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AMD Radeon HD 7790 review roundup: what to expect from a $149 gaming card
Mainstream gaming is all about 1080p. Monitors may be getting cheaper, making higher resolutions and multi-display setups ever more feasible, but Full HD is still sufficient for the average buyer. AMD knows it, and that's why this morning's announcement of the Radeon HD 7790 came with a straightforward promise: the ability to play the latest games at 1080p with high detail settings for a maximum outlay of $149. Such claims can't be waved around without being tested, and indeed The Tech Report, HotHardware, Bit.tech and other sites have just returned their verdicts. Read on for our review roundup.
AMD intros Radeon HD 7790 graphics card for $149, promises cooler and quieter 1080p gaming
We were half expecting AMD's next graphics card to be some sort of supercomputing colossus, given all the buzz around NVIDIA's GTX Titan. As it turns out, though, we're looking at something more subtle and just slightly more affordable: the new Radeon HD 7790. It slots into a cosy niche between the 7770 and the 7850, targeting gamers who want a good helping of 28nm silicon and potential for CrossFire expansion but who don't want to stretch beyond $149. Efficiency tweaks allow the 7790 to offer almost 50 percent more processing power than the 7770 while only demanding a smidgen of extra wattage (85 W instead of 80 W), which bodes well for cooling and decibels. Relative to the 7850, which can now be had for under $200, you'd be getting a card with half the power consumption, half the memory (1GB GDDR5), half the memory bandwidth (128-bit) and around 30 percent less processing power. Compare it to the closest rival from NVIDIA, the GTX 650 Ti, which currently fetches upwards of $140, and AMD claims the Radeon HD 7790 offers an average 20 percent advantage in frame rates at 1080p -- enough that you shouldn't need to worry about games like Tomb Raider or Hitman: Absolution at that resolution. Check out the slide deck for further details and official frame-rate charts, and expect to see the card reach retailers starting April 2nd.%Gallery-183505%
AMD Radeon HD 8000 series GPUs official for laptops, desktop series now shipping to OEMs
Most of the secrets surrounding AMD's latest series of mobile graphics chips have been known for a while now, but that didn't stop the company from making everything official today. Intended for traditional laptops and ultrathins alike, the Radeon HD 8000M series supports DirectX 11.1 and stands as the first of the company's mobile GPUs to incorporate the AMD Graphics Core Next architecture. The lineup consists of the Radeon HD 8800M, HD 8700M, HD 8600M and HD 8500M. The chip manufacturer announced that the Radeon HD 8000M series has already been incorporated into products from ASUS and Samsung -- no surprises here -- and also let it be known that we can expect similar offerings from Dell, Lenovo and other OEMs in short order. Rounding out the GPU announcements from AMD, the company also took the opportunity to crow that its Radeon HD 8000 series for desktops is now en route to OEM partners. What's more, we can expect desktop rigs with this technology to begin arriving on store shelves later this month. If you're thirsty for more information, feel free to soak up the PR after the break. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
AMD Radeon HD 8000M-series GPUs revealed, coming to a laptop near you in Q1 2013
Had you been cruising these pages in the early hours of this morning, you'd know that the very first laptop to contain AMD's next generation of discrete graphics chips was quietly put up for sale over in Germany. The chipmaker has now confirmed that this machine -- the Asus Vivobook U38DT -- is indeed shipping, with a Trinity APU and hitherto unknown Radeon HD 8555M GPU on board. At the same, it's made a few promises about what the new discrete graphics components are capable of. These claims include the typically confusing graph above, which at first glance may appear to show an 8000M-series chip trebling the performance of NVIDIA's Geforce 650M (of 15-inch Retina MBP fame), but which actually suggests a 20-70 percent lead over the six-month-old competitor -- and with no information about power consumption to help us make a proper judgment. There are some straightforward factual details too, thank goodness, and you'll find them right after the break.
