The current AMD's Fusion processors are focused on low-power, efficient computing. So why a company exec was waving around a power-hungry dual-GPU graphics card at a recent APU launch-event, we may never know. All we do know is that someone managed to grab a few photos, giving us the first look at what might be the upcoming Antilles graphics-card.
According to itOC, Corporate VP and general manager of AMD's GPU business Matt Skynner was carelessly flaunting an unnamed dual-GPU graphics card at a recent Fusion launch event. Obviously there aren't really any new details on the card, but it does provide our first real look at what might become the HD 6990, with its two chips clearly visible through the bottom of the shroud.
You'll also note the presence of a single CrossFire connector, opening up the possibility of scintillating twin-card, quad-GPU action.
Although AMD has confirmed that the dual-GPU successor to the HD 5970 - and presumably the heir to the fastest graphics-card throne - will be named the HD 6990 and arrive sometime this quarter, there aren't really any firm details on the card itself - official or otherwise.
Of course, speculation is rampant that it will be some 3,820-shader monster, but a pair of Cayman GPUs would suggest a total of either 2,816 or 3,072 compared to the 3,200 squeezed onto the HD 5970. It's also expected to include 4GB GDDR5 and support for five- or six-way Eyefinity out of the box.
In largely unrelated AMD news, DonanimHaber claims to have gotten hold of a presentation suggesting that the company will be resurrecting its Hybrid CrossFire technology. Although the underlying tech will apparently be radically different, it will let you link up the graphics core inside a desktop-class Fusion APU to a discrete GPU for a bit of an extra boost. As ever, details are scant, but we're sure to learn more as we get closer to the launch of Llano in the middle part of this year.
