Amd Volcanic Islands details

[DilTech]

Guys, I'm going to ask that the bickering ends. I will first give people a chance to edit out the senseless arguing that has NOTHING to do with the discussion at hand. I'd do it myself, but it's just too much effort when you're holding a 4 day old baby boy.

Lets keep it civil, and lets keep it ON TOPIC!

[Buckeye]

Guys, I'm going to ask that the bickering ends. I will first give people a chance to edit out the senseless arguing that has NOTHING to do with the discussion at hand. I'd do it myself, but it's just too much effort when you're holding a 4 day old baby boy.

Lets keep it civil, and lets keep it ON TOPIC!

Agreed !!!

Taking care of that 4 day old baby is far to important so I hope it was ok that I took care of it ?

[paulbagz]

Mass shipping starting in October.

-PB

[PedantOne]

Paulbagz - yes, we already know ... Tech preview 9/25/2013, reviews and cards on shelves in October. But only one "cutted"model or more models with full uncutted GPU?

[DilTech]

Agreed !!!

Taking care of that 4 day old baby is far to important so I hope it was ok that I took care of it ?

I won't complain. Next time, I say you kill em with fire though. These guys have been around FAR too long to act like that still!

[Buckeye]

I won't complain. Next time, I say you kill em with fire though. These guys have been around FAR too long to act like that still!

rgr that, next edit I do is with the ban hammer, take notice everyone, it will come without warning.

[Ace123]

Ok just take it easy everyone

[informal]

I don't see a reason AMD would launch only cut-down version in October. They will probably do their standard launch as before ( 7970+7950 together), top part with cut-down (a la 7950) version launching side by side. Availability is a good question though.

[PedantOne]

by my source, is full uncutted gpu only for profesional SKUs, FirePro. In gaming SKU will be later, in october will be launched only cutted GPU gamin card, but who knows? we will see

[BababooeyHTJ]

I don't see a reason AMD would launch only cut-down version in October. They will probably do their standard launch as before ( 7970+7950 together), top part with cut-down (a la 7950) version launching side by side. Availability is a good question though.

I don't see why they wouldn't be. 28nm must be pretty mature by now.

[tajoh111]

by my source, is full uncutted gpu only for profesional SKUs, FirePro. In gaming SKU will be later, in october will be launched only cutted GPU gamin card, but who knows? we will see

This is good news. To me this means AMD is finally willing to take risks again. Since after the 5870 launch, I have had somewhat low expectations in regards to improvements from AMD every next generation. Most of the time, they undercut even these low expectations at launch.

E.g 4870 --> 5870 expected faster than a 4870x2 by 15%(expected the extra clocks and loss from CF scaling to equal that percent). The card was a little bit slower than the 4870x2.
5870--> 6970 expected something faster than gtx 480. This card was the same speed as a gtx 480.
6970-->7970 expected something 40-50 percent faster than a gtx 580. This card was only 20 percent faster.

The 4870 launch was the only launch from them that really matched/exceeded my expectations because they were low because of the 2900xt failure.

Nvidia hasn't really met my expectation either for the most part. Particularly the gtx 280 because there were so y about it before it launched. The only card that impressed me from them are their big parts when they were fully enabled. But even then, by the time they came out, it was too late.

If Nvidia could get their big chips out the door fully enabled within a few months of AMD's launch I would be buying most of them E.g I would have bought a gtx 580 if it launched nearer to the 5870 launch. I would have bought a fully enabled gk110 at launch if it was released around the 7970 launch.

I am happier with Nvidia's approach towards a failure than AMDs. AMD fails to meet my expectations because they go too safe. Nvidia fails to meet my expectations because they go to big and can't get everything right the first time.

If AMD makes a 500mm2 chip that performs 40+ percent faster than a ghz edition, there a good chance that I will buy it. If they make a 420mm2 chip thats 20% faster than a 7970ghz I won't be buying it.

I don't see why they wouldn't be. 28nm must be pretty mature by now.

The thing I want most from AMD is to make a videocard so big they actually do have to worry about yields and have to harvest cores.