Retailer leaks next-gen AMD Radeon HD 8000 mobile graphics inside Asus Vivobook
Give or take the odd roadmap, we're mostly in the dark about AMD's specific intentions for 2013. This spec sheet for an unannounced 13-inch Asus Vivobook U38DT drops a couple more crumbs, however, suggesting there'll be a fresh stack of Radeon HD 8000-series graphics chips before too long -- including a 8550M laptop variant with a gig of dedicated memory. It's hard to say anything definite beyond that, and in fact it's even possible that the 8550M will be a last-gen chip rebranded as part of next year's product range -- although that sort of behavior is more typical of NVIDIA. The laptop itself is very similar to the Trinity-powered Vivobook U38N we've already spotted at the FCC, and given that the retailer mentions delivery from the end of December, there's at least some possibility that this model is meant to tie-in with an official announcement at CES -- in which case we'll be right there to bring you a fuller update.
AMD Never Settle bundle gives Radeon HD 7000 buyers free games they'd actually care to play
Just about anyone who has bought more than one aftermarket graphics card knows that bundled games rarely matter. They're usually year-old titles or neutered editions built only to showcase the GPU's performance for a few hours. AMD thinks its Never Settle bundle might finally get us to notice. Buy any modern Radeon HD video card from the 7770 GHz Edition on up and you'll get a download code for at least one new game you'd genuinely want to try, ranging from Far Cry 3 on basic cards to a full three-game deal that supplies Far Cry 3, Hitman: Absolution and Sleeping Dogs to high rollers buying the 7900 series. There's likewise a discount for Medal of Honor: Warfighter and promises of bundles in 2013 for Bioshock Infinite and the reimagined Tomb Raider. As long as you're not dead set on springing for a GeForce board in the next few months, one of the qualifying cards might be worth a look to jumpstart your game collection.
MSI makes AMD-laden GX60 gaming laptop official with A10 heart, Radeon HD 7970M graphics
We can't say that there's a huge cross-section of buyers who want a gaming laptop but refuse to touch Intel components. Whatever the size, MSI likely has that group sewn up with the official unveiling of the GX60 following a stealth appearance at Computex. The 15.6-inch portable is built as showcase for AMD's latest mobile technology: it revolves around a 2.3GHz, quad-core A10-4600M processor using the Piledriver architecture as well as a Radeon HD 7970M to feed its 1080p screen at full speed. Thankfully, the PC is more than just a marketing vehicle and carries some of the gamer-tuned parts that we've seen in other MSI rigs, such as dual SSDs in a RAID stripe, a low-lag Killer networking chipset and a heavy-duty SteelSeries keyboard. Buying a GX60 may prove to be the real obstacle -- in keeping with most MSI introductions, there's no mention of a price or ship date, and none of the usual suspects have it in stock as of this writing.
First GHz Edition Radeon HD 7970 hits shelves, throws $699 wrench into AMD's pricing strategy
The GHz Edition was supposed to deliver a significant mid-cycle performance bump to AMD's flagship 7970, without any attendant rise in cost. Instead, according to AnandTech, it looks like third-party vendors are looking to exploit the GE has a chance to max out every other spec in addition to the updated silicon and then charge a premium. Sapphire's new Toxic card is a case in point -- a 6GB double-helping of VRAM and a "Lethal" BIOS mode that takes base clock up to 1150MHz and memory clock to 6.4GHz (compared to 6GHz on the stock card). Those who can splutter up $699 will surely love it, but it's no substitute for the $499 upgrade that AMD originally intended.
AMD chops up to $50 off Radeon HD 7970, 7950 and 7870 graphics cards
The recent release of the Radeon HD 7970 Ghz Edition is having knock-on benefits further down the stack. $20 has now been shaved off the regular 7970 rrp in addition to the last discount we reported, while the 7950 is down $50 to $349 and the 7870 has also been nudged $50 deeper into the mid-range sweet spot at $249. Other cards in the line-up may also drop by some degree, although there's no official word on those just yet. These summer prices should start having an impact in stores from today -- just in time to benefit from the latest Catalyst 12.7 drivers, which promise to bring significant performance gains and hence even more tension to your NVIDIA product comparisons.
