AMD (NYSE:AMD) today launched the ATI Radeon™ HD 4770 graphics processor, a groundbreaking product that harnesses the state-of-the-art 40 nanometer manufacturing process for the desktop PC market, delivering best-in-class performance and energy efficiency at anticipated launch prices as low as $991. The ATI Radeon HD 4770 graphics card is the newest addition to the award-winning ATI RadeonTM HD 4000 series.· The new card features third-generation hardware support for the latest DirectX® 10.1 games like Battleforge, HAWX, S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky and Stormrise, delivering higher game performance and improved visual quality when compared to DirectX® 10.
· The ATI Radeon HD 4770 continues the AMD tradition of bringing industry-leading technology to market that drives a superior user experience. The ATI Radeon HD 4770 makes use of the latest GDDR5 memory technology, providing incredibly high data rates for fast game performance.
· Gamers looking to get the most value out of their graphics hardware investment can scale their performance using ATI CrossFireX™ technology, allowing a second ATI Radeon HD 4770 card to be added for a near-linear increase in performance.2
· The ATI Radeon HD 4770 graphics card allows users to enjoy HD digital content3 with incredible visual fidelity. The new card helps enhance the definition and clarity of lower resolution media, and through the second generation AMD Unified Video Decoder (UVD 2.0) technology, users can be assured of smooth video playback, crisp images, and vibrant colors on all HD content including Blu-ray discs.4 With support for HDMI, picture-in-picture (PiP) and the latest HD audio technologies like 7.1 surround sound, the new graphics card enables an impressive cinema-quality home entertainment experience.
· Celebrating the company’s 40th Anniversary, AMD continues its heritage of focusing on the design and development of new products and platforms that deliver compelling user experiences at an exceptional value. By combining new AMD Athlon™ X2 7850 processors, AMD 7-Series chipsets and ATI Radeon™ HD 4770 series graphics cards, AMD enables a PC platform that can bring HD video to life while delivering massive performance headroom and video processing acceleration.3

“Consumer pressure in this economic downturn is shifting demand to lower prices and the price band around $100 has the highest demand and highest volume,” said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Products Group, AMD.5 “AMD has responded with the launch of the ATI Radeon HD 4770, targeting this market with cutting-edge technologies like 40 nm processors, support for DirectX 10.1 gaming and GDDR5 memory. This strategy stands in stark contrast to the old “trickle down” technology approach some still use to address this important segment.”

“As a leading source of cutting-edge game development tools, Emergent has a passion for delivering realistic, visually stunning game play as well as improved performance,” said Doug Kubel, vice president, Product Development, Emergent. “By supporting DirectX 10.1 in the Gamebryo LightSpeed development system, we are able to deliver improvements in both image quality and frame rates. DirectX 10.1 graphics hardware like the ATI Radeon HD 4770 makes it possible to fully unlock the experience delivered by the combined power of DirectX10.1 and Gamebryo LightSpeed.”

AMD today introduced the ATI Radeon™ HD 4830 graphics card, raising the performance bar for graphics cards priced at less than $150 (USD) and presenting gamers with even more affordable access to award-winning ATI Radeon™ HD 4800 series performance. Like all ATI Radeon™ HD 4800 series products, the new offering delivers class-leading game performance and superior HD multimedia capabilities, as well support for the latest DirectX® 10.1 games soon to be released for the holiday season.

“The ATI Radeon HD 4830 graphics card is another example of how AMD’s scalable design strategy is paying off,” said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Products Group, AMD. “With a single chip we have been able to quickly and efficiently bring to market graphics card designs ranging from below $150 through $549 SEP, with leading performance in every segment. The ATI Radeon HD 4830 continues that great trend, providing tremendous value to gamers for less than $150.”

“The $100-$150 graphics card price band represents the ‘sweet spot’ of the desktop PC graphics market where the consumer gets the most graphics performance per dollar spent,” said Dean McCarron, founder and principal, Mercury Research. “This is where the latest graphics technologies reach the mainstream PC audience, and this is the level that most PC games target.”Resetting the performance bar below $150

The ATI Radeon™ HD 4830 graphics card delivers outstanding value to gamers. With the launch of this card, even the most intimidating games that were previously unplayable on a graphics card selling for less than $150 can now be enjoyed at playable frame rates, even when using image enhancements such as anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering. For those gamers looking to get even more performance out of their gaming rigs, ATI Radeon™ HD 4830 cards support ATI CrossFireX™ technology allowing gamers to combine as many as four cards in one PC.

Phenomenal HD multimedia experience

More than just a gaming card, the ATI Radeon HD 4830 offers up exceptional HD multimedia performance as well. All ATI Radeon HD 4800 series cards allow users to enjoy HD digital content with uncompromising visual fidelity while helping to enhance the definition and clarity of lower resolution visual media. AMD’s second generation Unified Video Decoder (UVD 2.0) ensures users experience smooth HD video playback, and sharp, crisp images and vibrant colors through ATI Avivo™ HD technology. Combined with capabilities like picture-in-picture, and support for the latest HD audio technologies like 7.1 surround sound, the ATI Radeon HD 4830 graphics card serves up an impressive cinema-quality home entertainment experience.

Ecosystem support

The ATI Radeon HD 4830 graphics card is supported by a dozen add-in-board companies offering custom designs of the products. Partners include ASUS, Club 3D, Diamond Multimedia, Force3D, GECUBE, GIGABYTE, HIS (Hightech Information Systems), Jetway, MSI, Palit Multimedia, PowerColor, SAPPHIRE Technology and VisionTek. It is expected to be available immediately.

Is Microsoft already hard at work repeating the history of Longhorn and Windows Vista in terms of overpromising and then underdelivering? Has the Redmond company already started stripping Windows 7 down of the features planned initially? Is DirectX 11 already being scrapped from the nest iteration of the Windows platform? Well, some reports tend to suggest just such a scenario. But is there any truth to this?Before you jump the gun and end up coming to the wrong conclusions about Windows 7, you
have to consider that all reports on the next version of Windows have to be taken with a grain of salt. This simply because Microsoft is as of yet not breathing a single word on Windows 7. This is Steven Sinofsky's way of avoiding a Longhorn/Vista repeat.

Sinofsky is, of course, the Senior Vice President of the Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group. And the leader of the Windows 7 project. As such, Sinofsky implemented a new development strategy over at Microsoft, one focused on translucency rather than transparency. This essentially means that the Redmond company will from now on only talk Windows 7, Windows Fiji, Internet Explorer and Windows Live only when it will be ready to. With Sinofsky what you see is what you get. Nothing more. Nothing less. This is both a source of comfort and frustration at the same time. The fact of the matter is that Microsoft could talk Windows 7 now, and throughout the development process. And have the public focus on each drawback, on every cut feature... or it could simply wait until late in the development process and fully deliver on its promises.