The next generation of desktop graphics processing units, the Radeon HD 5800 series is here after long awaited days… It has been announced by sunnyvale, California-based Advanced Micro Devices. The Radeon HD 5800 series, specifically designed to enable a performance boost over the company’s previous generation of cards, but also to provide users with a couple of new features. The series includes the Radeon HD 5870, AMD’s new flagship card, and the HD 5850, both of which have been designed to enable full support of Microsoft’s DirectX 11 API, but also for AMD’s own Eyefinity multi-display technology and ATI Stream technology. The ATI Radeon HD 5800 series of graphics cards driven by the most powerful processor on the planet, AMD is changing the game, both in terms of performance and the experience. First to market with full DirectX 11 support, an unmatched experience made possible with ATI Eyefinity technology, and ATI Stream technology harnessing open standards designed to help make Windows 7 that much better. the new Radeon flagship model, the Radeon HD 5870, is capable of delivering up to 2.72 TeraFLOPS of compute power, according to the chip maker. Built using a “2nd generation evolved 40nm process technology,” the new Radeon HD 5870 boasts a clock speed of 850MHz, coupled with 1GB of GDDR5 memory, clocked at 1.2GHz. With 1600 Stream Processing Units, double the number of the chip maker’s previous generation of cards. It has a dual-slot cooling solution and is said to reach a maximum board power of 188 Watts, while in idle the card sits at 27 Watts. The card is clocked at 725MHz and is also featured with 1GB of GDDR5 memory, clocked at 1GHz. Its maximum power is rated at 151 Watts, while in idle, the HD 5850 sits at a comfortable 27 Watts. If released it will cost you US$379.