Winscape virtual window makes the leap to Kinect in 4K-capable, 6-screen glory (video)
RationalCraft brought its surreal Winscape virtual window to market when the Wii was virtually the only game in town for affordable motion tracking. Microsoft's Kinect has certainly changed the rules of the game since then, so it's almost natural that a fourth-generation Winscape has just launched to make use of the much more sophisticated sensor. For a start, there's no need to dress like Flavor Flav anymore: the camera can recognize anyone, even passers-by, without an oversized necklace. The larger-than-life footage used to generate the window effect has been given its own bump, too, and the app can now handle 4K video as long as the Mac underneath (sorry, Windows folks) is powerful enough to drive it. For those who truly want to be disconnected from reality, there's even six-display support provided it's all hooked up to a Mac Pro and a pair of three-output Radeon HD 5770 video cards. RationalCraft's software is free to try out now, although the requirement for at least two big TVs, a Kinect controller and a fast Mac should say all there is to know about the practical cost of pretending the Golden Gate Bridge is visible from inside a living room in Cleveland.
Shuttle takes quiet nettops down the Cedar Trail, intros XS35V3 and XS35GTA V3
Nettops have slipped a bit out of vogue, but Shuttle is keeping the flame alive for those who like their desktops tiny and hushed. The XS35V3 and XS35GTA V3 have moved on to more contemporary Cedar Trail-era, 2.13GHz Atom D2700 processors that keep the power draw to a fanless 27W, even when everything is churning at full bore. That limit might get tested with the GTA variant, which brings in Radeon HD 7410M graphics for a lift to 3D performance, but neither mini desktop will exactly make the power company beg for mercy. Either is a barebones kit with the laptop-sized hard drive, optical drive and OS left to the buyer -- if you don't get them at the same time, you'll have only the HDMI, VGA, USB and card reader to keep you company. Europeans are currently the only ones getting a crack, where it costs €172 pre-tax ($214) for the XS35V3 and €233 ($290) to get its faster GTA cousin.
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition review roundup: a big, bad bruiser of a graphics card
You know the routine: we looked this revamped card's spec sheet a few hours ago, so now it's time to find out how it fared in independent tests and whether it's worth the $499 outlay. On the face of it, this powerhouse of a card ought to be a champ, since it comes $50 cheaper than the original's launch price (although that non-GHz Edition has now dropped to $449) and brings crucial improvements in clock speed and memory bandwidth. In practice? Well, it wins -- but only on points. Read on for more.
AMD launches Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, demands rematch with NVIDIA
If you've been missing out on the graphics card wars of late, then here's a quick rundown. AMD launched its high-end $549 Radeon HD 7970 at the end of last year, and it reigned comfortably for a few months until NVIDIA came out with the masterful GeForce GTX 680. That would have been the end of the matter, at least for this product cycle, except for one crucial factor: time. Having reached the market so much earlier, AMD has now had six months to not only tweak its drivers but also its 28nm silicon. That process has already culminated in 1GHz cards at the low- and mid-ranges, and today it leads to the (slightly predictable) announcement of a Radeon HD 7970 'GHz Edition' -- priced at $499 and expected to be available from a range of board makers from next week. To keep you amused in the meantime, there's plenty of detail in the gallery below and after the break. Update: review roundup added here.%Gallery-158843%
AMD previews FirePro W9000 graphics, possibly throws in dual-chip Radeon HD 7990 for good measure
AMD's CTO Mark Papermaster may have just dropped a minor graphics bombshell at the end of the AMD Fusion Developer Summit. His presentation was officially to show off the FirePro W9000, a beast of a workstation graphics card with 6GB of GDDR5 memory, a 264.8-megapixel fill rate and four teraflops of single-precision math. While the screen behind him showed the one-fan FirePro card, however, he was clearly holding another, three-fan card in his hands -- and though it could be that the W9000's cooling system went through a major revision between presentation slide and production, it may be a clue to a gamer-friendly Radeon part instead. Attendees like Tweakers.net have reason to believe it might be the Radeon HD 7990, a long-rumored dual-chip version of the 7900 series for the very upper echelons of gamers. If so, the bets are on it keeping up the tradition of having two slightly underclocked versions of AMD's fastest chip (here the Radeon HD 7970) working in tandem to produce a big leap in speed despite occupying the same two card slots. AMD hasn't set the matter straight with either a yea or a nay, but with NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 690 largely cornering the high-end market unopposed, it's tough to picture AMD simply twiddling its thumbs.
