New rumors detail next-generation lineup

Sep 2, 2009 10:23 GMT  ·  By

As we are approaching the highly anticipated official release date of AMD's next generation of Radeon graphics cards, more details surface on the company's upcoming lineup, including codenames and possible release time frames. According to the most recent details, the new cards should debut before the end of this year, providing computer enthusiasts with a choice for a high-end GPU, boasting a power-efficient 40nm manufacturing technology and support for the next-generation DirectX 11 API.

In a recent news article on xbitlabs, citing sources close to the matter, AMD is said to be working on the release of a new flagship, dual-chip graphics card, reportedly due out sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. The highly anticipated card has apparently been codenamed Hemlock and is expected to replace the Radeon HD 4870 X2, which the chip maker released approximately one year ago.

Although the details are still based on rumors, the new card is likely to come out as the new Radeon HD 5870 X2 and could boast 2GB of GDDR5 memory and a number of connectivity options, including a DisplayPort, DVI and HDMI. Unfortunately, we still have to wait for the performance stats of the said card, but such details should surface sometime before the official launch.

The news story continues with details on some of the codenames that AMD has apparently set for its next-generation line of graphics boards, as the company is said to have decided to use code names instead of code numbers for its next-generation graphics chips. All cards will be DirectX 11-compatible and boast a 40nm-based GPU. The upcoming lineup, according to the aforementioned source, includes the following cards: Hemlock, Cypress, Juniper, Redwood, Cedar.

Hemlock will come as a dual-chip solution, based on the RV870 chip, while Cypress will boast a single-GPU architecture based on the same graphics chip. Juniper will be targeted at the performance market and will ultimately replace the company's Radeon HD 4850 and HD 4870. Meanwhile, Redwood and Cedar will be designed for the mainstream and entry-level market, and will be based on the RV830 and RV810 chips, respectively.