AMD released its latest version of the ATI Catalyst Software Suite to date, Catalyst 9.12 WHQL, which provides drivers and system software for the company's ATI Radeon graphics processors, AMD 7-series chipset IGPs, ATI multimedia products, and the AMD FireStream GPGPU processors. Version 9.12 announced today, comes with expanded GPU support for DirectCompute 10.1 for specific GPUs, includes performance increments, OpenGL 3.2 extension support, along with the usual application-specific fixes.

To begin with, application-specific performance increments include an overall performance improvement as high as 9% on the ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series and ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series, for 3DMark Vantage. GT1 - Jane Nash performance improves as much as 15% and FT4 - GPU Cloth improves up to 15%. Performance improves as much as 6% on single card configurations for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Call of Pripyat. The release provides DirectCompute 10.1 support for ATI Radeon HD 4800 and HD 4700 GPUs in both single and multi-GPU configurations. Lastly, this release adds support for certain OpenGL 3.2 extensions for all GPUs from Radeon HD 2000 series and upward (HD 3000, HD 4000, and HD 5000).


DOWNLOAD: ATI Catalyst 9.12 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 32-bit | Windows 7/Vista 64-bit | Windows XP 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit

For more information, refer to the Release Notes document.

MSI is designing a high-end graphics card based on the ATI Radeon HD 5870, to be featured in its Lightning series of overclocking-friendly graphics cards. A PCB drawing of the same surfaced recently, revealing a taller than usual PCB, with a high-grade VRM to support high-levels of overclocking, among other noticeable features. The PCB seems to have a 12-phase vGPU and 3-phase vMEM, it is fed by two 8-pin PCI-E power connectors, though it remains to be seen if MSI places two actual 8-pin connectors. Some parts of the PCB make use of high-C surface-mount capacitors. The display connectivity cluster seems to be identical to that of the reference design PCB, with two DVI-D, and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort. It is likely that MSI uses a high-end cooler for this card, perhaps similar to the Twin Frozr II design. More information will surface during the upcoming CES event.

Global leading motherboard and graphics card brand-manufacturer, MSI, today unveils R5770-PMD1G graphics card with over voltage function of GPU after introducing hot selling R5770 series graphics cards. MSI R5770-PMD1G adopts 40nm manufacturing process Radeon HD 5770 GPU, 800 units of stream processors, and high speed GDDR5 1GB memory. Also, it supports DirectX11 and ATI Eyefinity three-screen output technology, so that users can enjoy the latest DX11 games and use multi monitors to enlarge the view in games. MSI R5770-PMD1G is bundled with MSI overclocking utility "Afterburner" which supports over voltage function of GPU and tuning the fan speed based on different temperature triggers, becoming one of the most attractive HD 5770 cards in the market.

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, introduced an upgraded addition into the HD5700 series: the PCS+ HD5770. Part of the award-winning PCS series, the PCS+ HD5770 features outstanding factory overclocked ability with core and memory clocks at 875 MHz and 1225MHz respectively and GDDR5 onboard memory. Memory data transmission rates are enhanced up to 4.9Gbps, easily boosting gaming performance.

The PCS+ HD5770 also features an ultra quite 92mm cooling fan which is made of a low-noise impeller, easily dissipating heat from the copper base that fully covers the GPU at lower fan speed and efficiently cools down the temperature up to 10°C compared to that of reference board design. This allows more headroom for overclocking giving gamers maximum performance of their rig.

Sapphire expanded its Radeon HD 5700 series with the Sapphire HD 5770 Vapor-X. This release comes around a month after the HD 5750 Vapor-X, and resembles it in having the same GPU cooler: a GPU contact block with a Vapor chamber acts as a large heatpipe, uniformly conveying heat to the heatsink above it, which is cooled by a fan. Unlike the HD 5750 Vapor-X which comes with a blue reference PCB, this one retains the black reference one, with the cooler being the only noticeable change.

The Radeon HD 5770 is based on the 40 nm Juniper GPU. It is DirectX 11 compliant, and has 800 stream processors, along with 1 GB of memory installed across a 128-bit GDDR5 interface. It also supports the ATI Eyefinity technology that allows users to scale a display head across three physical displays. Connectivity includes two DVI-D, and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort. Sapphire also gave it a modest factory overclock, with the core running at 860 MHz (vs 850 MHz reference), while the memory stays at 1200 MHz (4.8 GHz effective). It is priced around 145 EUR.

Adding to the expansive list of non-reference design Radeon HD 5750, is Club3D with its new silent HD 5750 model. The new accelerator carries a red PCB which seems to resemble the reference PCB, but for the color. The GPU is cooled by a large silent heatsink which consists of a GPU block from which four copper heatpipes arise, conveying heat to an aluminum fin array. The memory seems to be cooled by heatsinks, too. It retains the rear panel of the reference design, with two DVI-D and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort.

The rest of its specs are identical to others in its league: DirectX 11 support, 720 stream processors, 1 GB of memory across a 128-bit GDDR5 interface, ATI CrossFireX and Eyefinity support, it asks 140€ for staying quiet.

