Nearly six years have gone by since AMD scooped up ATI for $5.4 billion, and when it was first announced, analysts wondered if the chip maker was making the right move. AMD's multi-billion dollar gamble paid off, and until Kepler arrives, the Sunnyvale chip makers owns the fastest single-GPU graphics card in the world (Radeon HD 7970). But what if AMD had acquired Nvidia instead?
If your AMD-based build keeps getting all hot and bothered, your rampant "incognito mode" Chrome browsing isn't to blame -- you've probably got a problem with thermals. Pouring a bucket of ice cold water over your PC isn't recommended, but that's not to say that a little aqua can't help cool things down. PowerColor just announced what it claims is the first Radeon HD 7970 with a liquid cooling waterblock built right onto the card.
In the coming weeks, AMD will flesh out its Radeon HD 7000 lineup with its mid-range 7800 Series based on the Sunnyvale chip maker's Pitcairn GPU. Pitcairn slips neatly in between Cape Verde (Radeon HD 7700 Series) and Tahiti (Radeon HD 7900 Series) and will likely consist of three separate videocards, according to information that was leaked to the Web over the weekend.
AMD is giddy as all get-out today over the arrival of its Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition and HD 7750 graphics cards, the first of which is the world's first graphics card equipped with a 1GHz GPU, the Sunnyvale chip maker claims. The 7750's special talent is that it doesn't require its own separate power connector and pushing gaming grade pixels while staying under 75W.
PowerColor has proven to be quite the tease these past few weeks by leaking pictures of custom cooled AMD Radeon HD 7000 Series graphics cards, including one with a waterblock. More recently, PowerColor posed a dual-fan Radeon HD 7970 videocard for a single-shot photo shoot, which apparently served as a short precursor to its official debut.
We met with AMD yesterday afternoon to discuss today's launch of the Sunnyvale company's FirePro V3900 graphics card, and the takeaway from that meeting is that this is a high-value, half-height card that brings some respectable horsepower to the entry-level professional graphics market. Priced at a mere $119, you can think of the V3900 as a Radeon HD 6570 dressed in business attire.
Anticipation for Nvidia's upcoming Kepler launch is running high these days. Rumors and early reports suggest Kepler's going to be king of the GPU castle when it's released, promptly stealing back the performance crown that sits atop AMD's Radeon HD 7970, but details have mostly been sparse. That is, until now. A full lineup of Kepler graphics cards has been leaked to the Web, complete with release dates and prices.
Thanks to the wonder of social networking, we're able to catch an early glimpse of PowerColor's upcoming 'LCS HD7970' graphics card. PowerColor posted a photo of the liquid cooled card on its Facebook page with a promise that "Something cool is coming soon!" That "something cool" is a Radeon HD 7970 videocard stripped of its air cooled heatsink and replaced with a single-slot full cover water block from EK Waterblocks.
Picture this: You're driving along in a remote area clear of people, animals, and other cars. There's a posted speed limit with a couple of bullet holes in it. Do you tap the break and adjust your speed accordingly, or take a potshot of your own at the sign and slam the gas pedal in defiance? No matter which way you answer it, PowerColor has a Radeon HD 7950 SKU tailored just for you.
From preview to stable, AMD put the finishing touches on its Catalyst 12.1 driver package and has made it available as a stable download. Curiously missing in the release notes is implicit support for AMD's new Radeon HD 7970 graphics card, or any of the other unreleased 7000 Series, and the same applies to the 12.2 preview release, which also just became available.
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