Product category:
Microprocessors, Microcontrollers and DSPs
News Release from: Advanced Micro Devices | Subject: ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 16 November 2007
Graphics processing units support
DirectX 10.1
Smooth transition to 55nm has allows a 2x increase in performance-per-watt over the previous generation with a significant reduction in die size.
New from AMD is the ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series of graphics processing units (GPUs) As the world's first series of graphics processors to deliver Microsoft's DirectX 10.1 support, 55nm process technology and tri and quad multi-GPU support with ATI CrossFireX, the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series ushers in a new era of enthusiast gaming performance at mainstream price points
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 24 Dec 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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The ATI Radeon HD 3800 series will be introduced in two variants at launch, from US $179 MSRP, the ATI Radeon HD 3850 with 256Mbyte of GDDR3 memory and from US $219 MSRP, the ATI Radeon HD 3870 with 512Mbyte GDDR4 memory.
The launch of the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series redefines the enthusiast segment and puts high performance gaming in reach of more users than ever before.
This innovative new series of graphics products also represent the first step in the launch of AMD's upcoming enthusiast platform codenamed "Spider".
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"With the introduction of the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series we are redefining the market for enthusiast graphics with a new class of price, performance and features that have never been seen before in this industry", says Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Graphics Product Group, AMD.
"Through a flawless transition to 55nm and Microsoft DirectX 10.1, we can deliver an unprecedented level of scalable performance, image quality enhancements and power efficiency at the sub-$200 segment that rivals today's most expensive graphics processors and opens up enthusiast gaming to more end users than ever before".
With the introduction of the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series AMD delivers the first graphics processor with support for Microsoft's upcoming DirectX 10.1 specification.
Designed to deliver more immersive gaming environments, increase the amount of tools for developers and enhance overall image quality, DirectX 10.1 support ensures ATI Radeon HD 3800 series users can enjoy a more complete next-generation gaming experience.
The ATI Radeon HD 3800 series also introduces the world to ATI CrossFireX, AMD's innovative next-generation multi-GPU technology designed to deliver unprecedented performance scaling with support for two, three and four graphics processors in CrossFire configurations.
At launch, the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series will support dual-GPU CrossFire with tri- and quad-GPU support scheduled for January 2008.
"Alienware has a long and proven track record in staying on the forefront of graphics performance and innovation", says Patrick Cooper, Director of Product Management at Alienware.
"As a pioneer in multi-GPU technology we are excited about the launch of the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series with CrossFire technology on our Area-51 ALX platform and look forward to delivering a best-in-class PC gaming experience for our customers".
Graphics bandwidth is also greatly enhanced with the introduction of PCI Express 2.0.
Delivering over 16Gbyte/s of bidirectional bandwidth, PCIe 2.0 doubles the bus datarate over the previous generation.
The combination of PCIe 2.0 and HyperTransport3 on next-generation AMD platforms provides a dramatic increase in the amount of system bandwidth for high definition, multi-GPU PC gaming.
The ATI Radeon HD 3800 series GPUs are the first graphics processors to use TSMC's 55nm process technology.
The smooth transition to 55nm has allowed for a 2x increase in performance-per-watt over the previous generation with a significant reduction in die size.
"TSMC and AMD have blazed a long and successful trail of process technology innovation, delivering increased value to end users through manufacturing innovation".
"Our innovative half-node process, including 55nm, is the quickest and simplest way to achieve performance gain", says Kenneth Kin, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Service, TSMC.
"With the immaculate execution and launch of the 55nm ATI Radeon HD 3800 series we are demonstrating once again how the strength of our successful collaboration delivers more performance-per-watt and performance per-square-millimetre to users than they have ever seen before in a graphics processor".
In addition to 55nm, AMD has also added its patented ATI PowerPlay technology to the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series to provide increased control over the graphics processor in multiple power states.
With PowerPlay technology users can benefit from dynamic adjustment of clocks and voltages depending on their usage scenario, which allows for a cool and quiet user experience.
With the launch of the ATI Radeon HD 3850 and ATI Radeon HD 3870, AMD has answered the call of HD video enthusiasts with top-to-bottom support for the Unified Video Decoder (UVD).
The addition of UVD ensures exceptional platform efficiency and image quality in HD-DVD and Blu-rayTM decoding for both H.264 and VC-1 specifications.
Enhanced HDMI functionality also continues on this series of products with integrated HDCP and audio for HDMI video.
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