There might just be a good fight between AMD and NVIDIA next year

Dec 4, 2012 08:50 GMT  ·  By

We've only just finished talking about the new server processors from Advanced Micro Devices, but we suspect this information on the next series of graphics processing units will handily steal the spotlight.

Last we heard, the next-generation series of graphics processing units from Advanced Micro Devices, otherwise known as Radeon HD 8000, was scheduled for a Q1-Q2 2013 release.

We cannot confirm that report, the same way we cannot claim to know for sure what the newly uncovered specifications of the video chips are.

Nevertheless, the report from Hardware.info about the alleged physical and performance details deserves a once-over.

Coming to face the “Enhanced Kepler” family of GPUs from NVIDIA, like the GK110, will be AMD's large and transistor-packed Sea Islands.

Chips will vary in might, but they will have up to 5.1 billion transistors, roughly 20% higher than the best Radeon HD 7000 GPU. That means 2560 stream processors. Other than that, the HD 8000 will have 42 ROPs (Tahiti has 32).

These are the specs of the top-tier chip, set to be used in the Radeon HD 8970 adapter.

The HD 8950 will be a bit weaker, obviously, with 2304 stream processors and, probably, lower clock speeds (they aren't known yet).

Lower in the hierarchy comes the Radeon HD 8870, with 1792 SPs, most likely. Then there is the HD 8850, with 1536.

And so we've arrived to the mid-range segment, where the “Oland” will show its worth. It should have around 896 processors and a bandwidth of 192 bits (GDDR5 VRAM). The Radeon HD 8770 will possess these specs.

Finally, the Radeon HD 8750 will offer customers 768 stream processors and a memory interface of 128 bits.

The authenticity of this information will be confirmed or denied at some point during the next few months, provided someone leaks more information. If not, the official launch of the Radeon HD 8000 will do it.