AMD doesn't have the most experience on the GPU side for designing and making big GPU cores. Nvidia has always had problems and they made big cores since the gtx 8800.

If AMD is going to make expensive cards, I would rather see a 700 dollar 500mm2 card from them than a 550 dollar 350mm2 card from them. In my opinion 649-700 dollar for something 500mm2 plus is completely fair. I think AMD will need to do this if they want to stay competitive because of the compute nature of both companies flagships.

[ilkkahy]

I am happier with Nvidia's approach towards a failure than AMDs. AMD fails to meet my expectations because they go too safe. Nvidia fails to meet my expectations because they go to big and can't get everything right the first time.

Perhaps you just have too high expectations from each generation?

Both companies have people there calculating how to make the most profit. If they made huge chips there would be also risk that those people wouldnt upgrade as often. There is also risk with the yields. Its ofter wiser to do technological development in steps than to try several new things at once. Bulldozer fiasco could be some kind of example of this? Perhaps nvidia can take bit more risks with large chips because their financial status is much better than amds.

[tajoh111]

Perhaps you just have too high expectations from each generation?

Both companies have people there calculating how to make the most profit. If they made huge chips there would be also risk that those people wouldnt upgrade as often. There is also risk with the yields. Its ofter wiser to do technological development in steps than to try several new things at once. Bulldozer fiasco could be some kind of example of this? Perhaps nvidia can take bit more risks with large chips because their financial status is much better than amds.

Compare my expectations to most on here and they fall far below most people. E.g I am expecting a 20 percent increase from AMD this generation over their last flagship, many are expecting 40 plus percent. E.g if it doesn't beat titan its a fail.

The level of excitement was particularly high for the 6970. Some people were expecting 60 percent over a 5870 and we all know how that turned out. I was expecting it to beat a gtx 480 hence why AMD changed the name. But that never panned out.

Look at the 7970 thread and you will see the same pattern.

I agree Nvidia can take a much bigger risk with the bigger GPU because of budget and particularly because the professional market/super computing market make money for them. Without the big GPU's, Nvidia may not have as much of a share of the professional market as it does.

AMD doesn't have the pro market to supplement the R and D and larger wafer costs associate with risky big dies. Hence why it would be a pleasant surprise if they actually made a big chip. Its super risky for AMD to do. Nvidia does something around 200-250 million a quarter on their professional/ supercomputing line so the risk fits the reward. I think AMD's is dramatically lower, maybe a quarter that as they don't have a product like tesla and I think their marketshare in the pro market is less than 20 percent.

[Ace123]

umm... Im not sure if you spend much time around HWbot... but the 7970s pretty much ruled the roost around there in the gtx 680 era...

[Mk]

MSI AG2712A Gaming All-in-One Desktop

Technical Specifications

Processor: Intel Core i7-3630QM 3.4GHz
Operating System: Windows 8
LCD / Touch Panel: 27? LCD Panel LED Backlight (1920*1080) / 10 point Touch / Flicker-Free
Chipset: Intel HM77 Express Chipset
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD9870M 2GB GDDR 5
Memory: DDR3 1333 / SO-DIMM * 4 / Max. to 16GB
HDD: 128GB SSD x 2 Raid 0 / 2TB HDD SATAIII
Wireless: 802.11 b/g/n WiFi
ODD: DVD Super Multi / Blu-Ray combo / Blu-Ray writer
Card Reader: 3-in-1 (SD, MMC, MS)
Speaker: 2x 5W with 5.1 channel speakers with THX TruStudioPro
I/O: Back: Mic in x1, Earphone out x1, USB2.0 x2, USB3.0 x2, HDMI in x1, HDMI out x1, RJ45 x1, VGA out x1; Side: USB3.0x2, Cardreader, DC Jack
W-cam: 2M-pixel Full HD
TVTuner: optional
Keyboard/Mouse: optional
Wall Mount Support Wall Mount Kit III - VESA standard
Dimensions / Weight: 672.23x482.96x66mm / 16KG
Power: 180W

source

interesting....

