ATI confirmed this week that it has reduced power consumption of high-end desktop cards through the use of mobile technologies. Web site Xbit Labs had tested a Radeon X1800 in two distinct occasions, with the same BIOS but different drivers, and detected a drop from 112 W to 103 W. ATI said that it used dynamic clock gating technology originally introduced in the Mobility Radeon GPU, which shuts down unused parts of the graphics processor, reducing power consumption and current leakage. New BIOS versions that decrease clock speeds in less-demanding applications have also been made available.
Owners of AGP systems finally have access to Nvidia’s GeForce 7800 series. As expected, the company today launched its GS model, with cards from partners like BFG said to be already in stores. The AGP chip has 16 pixel pipelines and six vertex processors in comparison to 20 and seven in the 7800 GT PCI Express GPU. Clocks are set at 375 MHz and 1.2 GHz. Cards should sell with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory.
Along with its Radeon X1900 series, PowerColor (Tul) has introduced a lifetime warranty program, which promises repair or replacement of any defective cards. The product must have no physical damage and should be in its original retail package as well as registered with the company. The warranty apply only to original purchasers of Radeon X1900 cards sold in the United States and Canada.
As expected, ATI today launched its Radeon X1900 GPUs, available in three versions: XTX, XT and XT CrossFire. The 90-nm chips have 48 pixel shader processors, 16 pixel pipelines and eight vertex engines. All models support high dynamic-range (HDR), 6x adaptive anti-aliasing and Avivo video processing. ATI also added a new image rendering technique called Parallax Occlusion Mapping (POM). The Radeon X1900 XTX is clocked at 650 MHz with GDDR3 memory at 1.55 GHz. The XT and XT CrossFire will be set a little lower at 550 MHz and 1.45 GHz. Cards are said to be immediately available from a number of vendors.
Chaintech has launched a new VGA card based on Nvidia’s recently announced GeForce 7300 GS GPU. The SE73GS-G2 is clocked at 550 MHz and sports 128 MB or 256 MB of DDR2 memory at 810 MHz. It includes VGA, DVI-I and HDTV-Out connectors. The 90-nm 7300 GS has four pixel pipelines and full support for Shader Model 3.0 and high dynamic-range (HDR). Suggested retail prices are USD 80 (128 MB) and USD 90 (256 MB).
Nvidia today launched its first 90-nm GPU, the GeForce 7300 GS, a low-end part sporting full Shader Model 3.0 support. Other specs include 550 MHz core clock, four pixel pipelines, three vertex shader units and 64-bit memory interface. The GeForce 7300 GS also sports TurboCache technology, which means that the 128 MB version will be able to reach 256 MB borrowing capacity from the system memory, while the 256 MB one could go as high as 512 MB.
Futuremark has finally released the new version of its flagship benchmark. Changes brought by 3DMark06 include HDR Shader Model 3 tests, improved Shader Model 2 evaluation and a broader approach to consider CPU performance while evaluating graphics. The new benchmark uses Ageia’s PhysX software physics library to measure single processor, multi-core and multiple processor systems behavior in next-generation games. The software is immediately available for download in free, Advanced (USD 19.95) and Professional versions (USD 490).
The Inquirer reports that Dutch firm Club 3D has recently become an official Nvidia partner. The VGA card maker is now in the uncommon situation of having deals with four graphics chips companies. Club 3D has a long-standing relationship with ATI and also produces a few S3 Graphics (DeltaChrome S8) and XGI Technology (Volari V3) models. It already manufactured Nvidia products with no official partnership with the company.
ATI has announced two new mobile GPUs aimed at mainstream and thin-and-light notebooks. The Mobility Radeon X1300 and X1400 are based on the same 90-nanometer core and both contain four pixel pipelines, two vertex shaders processors and 128-bit memory bus. Clock settings are different, but ATI has not disclosed the numbers. The parts feature the company’s latest technologies, such as Avivo, and support Shader Model 3.0. A big list of manufacturers will release products sporting the GPUs.
EVGA is offering a free copy of Quake 4 to customers pre-ordering its e-GeForce 6800 GS with AGP interface. The card, priced at USD 250, is clocked at 350 MHz, features 256 MB of DDR3 memory at 1 GHz and includes VGA, DVI and TV-Out connectors. Nvidia’s GeForce 6800 GS GPU has 12 pixel pipelines, five vertex shaders and 256-bit interface.
AnandTech reports that ATI’s next GPU, the R580 (Radeon X1900), should be announced in January. Actual availability of the cards, however, is yet unknown. The 90-nanometer chip is expected to be clocked higher than the Radeon X1800 and feature 48 pixel shader processors. It was originally supposed to support Shader Model 4.0 and GDDR4 as well. Users will need to buy a “master” Radeon X1900 to run such cards in CrossFire mode.
As expected, ATI released an extra Catalyst driver update this year, focusing on video performance. The version 5.13 supports H.264 decode acceleration in all Radeon X1000 series GPUs and brings CrossFire to the X1800 lineup. It also resolves the usual bugs and promises improvements in games like “Battlefield 2” and “World of Warcraft”. The Control Center file has 34 MB.
Albatron has released a GeForce 6800 GS card with AGP interface. The AGP6800GS is clocked at 350 MHz (lower than the standard 425 MHz typical of PCI Express variants) and sports 256 MB of DDR3 memory at 1 GHz. The card includes VGA, DVI and TV-Out connectors. The NV42-based GeForce 6800 GS chip has 12 pixel pipelines, five vertex shaders engines and 256-bit interface.
A group of eleven companies this week announced a initiative to develop a new standard for connecting displays to computers. The Unified Display Interface (UDI) promises initial bandwidth of 16 Gb/s in its bid to replace the aging VGA. UDI is said to be fully compatible with High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) and High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). The special interest group currently consists of Apple, Intel, LG, National Semiconductor, Samsung, Silicon Image, Nvidia, THine, FCI, Foxconn and JAE. Last August, another group of companies, including some involved in the UDI initiative, presented another connectivity standard called DisplayPort.
HIS has also launched an overclocked version of its Radeon X1800 XT 512 MB. The X1800XT OC Edition Dual DL-DVI VIVO 512MB PCIe (!) runs at ATI-approved 700 MHz with GDDR3 memory at 1.6 GHz. Default settings are 625 MHz and 1.5 GHz. The CrossFire-enabled card includes DVI and VIVO connectors. The Radeon X1800 XT GPU has 16 pixel pipelines, eight vertex shaders and 256-bit memory interface. A full version of “Dungeon Siege” is bundled with the card.
