Posted 11/02/09 at 08:11:00 PM by Ryan Whitwam

MSI is preparing to launch a 12-inch Windows 7 netbook that will sit atop its U200 series. The U230 will be very much like the previously released U210, which ran Vista. The only notable differences are the new operating system, and slightly faster AMD Radeon GPU.

The netbook will come with the AMD Neo X2 MV40 CPU at 1.6GHz, up to 4 GB of RAM, an AMD Radeon HD3200, and VGA/HDMI out. There’s none of that Windows 7 Starter here - the PC will come with Windows 7 Home Premium.  Pricing is still a mystery, though. The old U210 is going for $429.99, so one would hope that MSI can get the price in under $500.

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Posted 11/01/09 at 04:24:58 PM by Justin Kerr

Last month we posted a link to some early spy shots of the Radeon HD 5850 X2 & 5870 X2, but aside from the pictures, the post was a bit short on details. The card which still hasn’t been officially unveiled by AMD is still somewhat of a mystery, but the gang over at Alienbabeltech.com got a hold of some new photos and information that answers some, but not all of the questions we have about the new design.

Based on the reference card shown in the pictures, it appears as though this monster will require two power connections, one 8-pin and one 6-pin which are located just above the fan. Even if the power requirements of this beast don't shock you, the overall length of the card just may. Measuring in at a whopping 13.5 inches long, most enthusiasts without a full tower case will have a hard time fitting this into their machines. AMD responded quickly by stating that the photos were of an engineering sample, leading us to wonder if the card won’t shrink an inch or two prior to release.

The other big change since our last update is the new naming conventions. It now appears as though AMD will be dropping the “X2” designation and the cards will be known as the Radeon HD 5950 (Dual 5850’s), and the Radeon HD 5970 (Dual 5870’s). Questions remain, but hey, its better then nothing right?

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Posted 10/14/09 at 03:38:18 PM by Bart Salisbury

ATI plans to celebrate next week’s Windows 7 launch with two new DirectX 11 graphics cards. The Radeon HD 5770 and the Radeon HD 5750 will each sport 1GB of GDDR5 memory, and have core clock speeds of 850Mhz and 700Mhz respectively. Other features include two dual-link DVI ports, a HDMI port, and a single 6-pin PCI-E power connector.

The Radeon 5700 series card will be built upon ATI’s new 40nm “Juniper” chip, which consists of 1.04 billion transistors on a 166mm² die. The smaller chip makes it possible to ATI to offer the cards at lower prices than the current DirectX 11 capable Radeon 5800 series cards: the HD 5870 and HD 5850. Price for the HD 5770 is set at $159, with the HD 5750 going for $129. ATI will later release a 512MB version of the HD 5750 for $109.

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Posted 09/28/09 at 12:40:07 PM by Paul Lilly

In Act I of the modern-day GPU wars, AMD lit up the scene by releasing the ATI Radeon HD 5870, the fastest single-GPU videcoard money can buy. In Act II, AMD will hope to also claim the dual-GPU crown with its upcoming HD 5870 X2.

The latest rumor pegs the beastly dual-GPU videocard for an October release, though AMD hasn't said anything official yet. Nevertheless, to satisfy power users with deep pockets who are chomping at the bit, leaked pics of the 5870 X2 have hit the web.

Not just one leaked pic either, but several of them, each one showing the 5870 X2 in its massive glory. The X2 appears to trump the 5870 in length, which already measures about 11 inches long. While it's hard to determine exactly how long the X2 will be, it looks to be about a half-inch longer.

Get your fill of fuzzy GPU porn here, then hit the jump and sound off!

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Posted 09/25/09 at 02:47:54 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

This week, we welcome regular Maximum PC contributor Loyd Case to the show to chat with Gordon and Will about IDF, the sassy new Radeon 5870, and Intel's first Larrabee showing. After a too-short trip to the lab, we jump straight into reader questions, before closing with another installment of Gordon's Rant of the Week. 

