch date with
AMD's ATI Radeon HD 5800 series? We did after NVIDIA's recent driver launch, so we aimed to
find out just how much AMD's drivers have improved. We compare the launch driver, the first
WHQL driver, and the current WHQL driver.”
Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Graphics Card
Looking for something to do tonight that might impress your friends? Want to make sure your investment in 3D hardware, whether it be a TV or even an NVIDIA 3D Vision setup, is getting all the exercise it can? Well tonight at 8pm ET the Daytona night race, the Coke Zero 400, will be broadcasts from DirecTV, Comcast and Time Warner will be available in 3D. It will also be streaming online with RaceBuddy at NASCAR.com for those of you with 3D-ready PCs.
Interestingly for users with 3D Vision support, this broadcast will use an updated version of Silverlight for the 3D video stream. You can visit the RaceBuddy link above to test to see if you have all the necessary hardware and software to watch the stream. 
The 3D production will feature two custom racing feeds produced specifically for 3D. The first will provide a unique look at the racing action from strategically placed cameras around the track designed to maximize the effect of 3D. The second stream will bring the mayhem of pit row into the third dimension creating a one-of-a-kind visual experience.
TNT's televised coverage at Daytona 6:30 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green, and continues with live race coverage at 7:30 p.m. in Wide Open format -- continuous race coverage free of national commercial breaks and more unobstructed race action than that of a standard telecast by using a letterbox widescreen format. While I am not personally a big NASCAR fan I will probably be using our in-house 3D Vision setup to test out the stream if only because of how many have mentioned that sports are the killer product for 3D technology. |
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