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AMD launches new mid-range cards in the 6800 series

by: John -
More On: Radeon HD 6850 Radeon HD 6870
Today is the day AMD launches some brand new video cards. They are starting out with the mid-range with the higher ranges coming later one.

First up is the AMD Radeon HD 6850. This card has a core clock speed of 775MHz with 960 stream processors and 32 ROPs. The max power draw on this card is 127W with a 19W idle. The other is the AMD Radeon HD 6870 offering up a core of 900MHz and 1120 stream processors with 32 ROPs. Max draw on this card is 151W with a 19W idle.  Both cards will come with at least 1GB of DDR5 memory.

Both cards will be giving you five video outputs. They consist of 2 DVI, 2 mini-Display Ports, and one full size HDMI connector. You can up to three displays with a single card although the mini-Display Ports can power several displays off of one connector via a HUB or daisy chaining monitors together.

The new cards are more of an optimized AMD Radeon HD 5800 architecture with tweaks to DirectX11 tessalation. Still, you're getting better performance from that series at 25% less of the silicone needed. That's some pretty good engineering.

When talking with AMD last week, they also mentioned their 3D initiative called AMD HD3D. They're going with a different approach than NVIDIA by letting you choose from the vendors instead of offering up an emitter and shutter glasses. With this, they think that offering the consumer the choice on what panels and glasses to use, it will make the pricing a little more aggressive and allow for some lower costs in the 3D area. The Quad Buffer support needed for AMD's HD3D will be in DirectX 9, 10, and 11.

The AMD Radeon HD 6850 will start at around $179 while the AMD Radeon HD 6870 looks to start around $239 with both being available now.


AMD Aims to Deliver “Perfect Graphics Cards” for Gamers with New AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 Series

Next-generation graphics cards introduce unprecedented levels of game performance, best-in-class energy efficiency, and an unmatched feature set starting at $1791
SUNNYVALE, Calif. —10/21/2010

AMD (NYSE: AMD) today introduced the next generation of PC gaming, the AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series, designed to be “perfect graphics cards” for gamers by delivering unprecedented game performance starting at $179 SEP.2 The new AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series graphics cards provide more than 30 percent greater game performance than competing products, harnessing AMD’s second-generation Microsoft DirectX® 11-capable architecture, best-in-class energy efficiency, and an unmatched feature set, including AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology. The AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series is available immediately from etailers worldwide.

“AMD is the market share leader by a landslide in DirectX® 11 graphics,” said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager, GPU Division, AMD. “Through our sweet spot strategy and our open, industry standards approach, we’ve worked to deliver the best possible experience for gamers. Today, our laser focus on gamers continues with the introduction of what we think is far and away the best graphics card series today, the AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series. With exceptional game performance, an unrivaled feature set including breathtaking DirectX® 11 gaming, AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology, AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing, and more, the AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series will have all gamers wanting to get Radeon™ in their systems.”

“One of the great advantages of PC gaming is the rapid pace at which the experiences evolve and improve, and the AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series delivers on the promise of DirectX® 11 gaming with significantly improved visuals and enhanced performance,” said Craig Owens, marketing director, EA. “With Medal of Honor, EA is pushing the boundaries of gaming technology to deliver a whole new online experience, and it only makes sense that we leverage the latest DirectX® 11 technology supported by AMD Radeon™ graphics cards to deliver an amazing experience for gamers.”
Leading DirectX® 11 Performance and Eye-Definition Graphics

* Ultimate efficiency for ultimate performance: With the AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series, AMD aims to recreate the same incredible value proposition of the original “sweet spot” products, the ATI Radeon™ HD 4800 series graphics cards. Taking full advantage of AMD’s experience with DirectX® 11, the AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series is AMD’s second-generation DirectX® 11-enabled chip designed to deliver more than 30 percent greater game performance over the closest competing products in their class and even faster tessellation for a more realistic gaming experience.1,3 The AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series’ architectural efficiency and advances in power management technology deliver in best-in-class energy efficiency.1
* New and improved image quality features: AMD Radeon™ 6800 series graphics cards feature improved image quality, including all-new morphological anti-aliasing compatible with DirectX® 9, DirectX® 10, or DirectX® 11 applications, and improved anisotropic filtering.
* Built for DirectX®11 games and more: DirectX®11 has quickly become the new standard for PC games. The majority of game developers chose AMD Radeon™ graphics cards as their development platform of choice for their DirectX® 11 games, and today AMD continues to enjoy strong relationships with those developers and many more. Beyond DirectX® 11 games, the AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series also delivers an exceptional game play experience in DirectX® 9, DirectX® 10, DirectX® 10.1 and OpenGL titles in single card or multi-card AMD CrossFireX™ configurations.4

Expand Your Experience with AMD Eyefinity Technology and Leading Display Technologies

* Continued industry leadership in multi-display computing: The AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series graphics cards are the first in the industry to offer support for both DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4a, providing PC users with expanded options for multi-monitor configurations, display selection, and new DisplayPort audio features.
* Simple, flexible, affordable multi-display computing with AMD Eyefinity: AMD Eyefinity technology continues to be the most affordable multi-display solution available, offering incredible choice in display compatibility and configurations.5 More than 45 game titles have been AMD Eyefinity-validated or are AMD Eyefinity-ready titles, and there are hundreds of more games that are AMD Eyefinity-compatible. Additionally, continuing improvements to AMD Catalyst™ graphics drivers may unlock new functionality and flexibility in AMD Eyefinity features and configurations.
* AMD HD3D technology for even more choice in 3D entertainment: With the AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series graphics cards, AMD is introducing AMD HD3D technology, the result of our open 3D initiative for stereo 3D gaming and movies. AMD HD3D technology supports over 400 titles through its partners, and AMD’s open 3D ecosystem approach encourages the broadest selection of 3D solutions, available at the most affordable cost.6

Live Life at EyeSpeed with AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing

* Do more, faster with AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing (APP) technology: Enjoy new features, functionality and improved performance in top media, entertainment and productivity applications made possible by AMD APP technology.7
* Enhanced video quality features: The AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series graphics cards features Unified Video Decoder 3 (UVD), a dedicated video playback accelerator that enables users to get the most out of Blu-ray™ 3D movies, other HD video formats, and online video, while enjoying video quality improvements such as advanced post-processing and scaling, dynamic contrast enhancement, color correction and more.
* Extensive support of industry standards: The AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series graphics cards fully support both DirectCompute and OpenCL™, ensuring broad application support.

Partner Support

* The AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 series graphics cards is supported by a dozen add-in-board companies, including ASUS, Club 3D, Diamond Multimedia, Force3D, GIGABYTE, HIS (Hightech Information Systems), MSI, PowerColor, SAPPHIRE Technology, VisionTek and XFX.