AMD Releases ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series of GPUs for Enthusiast-Class Gaming
November 23, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) introduced the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series of graphics processing units (GPU) providing Microsoft DirectX 10.1 support, 55 nanometer (nm) process technology and tri and quad multi-GPU support with ATI CrossFireX for enthusiast gaming applications.
The ATI Radeon HD 3800 series will be launched in two variants: the 3850 with 256 MB of graphics double-data-rate 3 (GDDR3) memory and the 3870 with 512 MB GDDR4 memory.
These graphics products also represent the first step in the launch of the AMD enthusiast platform codenamed Spider.
"With the introduction of the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series, we are redefining the market for enthusiast graphics with a new class of price, performance and features that have never been seen before in this industry," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, AMD graphics product group.
"Through a flawless transition to 55 nm and Microsoft DirectX 10.1, we can deliver an unprecedented level of scalable performance, image quality enhancements and power efficiency at the sub-$200 segment that rivals today's most expensive graphics processors and opens up enthusiast gaming to more end-users than ever before," Bergman said.
According to AMD, the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series was designed to deliver more immersive gaming environments, increase the amount of tools for developers and enhance overall image quality.
The ATI Radeon HD 3800 series introduces ATI CrossFireX, the AMD next-generation multi-GPU technology designed to deliver scaling with support for two, three and four graphics processors in CrossFire configurations. At launch, the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series will support dual-GPU CrossFire with tri- and quad-GPU support scheduled for January 2008.
AMD said graphics bandwidth is also enhanced with the introduction of peripheral component interconnect (PCI) Express 2.0. Delivering more than 16 GBps bidirectional bandwidth, PCIe 2.0 doubles the bus data rate over the previous generation. The combination of PCIe 2.0 and HyperTransport3 on next-generation AMD platforms increases the amount of system bandwidth for high-definition (HD), multi-GPU PC gaming, the company said.
The ATI Radeon HD 3800 series GPUs use Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) 55 nm process technology. The transition to 55 nm allowed for a 12x increase in performance per watt over the previous generation with a reduction in die size, AMD said.
In addition to 55 nm, AMD added its patented ATI PowerPlay technology to the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series to provide control over the graphics processor in multiple power states.
The products also support the unified video decoder (UVD), which AMD said provides platform efficiency and image quality in HD-DVD and Blu-Ray decoding for both ITU H.264 and video codec 1 (VC-1) specifications. HD multimedia interface (HDMI) functionality also continues on this series of products with integrated high-bandwidth digital content protection (HDCP) and audio for HDMI video.
Source: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).