AMD Officially Confirms Next-Gen Graphics Products Next Quarter

From X-bit Labs: A highly-ranking representative from graphics products group of Advanced Micro Devices has confirmed that the new-generation graphics products from the company are coming next quarter. The executive also said that the new graphics boards will not target ultra-high-end market segment and will therefore not cost $999, like some existing offerings on the market. In addition, AMD graphics specialist revealed some details regarding the new flagship GPU.

“[Next generation AMD Radeon graphics cards] are coming in Q4. I cannot reveal a price-point but we are looking at more traditional enthusiast GPU price-points. We are not targeting a $999 single GPU solution like our competition because we believe not a lot of people have that $999. We normally address what we call the ultra-enthusiast segment with a dual-GPU offering like the Radeon HD 7990. So this next-generation line is targeting more of the enthusiast market versus the ultra-enthusiast one,” said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager of AMD’s graphics business unit, in an interview with Forbes web-site.

Although Mr. Skynner did not reveal a lot of juicy details about the new flagship graphics processor, he unveiled that the chip would be made using 28nm process technology and will be 30% smaller than Nvidia Corp.’s GK110, which points to around 385mm2 die size and around 5 billion of transistors. While he did not reveal actual performance numbers he implied that efficiency of the new Radeon graphics processing unit will be higher than that of Nvidia Kepler-based GK110.

“It is also extremely efficient. [Nvidia's Kepler] GK110 is nearly 30% bigger from a die size point of view. We believe we have the best performance for the die size for the enthusiast GPU. Another thing I can tell you is about the process node: this GPU is in 28nm. Some have speculated that it was 20nm and it is not for a specific reason: At 28nm for an enthusiast GPU, we can achieve higher clock speeds and higher absolute performance,” said Mr. Skynner.

Release of a new-generation lineup of graphics cards on time for the holiday season will inevitably help AMD to improve its share on the market of discrete graphics cards. At the same time, many hardcore gamers may wait till the next quarter to buy graphics novelties since in Q4 two next-gen video game consoles – Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4 – are entering the market.

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