Hardware

Published on June 22nd, 2015 | by Admin

AMD Ushers in a New Era of PC Gaming with Radeon R9 and R7 300 Series Graphics Line-Up

SYDNEY, Australia. — June 22, 2015 — AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) today announces a new era of PC gaming, unveiling its line of next-generation AMD Radeon™ graphics cards including the 300 series cards and the revolutionary Radeon R9 Fury family. The new AMD graphics cards mark a technology turning point in PC gaming, bringing super high resolutions, exceptional VR experiences, smoother gameplay, support for new, advanced APIs like DirectX® 12 and Vulkan™, and groundbreaking form factors to gamers everywhere through a top-to-bottom line of GPUs that fit virtually every need and budget.

Radeon™ R9 Fury series graphics – Don’t just upgrade. Revolutionise.

•    Revolutionary inside – and out – The most advanced and innovative GPU ever created for the enthusiast market, the AMD Radeon™ R9 Fury X GPU represents a paradigm shift in GPU design  in the chip previously codenamed “Fiji”. •    Innovative technology. Making beautiful memory – The AMD Radeon™ R9 Fury X GPU brings to market the highest GPU memory bandwidth ever, pioneered by a consortium led by AMD, High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) integrated on-chip delivering 60% more memory bandwidth over GDDR5 along with unprecedented 4096-bit memory interface. The Radeon™ R9 Fury X GPU delivers more than 3x the performance per watt of GDDR5 in 94 percent less PCB surface area, producing ultra-enthusiast-class performance in a mere 7.5” (19cm) board.1,2,3
•    Premium design. Bright lights. Big Intensity. – The AMD Radeon™ R9 Fury X GPU’s state-of-the-art, premium industrial styling features black-nickel aluminum exoskeleton and soft-touch aluminum plates, high-caliber liquid cooling, customisable GPU Tach activity meter that measures GPU utilisation and LED illumination that highlights design details for the finishing touch.
•    Redefine Reality.  – The AMD Radeon™ R9 Fury X GPU is the definitive VR solution, designed to deliver exceptional performance in the most demanding VR games and applications, while benefitting from AMD LiquidVR™ technology to enable the most comfortable VR experience and compatibility across a wide range of head-mounted displays.9
•    The best 4K gaming experience. Enjoy the View. – The AMD Radeon™ R9 Fury X GPU takes gaming to the next level, boasting 4096-bit high-bandwidth memory interface that not only meets but exceeds the extreme performance requirements for the most demanding 4K games for stunning performance in 4K resolutions and beyond8 with image quality settings turned up, smooth gaming with AMD FreeSync™ technology10, and is ready for the future with support for next-generation multi-threaded APIs including DirectX® 12, OpenGL® 4.5, Vulkan™ and AMD’s Mantle.4,5,6
•    Enabling new PC form factors. Small Size. Giant Impact. – The incredibly compact design of AMD Radeon™ R9 Fury X GPU opens the door for new and exciting PC form factors, with more design flexibility for modders, DIYers and System Integrators than ever before. The AMD Innovation Lab’s recently unveiled Project Quantum prototype PC illustrates the point, making use of Radeon™ R9 Fury X GPUs to reinvent desktop computing for the VR era, enabling form factors never imagined before.
•    A new family of the world’s first HBM-powered GPUs – The AMD Radeon™ R9 Fury X, which is the world’s first HBM-powered graphics card (previously codenamed “Fiji”), is scheduled for availability starting June 24th. The deceptively small (6” in length), category-creating AMD Radeon R9 Nano is scheduled to follow in Q3 2015. AMD also plans to bring to market this fall a flagship Radeon Fury product for very smooth 4K gaming and VR that is based on two “Fiji” GPUs.

