ATI Pushes DirectX 11 Into Mainstream Value Segment for Less Than $100

From DailyTech: As much as technology enthusiasts will talk up the latest and greatest graphics cards, around two-thirds of desktop graphics cards sold around the world are priced at less than $100. Any new graphics technology that is introduced must eventually reach this critical market in order truly be dominant. DirectX 11 is no different, and ATI plans to address the sub-$100 market with today's launch of the Radeon HD 5670.

ATI had previously launched the Radeon HD 5700 series targeting the mainstream performance segment between $100-$200 in October, and has had great success as the only DirectX 11 solution in that market. Those cards use a 40nm Juniper chip that is half the size of the Cypress chips used in the Radeon HD 5800 series. This has enabled a boost in yields and volume to the market, enabling these low price points.

The Radeon HD 5670 attacks the mainstream value segment using similar techniques. The Redwood XT GPU itself is only 104mm2, with a total transistor count of 627 million. Power consumption is impressively low at 61 watts at load and 14 watts at idle. Radeon 5670 cards will be the first DirectX 11 cards to fit in a single slot solution, and passive cooling may even be an option later this year when Add-In-Board partners start tinkering with their own designs.

Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games have brought a lot of new PC gamers into the upgrade
market, but many of them are uncomfortable with PCIe power connectors or may not have the necessary power supplies needed for more powerful solutions. ATI thinks that this new card will be perfect for them as it will be able to replace most of the integrated or value graphics included in most low-end PCs.

GDDR5 graphics memory will be standard, although sizes will vary to accommodate different price points. The 512MB version will be available for $99, while the 1GB version will sell for around $119 due to the high price of GDDR5 (fueled by demand from other DX11 cards).

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