AMD: Southern Islands (7*** series) Speculation/ Rumour Thread

[neliz]

I'm pretty sure no GCN desktop parts were planned for 2011 anyway.

 

[CarstenS]

Well, at least they refrained from waving woodscrew mockups in everyones face at AFDS.

 

[UniversalTruth]

AMD Delays Next Generation Radeon launch to Q1 2012

The most important and interesting part is this:

The good news is that the wait might be worth it, with the new high-end single GPU offering performance levels close to the HD 6990 dual-GPU flagship card.

Most of the named (ie those having a chance this year) chips are not GCN anyway so we may still see 28nm launch this year, considering they write GCN chips. But probably not that likely if the volume ramp is the problem.

That sounds about right if one substitutes the "GCN" with "Kepler". Considering all speculations so far which point out to Tahiti, Pitcairn amd Cape Verde being GCN parts and only the lowest end could be something else, and if I'm not mistaken it is not even 28 nm but 40 nm (Lombok).
Do you think they will start manufacturing those parts which need the highest possible volume, thus capacity?

I'm pretty sure no GCN desktop parts were planned for 2011 anyway.

Maybe GCN mobile parts?
Your competition from Powercolor announced loong time ago that we should not expect 7000 series part this year.

PowerColor Finalizes AMD Radeon HD 7000 series Release Date
Interview with Elaine Liao, Director of Sales of Powercolor – Regarding HD 7000 series Graphic Cards
by JACK CARL on AUGUST 21, 2011

PowerColor has confirmed, about the launch of the next generation AMD HD 7000 series graphics cards. In an interview by the people of DonanimHaber, with Elaine Liao, Director of Sales for the brand, said that the new cards can be expected in the first quarter of 2012, as opposed to earlier rumors, which placed the launch of AMD HD 7000 series Graphic cards in the last section of this year.

 

[LordEC911]

Maybe GCN mobile parts?

I think he is still hinting at new highend professional cards.
Are professional cards still branded ATi or did they switch those over to AMD?
The AMD website is sort of hit and miss on that, some are and others aren't.

 

[pjbliverpool]

An MW3 upgrade? What would that be anyway? *SCNR*

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. A 9800GT maybe?

 

[Silent_Buddha]

An MW3 upgrade? What would that be anyway? *SCNR*

With BF3 it's another matter though. But I think, Alexko, you're not entirely correct. The bulk of sales happens very close to launch including, of course, all the pre-orders. Afterwards, the curve is declinig usually quite fast.

You do however have to put in the exception for something like COD, which remains a top 10 software title for a year or more in many cases. COD:BO is still a top 10 title, 11 months after lauch.

But yes, what you said is generally true. The heaviest purchasing is often in the first 2-6 weeks. Afterwards purchasing generally tends to die out for anything but a blockbuster title.

It'll be interesting if BF3 can manage the same sort of monthly top 10 as any of the recent COD titles. If so, then it might still potentially increase sales of AMD's or Nvidia's next gen card.

Regards,
SB

 

[AlphaWolf]

I believe black ops sold roughly 1/4th of its total in the 1st month. However, I seriously question whether there's a significant uptake in graphics cards because of individual game launches. Missing the holidays is certainly significant.

 

[swaaye]

I think a new game could cause people to pull the trigger on an upgrade because that's sort of what drives me to upgrade. Necessity, and stuff.

But methinks this 6950 will be my card for 3 years or something, like the 8800GTX was. I suppose one third of that is almost past now though!

 

[Albuquerque]

I too tend to buy major system upgrades near to new video games coming out. However, my method is to buy the game, limp through the game until I get pissed off, and then go buy hardware because I can't stand it any longer. Usually I'm self-disciplined enough to wait for a good sale

Usually...

I have a sneaking suspicion that Skyrim with ALL the bells and whistles and the SSAA that I will want is going to have a solid chance of pushing my rig over the edge (overclocked Q9450 at 3.6Ghz and 5850 at 950/1150.) But I really REALLY want to wait for IVB and GCN before I buy again...

 

[DavidGraham]

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. A 9800GT maybe?

Don"t underestimate MW3 , a 9800GT can't handle MW2 @ 60FPS for any resolution above 1280x1024 , so an upgrade is a necessity for competitive multi-player slaughter .

Not to mention , MW3 will have new graphics options , like SSAO for example that was never presented before in a COD game , this should make the game at least slightly more demanding , granted graphics visual improvements may not be that noticeable .

 

[neliz]

Don"t underestimate MW3 , a 9800GT can't handle MW2 @ 60FPS for any resolution above 1280x1024 , so an upgrade is a necessity for competitive multi-player slaughter.

Competetive multiplayer is played with 0 graphical options. Even a mid-range mobile chip does well in MW.

 

[ninelven]

Competetive multiplayer is played with 0 graphical options.

That isn't entirely true; generally you want to play with all the eye candy possible that doesn't interfere with aiming or awareness. Then there is also the single player and co-op modes...

 

[CarstenS]

So - textures and effects turned way down, but antialiasing maxxed out. We called this picmip-10-style "Lego Quake" for obvious reasons.

 

[DavidGraham]

Competetive multiplayer is played with 0 graphical options. Even a mid-range mobile chip does well in MW.

MW1 ? of course .. MW2 or MW3 , or even Black Ops .. don't think so .
Also Obviosuly you haven't been around COD multiplayer communities for long , most people like to play the game with decent visual quality .. I know that for a fact because all of my friends there do that , nobody likes to play in a washed out environment where you cant distinguish the target from the background !

 

[neliz]

Also Obviosuly you haven't been around COD multiplayer communities for long , most people like to play the game with decent visual quality

Hey, it's only my observation from hanging around the professional gaming teams, which is what I like to think of as "competitive."

 

[ninelven]

??? I play with pros on occasion, and I don't really see that at all. I would hazard a guess it has more to do with their individual financial situation than anything though.

 

[neliz]

??? I play with pros on occasion, and I don't really see that at all. I would hazard a guess it has more to do with their individual financial situation than anything though.

Yeah, it must be because those 570s are crappy performers....


So.. Southern Islands.. anyone ready for CES?

 

[ninelven]

Yeah, it must be because those 570s are crappy performers....

I don't understand your point here, could you please clarify?

 

[DavidGraham]

Hey, it's only my observation from hanging around the professional gaming teams, which is what I like to think of as "competitive."

Yeah I can understand your point here , some of these guys can take it to a whole new extreme level , they make a living out of gaming so they prefer not to take any chances , these guys are not to be compared to the general public of gamers though , the mentality is very different .

There is a difference between being competitive (as in play with decent frames and enjoy the artwork of the game) and being professionally competitive (as in play for the money) .

 

[Alexko]

I don't understand your point here, could you please clarify?

I think he just means that really competitive players will use minimal settings just so they can get the highest possible framerate.