Radeon™ R9 300 series graphics cards – Designed for your survival

•    The DNA of 4K gaming – AMD Radeon™ R9 300 series GPUs deliver stunningly powerful graphics for unparalleled 4K gaming experiences in their class. Supporting the latest gaming technologies including Virtual Super Resolution (VSR)11 for quality that rivals 4K, even on a 1080p display, AMD CrossFire™ multi-GPU technology7, and next-generation APIs including DirectX® 12, OpenGL® 4.5, and Vulkan™, Radeon™ R9 300 series GPUs are the perfect gaming solution for beyond HD.5,6
•    Making the virtual world real – AMD Radeon™ R9 300 series GPUs are designed for VR, taking advantage of AMD LiquidVR™ technology to deliver a comfortable, low-latency VR experience that harnesses multiple GPUs to drive the highest possible frame rates.9
•    Smooth, tear-free gaming – AMD Radeon™ R9 300 series GPUs harness AMD FreeSync™ technology10 to help eliminate tearing and stuttering in single screen gaming, or using in multi-display Eyefinity configurations.12

Radeon™ R7 300 series graphics cards – Strike first…and last.

•    Made for Online Gaming Supremacy – AMD Radeon™ R7 300 series GPUs are the optimal choice for online gaming and eSports competitors, effortlessly delivering greater than 60 fps gaming performance at 1080p or 1440p, ultra-settings, in popular online games.13,14 Enjoy exceptional image quality using Virtual Super Resolution (VSR)11 for quality that rivals 1440p with a 1080p display and expand the field of view in 1080p gaming using AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology.12
•    Battle-Ready for what’s next – AMD Radeon™ R7 300 series GPUs are optimised for next-generation APIs including DirectX® 12, OpenGL® 4.5 and Vulkan™ for the most advanced gaming experiences possible.5,6
•    Leading-edge performance and capabilities – Gamers can benefit from the latest features and performance improvements in AMD Catalyst™ drivers, one-click game optimisations in the AMD Gaming Evolved client, and rest easy knowing their GPU is ready for Microsoft® Windows® 10.

“With our next-generation Radeon™ graphics line-up, AMD is enabling a spectrum of innovation that can benefit all gamers. Exceptional performance, ground-breaking VR capabilities, new and dynamic form factors, premium industrial design, exceptional experiences in 4K, all built to excel in today’s games and tomorrow’s that harness forthcoming APIs like DirectX® 12 and Vulkan™. This really is a new era in PC gaming, and along with our software and hardware partners around the world, AMD could not be prouder to bring these graphics cards to gamers,” said Matt Skynner, corporate VP and general manager, Product, Computing and Graphics Business Unit at AMD.

“DirectX® 12 represents an exciting new era of gaming performance, flexibility and image quality for Windows based devices,” said Kam VedBrat, Group Program Manager, Graphics for Microsoft. “Today we join AMD in celebrating the unveiling of AMD Radeon™ R7 and R9 300 series GPUs, AMD’s third generation of DirectX® 12-ready products ready to deliver incredible gaming with the Graphics Core Next architecture.”

Radeon™ R9 300 series GPUs and Radeon™ R7 series GPUs is scheduled for select etailer availability on June 18. The AMD Radeon™ R9 Fury X GPU is planned to be available on June 24 from select add-in card suppliers, including Asus, Gigabyte, XFX, MSI, Powercolor and Sapphire . Partner participation will vary by region.

Pricing and Availability

Manufacturer: AMD Australian
Distributors:  Ingram Micro, Rectron, Achieva, Synnex, Leader, Altech New Zealand Distributors:  PB Tech, Synnex, Ingram Micro, Dove, Altech

AMD Radeon™ R9 and R7 series GPU Model       RRP Availability
AMD Radeon™ R9 Fury X $979 AU / $1139 NZ 25th June
AMD Radeon™ R9 390X $649 AU / $749 NZ 19th June
AMD Radeon™ R9 390 $499 AU / $579 NZ 19th June
AMD Radeon™ R9 380 $309 AU / $359 NZ 19th June
AMD Radeon™ R7 370 $229 AU / $269 NZ 19th June
AMD Radeon™ R7 360 $169 AU / $199 NZ 19th June
FOOTNOTES

