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Details leaked on Radeon 6000 features?

by Pete Mason on 1 October 2010, 12:15

Tags: AMD (NYSE:AMD)

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We're usually fairly hesitant to report on completely unsubstantiated GPU rumours - of which there are many. However, this one is fairly juicy, and definitely worth a mention.

Fresh features

The Guru of High Tech is reporting that it has received confirmation of a trio of new features that are set to debut with the release of AMD's upcoming GPUs. The first is the latest version of the company's hardware video-decoder, UVD3. This is the first major update to the decoder since the release of the HD 4000-series graphics-cards in 2008, though details on any new features are lacking.

Apparently, the cards will also support HDMI 1.4a, an improvement over the 1.3a standard used on current-generation cards. Not only does the standard support higher resolutions and a 100MBps Ethernet channel, but it includes compatibility with a number of high-definition 3D video standards.

AM3D

So far, none of this news is particularly interesting. However, the feature that's sure to catch everyone's attention is the inclusion of HD3D - AMD's attempt at a unified 3D platform. From what we know, it will be fairly similar to NVIDIA's 3D Vision, supporting stereoscopic gaming and movies using active-shutter glasses.

We've known for some time that AMD is working on an 'open-platform' for 3D with a number of partners, so it comes as little surprise that the new cards will support the standard. We've also heard rumours that older cards, including the HD 5000-series and some of the higher-end HD 4000-series cards would be compatible, meaning that a 3D-enabled driver update could be on the way soon.

What's in a name

Lastly, there has been some speculation regarding the naming scheme for the new cards. We had assumed - as most had - that AMD would continue the convention established over the past few generations, with 6800-series cards being high-end, 6700-series cards being high-mainstream etc. However, the latest thinking is that the Barts GPUs would take the 6800 moniker, reflecting the fact that performance is comparable to the 5800-series. This would mean that the high-end and dual-GPU cards would become the 6900-series.

As ever, take these rumours with a large pinch of salt. However, AMD is expected to brief the press within the next few weeks, meaning that we'll have all the details on the new GPUs soon.

HEXUS Forums :: 3 Comments

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Posted by Pandora92 - Fri 01 Oct 2010 13:34
If the equivalent of the updated 5850 and 5870 were called the 6950 and 6970 though, what would they call the 5970's update? I suppose it could be 6990, but that sort of messes up their naming scheme.
Posted by redddraggon - Fri 01 Oct 2010 13:38
Pandora92
If the equivalent of the updated 5850 and 5870 were called the 6950 and 6970 though, what would they call the 5970's update? I suppose it could be 6990, but that sort of messes up their naming scheme.

Didn't the 5970 screw up the naming scheme anyway? Shouldn't the 5970 really have been called the 5870X2?
Posted by scaryjim - Fri 01 Oct 2010 14:17
redddraggon
Shouldn't the 5970 really have been called the 5870X2?

I believe at the time they spun out a press story along the lines of “because the GPUs run at much lower clock speeds than a 5870 it wouldn't be fair to call it a 5870 X2, so we're calling it a 5970 instead, which makes its performance point (i.e. better than a 5870) clearer.” I believe there was some speculation after the 4890 was released (but long before 5k saw the light of day) that the naming convention would be changed for the 5k series as it might not be immediately obvious that a 4850 X2 was a higher performance class of graphics card than a 4890.

Perhaps they figure that they won't need a dual-gpu card this time around, and that's why they're changing?

If they do move to using 6970 as their highest performance single GPU product, I'd assume they would fall back to using X2 nomenclature for any doubled-up cards: so maybe we'll get a 6870, a 6970, then a 6870 X2 as the top of the performance bandwagon? Because that wouldn't be confusing at all ;)