Do you have a tech question? A comment? A tale of technological triumph? Just need to get something off your chest? A secret to share? Email us at maximumpcpodcast@gmail.com or call our 24-hour No BS Podcast hotline at 877.404.1337 x1337--operators are standing by.

Subscribe: http://feeds.feedburner.com/maximumpc/1337

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Posted 09/23/09 at 11:30:00 AM by Loyd Case

AMD’s graphics division, the former ATI Technologies, loves a good surprise. The company has been a perennial also-ran in the graphics performance arena, but every now and then, it one-ups the competition in a big way. That happened back in 2002, with the launch of the original Radeon 9700, which stole the performance lead from archrival Nvidia. It happened again last year, with the Radeon HD 4800 series. The 4850, 4870, and 4890 weren’t always faster than the competition, but they were small, efficient chips that forced Nvidia into a price war that was good for users but bad for Nvidia’s bottom line.

Now AMD’s doing it again, putting some serious hurt on the competition with the first GPU to support Microsoft’s upcoming DirectX 11 API. AMD’s also been paying close attention to the emerging market for non-gaming apps accelerated by GPUs, such as video transcoding and digital photography, fully supporting DirectCompute 11 and OpenCL standards for general purpose computing on graphics cards.

This new chip is no shrinking violet in the numbers department. Every number associated with the new Radeon 5800 series is staggering: 2.15 billion transistors, 2.7 trillion floating-point operations a second, more than 20 gigapixels per second throughput, 1,600 shader units. Other numbers impress because of their smallness. One example: The idle power is a scant 27W— lower than many entry level GPUs.

Given the sheer scale and ambition of this GPU, does it deliver in the performance realm? And will it deliver at a price normal humans can afford? Let’s find out.

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Posted 09/10/09 at 05:00:00 PM by Will Smith

Today’s graphics cards can barely handle one 30-inch monitor in gaming. Pushing around 2560x1600 pixels is a challenge for current-generation GPUs. While it’s true that each new generation of graphics cards can push performance, we weren’t quite prepared for the preview AMD gave us of its upcoming DirectX 11–capable graphics hardware.

AMD ushered us into its Sunnyvale, CA, test lab, where it had a high-end system set up with a single graphics card. AMD would only disclose that the card had a single GPU, and was one of the company’s upcoming DirectX 11–capable chips—nothing about the amount of video RAM, clock speeds, or anything else. This particular graphics card also sported six DisplayPort connectors. Attached to each DisplayPort connector was a 30-inch Dell display. The whole affair was configured as a single, 7680x3200 monitor. That's 24.6 megapixels!

Sure, you say, you can hook up six monitors and run Windows… but can it do 3D?

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Posted 07/08/09 at 04:50:42 PM by Mark Edward Soper

AMD's new ATI Graphics Scout is a visual wizard designed to help you find the "perfect" ATI GPU for your needs. Graphics Scout provides feature selections in four categories: video applications, pictures and photos, games, and office applications. Select the most important feature or features in some or all categories, and Graphics Scout (which resembles a Star Wars R2-D2 with a flat-panel upgrade) suggests a suitable match.

Earlier this week, The Inquirer complained that Graphics Scout was pushing out some questionable suggestions. Thankfully, as an update to the original story indicates, ATI's been making some changes, and in our tests today, it made recommendations that make sense:

• When we selected video editing, photo editing, DirectX 10+ gaming, and Microsoft Office applications, it suggested the top-of-the-line HD 4890.
• When we changed our mind and selected big-screen TV connections with Blu-Ray support, photo viewing and editing, online gaming, and web browsing, Graphics Scout suggested the mid-line HD 4550.

The ability to move up and down the GPU line to see what upgrading or downgrading the recommended selection is handy, as is the ability to compare any other card with the recommended card. For its intended UK audience, Graphics Scout is great, as it provides links to various UK dealers. For users in other countries, it's still useful, but you'll need to use a site such as Cnet's Shopper.com to find actual products for sale. Take Graphics Scout for a spin and join us after the jump to chime in on its recommendations.

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