The other major AMD related news release today was the introduction of the new ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics card which AMD/ATI calls the “world’s fastest graphics card.” Unlike NVIDIA which opted to create larger and faster GPUs, AMD opted to go the multi-processor route by building smaller GPUs and then combining them for graphics processing performance. According to AMD, the new Radeon HD 4870 X2 delivers 2.4 teraFLOPS of processing power on a single card thanks to 2GB of GDDR5 memory and two RV770 GPUs on the card clocked in at 750 MHz for a total of 1600 stream processors.

So that’s nice and dandy but is this all marketing fluff or is there something to what ATI is saying when it comes to multi-processor graphics cards? Luckily, there are a number of first hand reviews on the net so let’s see what they’re saying online.

First off, we have the folks at ExtremeTech:

ATI takes the performance crown by a good margin with the 4870 X2, but we expect future products to solve the common multi-GPU problems.

Over at Guru3D:

Money aside, what a true pleasure it has been testing the 4870 X2 cards. Personally I play my games at 2560×1600, I’m one of those lucky bastards to own a 30″ Dell screen, and playing games like Call of duty 4 or Mass Effect with framerates over 80 FPS in that resolution with the highest Image Quality settings available .. that’s just amazingly impressive .. well even that might be a slight understatement. Astounding is likely the right word for this product.

At the TechReport:

However, if you want the absolute ultimate graphics subsystem, you’ll find it in a pair of Radeon HD 4870 X2 cards, which unspooled a fluid ribbon of track in front of us in GRID at over 100 FPS at 2560×1600 resolution.

HotHardware has this to say:

In the end though, the Radeon HD 4870 X2 simply rocks.

Good ol Anandtech says:

The Radeon HD 4870 X2 is good, it continues to be the world’s fastest single card solution, provided that you’re running a game with CrossFire support.

Yes, those are certainly good reviews for the new Radeon.. but if you read the reviews yourself, you’ll notice a common theme - these cards are expensive! Heck - they’re more expensive than some low end PCs out on the market. Now if money is no object, then it appears the HD 4870 X2 is certainly the fastest card out there - also assuming you run the right games.

However, if money is something of a concern, you might be interested in the other new ATI product announced today - the ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 graphics card. The 4850 will be priced under $400 dollars (which is still darn expensive in my eyes) and offer 2GB of DDR3 memory and two GPUs clocked at 625MHz.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: ATI, AMD, Radeon HD 4870 X2, Radeon HD 4850 X2

Get ready for Intel’s new Centrino 2 Processor technology as Intel has introduced a sum total of 14 new processors, a new chipset, and new Wi-Fi chip.  Five new processors are being introduced today as part of Intel’s new Centrino 2 Processor Technology. The company is also introducing the new Intel Core 2 Extreme processor for mobile platforms which runs at a fast 3.06GHz. Finally, the company will unveil eight new processors over the next 90 days - one of which will be the first ever quad core mobile processor and others being second generation products for the ultra-thin and light notebook class.

The Intel Centrino 2 processor technology and Centrino 2 with vPro Technology was formally known as Montevina and feature faster Wi-Fi performance (with support for draft 802.11n technology), new business-class manageability capabilities, and improved performance and battery life.

On the processor side of the new Centrino 2 platform, there are initially five new mobile processors manufactured on a 45nm process. These processors feature:

• 1066 MHz front side bus speeds
• Up to 6MB L2 cache
• Deep Power Down Technology which turns off processing components such as core clocks and cache memory when the laptop is idle

Three processors also reduce laptop processor wattage about 30 percent - down to just 25 watts.

On the chipset front of the Centrino 2 platform, there’s the new Intel 45 Express chipset and the new Intel Wi-Fi Link 5000 series. Wi-Fi Link 5000 provides the draft 802.11n support with data rates up to 450Mbps.  The Intel 45 Express chipset also supports “switchable graphics” which is a new power saving feature allowing for both integrated and discrete graphics on a single notebook - letting the user easily switch between the two options depending on power needs.

Now that Intel has formally announced Centrino 2 products, expect a stream of new notebook announcements from hardware manufacturers.

For additional details into Centrino  2, check out ExtremeTech’s coverage here.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Intel, Centrino 2 Processor, Intel 45 Express

Think general purpose microprocessors have high transistor counts? Think again folks! NVIDIA has unveiled their latest family of GeForce GTX 200 GPUs and these bad boys have a TON of transistors - 1.4 billion transistors to be roughly exact. Making up the GTX 200 family are two processors - the high end GTX 280 and the mid-range GTX 260. The new GPUs are basically the same processor with the GTX 280 having all the capabilities enabled and the GTX 260 having some of the capabilities disabled.

With the new GTX 200 series of GPUs, NVIDIA is stating that bigger is indeed better - at least for the high end graphics world. They’ve packed a ton of horse power into a single die - resulting in a processor which is bound to be super large and power hungry. Thus - don’t expect graphic cards using the GTX 200 processors to be small in size. Heck you might even need a PSU upgrade.

Now contrast this with ATI’s philosophy which boils down to multi-processors for scalability. They’re keeping their designs small and fairly compact - hoping to tack on more processors if the demands are needed. In fact, AMD has pretty much conceded the high end graphics market to NVIDIA, instead focusing on delivering near high end performance at mid-range costs.

With the new GTX 280 based cards expected to cost around $650 and GTX 260 cards around $400, one has to wonder if these processors are worth it? Well, the reviews thus far have been somewhat mixed. One thing is certain - the GTX 200 is definitely the fastest processor even designed by NVIDIA. However, many of also found that current 9800 GX2 cards are just as fast if not faster than the single GPU GTX 280. Another interesting observation found in the reviews: The GTX 260 is the better bargain between the two new GPUs simply because you get 15-25 % performance degradation at a 40% cost reduction.

For more “light” reading, check out the early reviews from:

• ExtremeTech
• Anandtech
• TechReport
• HotHardware
• PCWorld
• Guru3D
• Hexus.net
• Maximum PC

Technorati Tags: NVIDA GeForce GTX 200, GTX 280, GTX 260

If there’s one problem with today’s notebook systems, it’s the generally under-whelming performance of their graphics subsystems. Graphics vendors usually strike a balance between performance and power consumption - with power consumption often winning due to the sheer fact that you’ve got yourself a mobile device. Well, AMD is looking to change all of that with the introduction of the new ATI XGP Technology. XGP stands for eXternal Graphics Platform and that pretty much says it all. The ATI XGP is designed to be an external graphics solution that connects to your notebook system using an external PCI Express 2.0 connector. The initial launch of the ATI XGP features the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3800 Series Graphics solution and delivers features such as:

• ATI Avivo HD technology for smooth HD playback via full hardware acceleration
• Integrated Digital Outputs enable viewing standard and high definition content
• Support for ATI CrossFireX technology multi-GPU capabilities
• Independently powered and cooled external graphics solution
• Enthusiast class graphics performance for notebooks
• ATI XGP with a single ATI Radeon graphics processor and a notebook PC can drive up to 4 displays
• Dedicated USB 2.0 connector enables attachments of TV tuners, Blu-ray devices, etc

So how does this all work exactly? Well when you’re home or in the office, just connect the ATI XGP to your specially designed notebook with PCI Express 2.0 connector and experience high end graphics performance great for multimedia playback and high end gaming. When you need to go on the road, disconnect the XGP from your notebook and work with the integrated graphics on the notebook - allowing you to perform basic activities as well as efficient power management.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: ATI XGP, PCI Express 2.0