AMD launches new graphics processor family, names quad-core family

By Colleen Taylor, Contributing Editor -- Electronic News, 5/14/2007

Making use of its $5.4 billion acquisition of graphics chipmaker ATI Technologies Inc.,  Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) started shipments today of a new series of graphics processors aimed at the gaming and multimedia markets. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chipmaker said the ATI Radeon HD 2000 series is a top-to-bottom line of ten discrete graphics processors (GPUs) for both desktop and mobile platforms.

AMD claims its new line-up boasts many firsts for the graphics industry, including a second-generation unified shader architecture (USA), a 512-bit memory bus designed for full performance high dynamic range (HDR) rendering, and new unified video decoder (UVD) technology for high-fidelity HD multimedia playback. Also according to the company, the mid-range and entry-level GPUs are the first graphics products in the industry to use an energy-efficient 65-nm process technology.

For gaming uses, the series also features ATI's native CrossFire technology, which allows for multi-GPU configurations and purportedly eliminates the need for any master cards. As for multimedia uses, the UVD series purportedly allows notebook users to view an entire HD DVD or Blu-ray disc on a single battery.

For desktop models, the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT is available immediately and expected to be priced at $399, while the HD 2600 and HD 2400 cards are scheduled to ship in late June with pricing to be announced. The mobile offerings, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600, 2400, and 2300, will be featured in notebooks from OEMs beginning this month, AMD said.

Also today, AMD has released more details of its yet-to-be-released quad core processor family. The company said today that it has dubbed the family "Phenom," and that it expects quad-core and dual-core AMD Phenom-based desktop systems will ship in the second half of 2007.

The company claims its quad-core design is "true quad-core," as its four cores communicate on the die rather than through a front side bus external to the processor—as opposed, the company said, to its rival Intel Corp.'s quad-core chip which packages two dual-core chips to form quad-core processors.