Possible new Mac Pro part numbers tip up, WWDC attendees raise eyebrows (Update: 15-inch MBP specs too?)
We're still unsure as to whether or not Apple's rumored Mac update smorgasbord will come to pass at WWDC, but if any of it pans out, it looks to be the almost mythological Mac Pro update. A trio of model numbers for a "K5BPLUS" have popped up that 9to5 Mac claims are the base, mid-range and high-end configurations for the long-sought workstations. The part numbers don't include details, though talk of similar pricing to what we know today would point to Intel's Xeon E5-2600 (itself a long story) taking the reins as the processor. If there's any truth to the talk, the new Mac Pro could be ready to sell just as WWDC kicks off next week -- a mention supported by rumors of Apple recalling what little Mac Pro stock it keeps at retail stores. Not that a few extra days would matter, knowing how long prospective buyers have had to wait. Update: Just when we thought we were clear, another Apple laptop spec sheet of unknown provenance has appeared. Posted by 9to5 Mac (2), it suggests a 15-inch MacBook Pro with a 2560x1600 Retina display, 16GB of 1,600MHz DDR3 SDRAM plus an AMD Radeon HD 7770M graphics core with 2GB of RAM and auto switching to integrated Intel video. Droolworthy bullet points to be sure, but until we have more concrete evidence prospective upgraders should keep their credit cards set to stun.
HP updates Envy 15, 17 and 17 3D to Ivy Bridge, game and media fans rejoice
HP has been very eager to take the Envy line in an Ultrabook direction, leaving performance hounds a bit wanting. Much to their (and our) relief, the full-fat Envy 15, Envy 17, and Envy 17 3D have all made the leap to Intel's latest round of Ivy Bridge processors. Along with the 2.3GHz to 2.7GHz quad Core i7 chips we all know and love, the Envy 15 and regular 17 can get a dual 2.5GHz Core i5 to keep the price slightly closer to Earth. All of them ship with equally upgraded AMD Radeon HD 7750M or 7850M graphics to give games that extra jolt of energy, and you won't find one with less than 6GB of RAM and a 750GB hard drive. Should you like the Envy's current formula and just wish it had that much more oomph, you can pay a post-discount $1,100, $1,250 or $1,530 to bring one to your door. [Thanks, James]
AMD announces 900MHz version of the Radeon HD 7750, calls it 'the other 7750'
The original Radeon HD 7750 won plaudits for its low-wattage performance and $109 price tag, but now AMD's decided to put out an additional version with 100MHz more clock whizz. The new card also happens to be called the Radeon HD 7750, and it'll sit alongside its doppelganger on the shelves of the world's computer stores just daring you spot the difference. How will you do that? By checking if it requires a separate power supply: the original 7750 was powered entirely through the PCIe slot, limiting its power to 75W and hence its clock speed to 800MHz, while the new one accepts additional power to deliver slightly more grunt and stay ahead of looming competition from NVIDIA. XFX has already jumped aboard with the 7750 Black Edition Double Dissipation priced at $115 after a rebate, and AnandTech says other vendors will follow suit. So, unless you're totally out of power jacks, you know what to look for. Image courtesy of Newegg.