1.    Measurements conducted by AMD Engineering on 1GB GDDR5 (4x256MB ICs) @ 672mm2 vs. 1GB HBM (1×4-Hi) @ 35mm2. HBM-2
2.    Testing conducted by AMD engineering on the AMD Radeon™ R9 290X GPU vs. an HBM-based device. Data obtained through isolated direct measurement of GDDR5 and HBM power delivery rails at full memory utilisation. Power efficiency calculated as GB/s of bandwidth delivered per watt of power consumed. AMD Radeon™ R9 290X (10.66 GB/s bandwidth per watt) and HBM-based device (35+ GB/s bandwidth per watt), AMD FX-8350, Gigabyte GA-990FX-UD5, 8GB DDR3-1866, Windows 8.1 x64 Professional, AMD Catalyst™ 15.20 Beta. HBM-1
3.    Based on the memory bandwidth of the AMD Radeon™ R9 290X with a 1250MHz 512-bit GDDR5 interface (320GB/s) vs. an HBM-based device with a 500MHz 1024-bit interface (512GB/s). HBM-4
4.    Application support for Mantle is required.
5.    OpenGL™ 4.5 support available with AMD Catalyst™ 15.30 WHQL driver. GRT-12
6.    DirectX® 12 enablement requires an x86 processor and an AMD Radeon™ graphics chip based on the Graphics Core Next architecture. Windows® 10 Technical Preview 2 (or later) and AMD Catalyst™ driver 15.20 (or later) from Windows Update required. GRT-9
7.    AMD CrossFire™ technology and/or AMD LiquidVR™ Affinity Multi-GPU technology requires an AMD CrossFire™ technology-ready motherboard and may require a specialised power supply and AMD CrossFire™ Bridge Interconnect (for each additional graphics card). Check with your component or system manufacturer for specific model capabilities. See http://www.amd.com/en-us/innovations/software-technologies/technologies-gaming/crossfire for more information. GRT-4
8.    Requires 4K display and content. Supported resolution varies by GPU model and board design; confirm specifications with manufacturer before purchase.
9.    When VR headsets are commercially available, users will need to obtain a VR headset compatible with AMD’s GPU technologies and AMD LiquidVR™ technology. See www.amd.com/liquidvr for more information. GRT-6
10.    AMD FreeSync™ technology is designed to eliminate stuttering and/or tearing in games and videos by locking a display’s refresh rate to the framerate of the graphics card. Check with your component or system manufacturer for specific capabilities. AMD FreeSync™ technology compatible monitor, AMD Radeon™ Graphics and/or AMD A-series APU compliant with DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync required. AMD Catalyst™ 15.2 Beta (or newer) required. Adaptive refresh rates vary by display; check with your monitor manufacturer for specific capabilities. A list of supported hardware and compatible monitors is available at www.amd.com/freesync. GRT-2
11.    AMD’s Virtual Super Resolution (VSR) feature is offered by the AMD Radeon™ R9 Fury X, R9 390 series, R9 380, R7 370, R7 360, AMD Radeon™ R9 290 series and R9 285 graphics cards and is designed to automatically re-render games at higher resolutions and dynamically rescale them for HD displays at higher quality and visual details. Check with your system manufacturer for specific capabilities. GRT-8
12.    AMD Eyefinity technology supports multiple monitors on an enabled graphics card. Supported display quantity, type and resolution vary by model and board design; confirm specifications with manufacturer before purchase. To enable more than two displays, or multiple displays from a single output, additional hardware such as DisplayPort™-ready monitors or DisplayPort 1.2 MST-enabled hubs may be required.  A maximum of two active adapters is recommended for consumer systems. See www.amd.com/eyefinityfaq for full details.
13.    In testing by AMD labs as of April 22, 2015, the AMD Radeon™ R7 370 graphics card (2GB GDDR5) achieved greater than 60fps average on in-game, eSports benchmarks (specifically Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 140fps, Dota 2 88fps, League of Legends 142fps, Starcraft II 84fps) at 2560×1440, ultra-preset (ultra-settings). Tested with Core i7 CPU 5960X (3.0GHz), Gigabyte X99-UD4, 16GB DDR4-2666 MHz, Windows 8.1 64-bit, AMD Catalyst Omega (14.502.150218n) driver GRDT-42.
14.    In testing by AMD labs as of April 22, 2015, the AMD Radeon™ R7 360 graphics card (2GB GDDR5) achieved greater than 60fps average on in-game, eSports benchmarks (specifically Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 148fps, Dota 2 107fps, League of Legends 140fps, Starcraft II 90fps) at 1920×1080, ultra-preset (ultra-settings). Tested with Core i7 CPU 5960X (3.0GHz), Gigabyte X99-UD4, 16GB DDR4-2666 MHz, Windows 8.1 64-bit, AMD Catalyst Omega (14.502.150218n) driver GRDT-43.


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