[Lanek]

Its a misstake in the specification list.. If you read the description of the product in the article:

High-End AMD Radeon HD 8970 graphics
MSI firstly incorporated the new AMD Radeon HD 8970M discrete graphics card into the AG2712A which supports DirectX 11.1--the latest 3D API, to squeeze every bit of fun out of games and vibrate gamers with massive visual enjoyment. AMD Radeon? HD 8970M also supports Boost automatic acceleration as well as speeds the frequency up to 1200MHz (equivalent to 4X 4800MHz) with 2GB of GDDR5 memory, so even high resolution at the highest settings are no problem.

I imagine HH have type them too fast ( it should be HD 8970M )

[xray]

The Hawaii XT chip will take GCN to a new level.
Look how well VLIW architecture developed each generation.
I have high hopes it will be a polished,quicksilver edition GCN2 card in the tradition of HD5870 and X1950XTX.

[Ace123]

Oops old news

[Ace123]

Oops lol im on a phone while my wife is shopping, ill edit

[AliG]

So what is going to happen with the 8970? AMD's website says there's an oem version already available that seems to literally be the same thing as the 7970; does that imply the 8xxx series is just going to be effectively passed over in favor of the 9xxx series (with a full lineup upgrade)?

I'm just trying to figure out when to upgrade my trusty 4850, which has lasted surprisingly well (arguably my best purchase ever in terms of investment value) but I want dx11 and to be able to drive a 1440p monitor

[Ace123]

For non oem, 8000 series is skipped over for the 9000 series.

[AliG]

For non oem, 8000 series is skipped over for the 9000 series.

So if that D970 spec is true, then I'm guessing my best bet would probably to just get a black friday deal on either a 7870 or 7970 then? I don't see any reason to shell out a ton of money for a card that will offer a marginal upgrade.

I miss the days of the super price war... I got what was basically a semi high end card at the time for only $150 shipped at launch, and you could get a gtx 9800+ for nearly $100 soon after that. These days it seems it'll cost you $300 for a decent upgrade. You know that according to anantech's gpu comparison, a 4870 can keep up with a 7770? Rediculous that we have had such pathetic improvement in the midrange

[xBanzai89]

So if that D970 spec is true, then I'm guessing my best bet would probably to just get a black friday deal on either a 7870 or 7970 then? I don't see any reason to shell out a ton of money for a card that will offer a marginal upgrade.

I miss the days of the super price war... I got what was basically a semi high end card at the time for only $150 shipped at launch, and you could get a gtx 9800+ for nearly $100 soon after that. These days it seems it'll cost you $300 for a decent upgrade. You know that according to anantech's gpu comparison, a 4870 can keep up with a 7770? Rediculous that we have had such pathetic improvement in the midrange

You seen the deals for the 7950s for $175 after MIR? After selling the games you have your $150 upgrade.

[Lanek]

So what is going to happen with the 8970? AMD's website says there's an oem version already available that seems to literally be the same thing as the 7970; does that imply the 8xxx series is just going to be effectively passed over in favor of the 9xxx series (with a full lineup upgrade)?

I'm just trying to figure out when to upgrade my trusty 4850, which has lasted surprisingly well (arguably my best purchase ever in terms of investment value) but I want dx11 and to be able to drive a 1440p monitor

Tell me, you have copy a post from you who is dated from 6 months ago .. The next architecture is the 9000 ( or whatever they call it ).. or Volcanic Island.. ( the 8000 have just been used for the renamed 7000 series gpu for OEM vendors ).. But there you are nearly 6 months dead as all of this have been put in the stone at this time .

[AliG]

Tell me, you have copy a post from you who is dated from 6 months ago .. The next architecture is the 9000 ( or whatever they call it ).. or Volcanic Island.. ( the 8000 have just been used for the renamed 7000 series gpu for OEM vendors ).. But there you are nearly 6 months dead as all of this have been put in the stone at this time .

I think you have me confused with someone else, I don't own an engineering sample.