Advanced Micro Devices is rolling out a new graphics card, the ATI
Radeon HD 4890, which the chip company claimed is driven by the
“world’s most powerful graphics processor.”
Testing by GPU Review shows
the HD 4890 delivers 1.36 teraflops of raw computing power, versus the
1.06 teraflops of a competing GPU. With the release of this new
graphics card, AMD is looking to keep pace with Nvidia, which just
released a number of new GPUs this week.
The chip is a boon to digital gamers, offering a richer visual
experience as it nears the 1GH “holy grail of clock speeds.” AMD works
in support of Microsoft’s DirectX 10 application programming interface,
particularly used for game programming, and the HD 4890 card supports
the latest titles for Microsoft DirectX, including Ubisoft’s “Tom
Clancy’s H.A.W.X.” and Electronic Art’s “Battleforge.”
The card offers an enhancement to AMD’s “Dragon” desktop platform, which features its Phenom II processor, a 790 series motherboard and HD 4800 series chip, and is the successor to the Spider platform.
(More information on the Dragon platform for gaming and high-end consumer desktops can be read here.)
Research firm iSuppli recently reported that AMD showed a 1.2-percent market share loss from 2007 to 2008, but that the company was better positioned for success in 2009.
AMD recently filed documents with the SEC,
after Intel accused AMD of breaching the terms of their 2001 agreement,
when on March 4 AMD announced the creation of Global Foundries to
handle its manufacturing needs.
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