Lenovo swings out diminutive ThinkCentre M92p Tiny, bevy of all-in-ones and VoIP-ready ThinkVision display
Lenovo's going all-out on Ivy Bridge-based ThinkCentre pro desktop updates this evening, and the centerpiece is the smallest of the lot. The ThinkCentre M92p Tiny -- yes, it's officially nicknamed Tiny -- is about as thick as a golf ball at 1.4 inches and ready to tuck behind your display, but packs up to a third-generation Intel Core chip, vPro for IT control and your choice of spinning or solid-state hard drives. The M92p Tiny and a lower-end M72e should arrive in June, although what the respective $799 and $499 prices will get you are still mysteries. There's no shortage if you prefer your desktops slightly more upsized. The all-in-one pack is topped by the 21.5-inch ThinkCentre Edge M92z, an uncommonly thin (2.5 inches) desktop using an IPS-based LCD with optional multi-touch that's due in July for $699. The 20- and 23-inch M92z AIO models start off at $799 for their June releases and pack up to 1TB of storage and dedicated AMD Radeon HD graphics, while a more modestly equipped, 20-inch M72z AIO will appear the same month for $599. And if you've just got to have a traditional box, Lenovo will gladly sell you the budget ThinkCentre Edge 72 ($439) or slightly uprated ThinkCentre M82 ($599). Everyone has the option of the 23-inch ThinkVision LT2323z display, which touts an IPS-based LCD and a webcam with Lync VoIP-certified, noise-cancelling microphones. The screen's price hasn't been set, but it does have a locked-in June release. You can delve into the full details of Lenovo's massive ThinkCentre revamp in the releases after the break.
AMD Radeon HD 7970 could get 'GHz Edition', put the hurtz on NVIDIA
AMD's Radeon HD 7770 and 7870 reference cards already sport 1GHz clock speeds, but so far the high-end flagship 7970 has been stuck at 925MHz. That'd be no big deal, perhaps, were it not for rival NVIDIA's benchmark-stealing GeForce GTX 680, which autonomously adjusts its clock speed on the fly and easily hits 1.2GHz under the right conditions. But while NVIDIA has yet to roll out its full stack of 28nm cards, AMD is finding plenty of time to play catch-up. According to Australian site Atomic MPC, the company has revealed that the manufacturing process of its next-gen GPUs has improved to the point where the same average voltages can yield much higher clock speeds. Recent chips can reach 1.25GHz without struggling, which means a conservative "GHz Edition" of the 7970 can now safely be rolled out, of course with scope for much higher overclocking on third-party boards with more robust coolers. By the time the battle between Red and Green reaches full-swing, it might not be so easy to call a winner.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 review roundup: (usually) worth the one grand
Now that NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 690 is shipping through some vendors, gamers have been wondering if it's worth the wallet-busting $999 to get those higher frame rates. Surprisingly, the answer is "yes." As AnandTech notes, the GTX 690 is often almost as fast or faster than a pair of GTX 680s working together in SLI mode, only using less power and running at cooler and quieter power levels through those two 28-nanometer Kepler chips. Across multiple reviewers, though, the GTX 690 was sometimes slower than two Radeon HD 7970 boards using CrossFire. HotHardware and others found that it's definitely the graphics card of choice for Batman: Arkham City enthusiasts: problems with AMD's CrossFire mode leave a dual Radeon HD 7970 setup running at just half the frame rate of its NVIDIA-made challenger. Caveats? There are still some worries beyond the price tag, as the twin Radeon cards are as much as three times faster at general-purpose computing tasks than the latest and greatest GeForce. PC Perspective likewise warns that fans of joining three displays together for some 3D Vision Surround action will still take a big frame rate hit when they put the 3D glasses on. Still, the GTX 690 looks to be tops if you're looking to get the fastest single-card gaming on Earth, and as Legit Reviews adds, that trivalent chromium-plated aluminum makes it one of the "better looking" cards, to boot. Read - AnandTech Read - HotHardware Read - Legit Reviews Read - PC Perspective