AMD's lower-mainstream DirectX 11 compliant graphics card slated for Q1-2010, the ATI Radeon HD 5670 has been pictured and detailed, sourced from a [H]ardOCP HardForum community member. The HD 5600 series is based on a 40 nm GPU codenamed "Redwood". From the specifications the GPU-Z screenshot shows, it has a 50% downscaled SIMD engine, with 400 stream processors, while it retains the 128-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, with 16 ROPs. Assuming the clock speeds shown in the screenshot to be the reference speeds, they are 775 MHz for the core, and 1000 MHz for the 1 GB of memory (resulting in 64 GB/s of memory bandwidth).

An engineering-sample of the card has also been pictured, revealing a red-colored PCB breaking away from the black PCB scheme of the rest of the HD 5000 series. The card draws all its power from the PCI-Express slot. The GPU cooler consists of a simple heatsink with radially-projecting metal fins, in which is nested a fan. Output connectivity includes DVI, HDMI, and D-Sub, though the leads behind the D-Sub connector shows that offering a DisplayPort in its place might be possible.

PC water-cooling specialist Koolance is ready with its water-block for the ATI Radeon HD 5970 dual-GPU graphics card. The Koolance VID-AR597 water-block provides full-coverage to the obverse side of the PCB, covering all essential components such as the two AMD Cypress GPUs, the ATI/PLX bridge chip, the VRM areas, and some of the memory chips. From the looks of it, users will have to retain the back-plate for cooling memory chips on the reverse side. The block material is nickel-plated copper, the plating minimizes oxidation of the block, some parts of which are constantly in contact with the water/coolant. It is expected to be available in three days from now, priced at US $140.

PowerColor is yet another AMD AIB partner to slip in a newer cost-effective ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card without making much noise. The new HD 5770 V2 model from PowerColor (AX5770 1GBD5-MDHGV2) uses the simpler (cost-effective) GPU cooler, while retaining the original design for the rest of the card. It includes a coupon for the popular PC game BattleForge.

The rest of its specifications are standard. The Juniper GPU packs 800 stream processors, DirectX 11 compliance, and the card features 1 GB of memory across a 128-bit wide GDDR5 interface. It draws power from one 6-pin power connector, and supports ATI CrossfireX. Display connectivity includes two DVI-D, and one each of HDMI with 7.1 channel audio, and DisplayPort. The GPU is clocked at 850 MHz, and memory at 1200 MHz. It is expected to be priced slightly lower than the original reference design model (AX5770 1GBD5-MDHG).

HIS is readying its second non-reference design Radeon HD 5750 graphics cards with the HD 5750 IceQ+. This model continues in the series of IceQ series graphics cards from the company, which come with superior, quieter cooling, while also being visually appealing and reactive to UV case lighting. The HIS HD 5750 IceQ+ seems to be using the reference design PCB, albeit in blue color.

At the heart of it is the DirectX 11 compliant ATI Radeon HD 5750 GPU with 720 stream processors, aided by 1 GB of memory across a 128-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. The GPU is clocked at 700 MHz, with the memory at 1150 MHz. Display output connectivity includes DVI-D, HDMI with 7.1 channel audio, and DisplayPort. The card draws power from one 6-pin PCI-Express power connector. It is CrossfireX capable. Bundled in the package are Bumptop 3D desktop environment software, and a coupon for Dirt 2. It is expected to be priced around 130~140 EUR.

MSI is readying a new redesigned ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 GB graphics card. The new R5770-PM2D1G probably replaces the existing one with the same model number, which uses the AMD reference design PCB and cooler. The new design is also looking like a reference design since other board partners are also opting for it, albeit it looks to be simpler. This could also be cheaper to manufacture, and could help bring down prices of the Radeon HD 5770.

The new cooler design consists of the round GPU cooler often spotted on design prototypes from AMD. From its base arise two copper heatpipe that form a circular frame, holding a densely-packed aluminum fin array that projects radially from the center. An 80 mm fan is nested within, blowing air onto these fins, dissipating heat. A plastic shroud sits on top of it, holding the manufacturer graphic. The PCB appears to have remained the same. With this cost cutting, the new MSI HD 5770 1 GB could be had for 130 EUR.

ASUS launched the new ASUS EAH5000 Series, a lineup of three graphics cards that cater to a wide spectrum of needs including extreme overclocking, fast-paced gaming and daily computing. Equipped with ASUS' exclusive Voltage Tweak technology, the ASUS EAH5970/G/2DIS/2GD5 and EAH5770/2DI/1GD5 graphics cards enable users to boost GPU voltages via the SmartDoctor application to enjoy up to a 31% improvement in performance. The ASUS EAH5770/2DI/1GD5 and EAH5750 FORMULA/2DI/1GD5 feature highly effective cooling solutions capable of up to 13% better heat dissipation, and boast ASUS' exclusive Xtreme Design-an effective marriage of hardware, software, and material choices-that delivers the performance, reliability and safety DIY users need to enjoy stable and smooth daily computing.

Club 3D, European market leader for graphics cards, today announced the release of its new 40nm process technology based HD5970 graphics card. Equipped with two ATI Hemlock graphics processing units. The fastest graphics card on the planet has been developed.

Engineered for speed, the Club 3D HD5970 delivers an unrivaled HD gaming experience so you can play the latest, most demanding HD titles like never before. Featuring cutting-edge graphic, display and memory technology, this next-generation powerhouse delivers unprecedented performance straight out of the box. Unlocked, this graphics card has massive headroom, so you can take control and push your hardware to its full potential!

Today HIS unleashed the revolutionary new HIS Radeon HD 5970 2GB GDDR5. Building on the success of HIS 5800 series, HIS 5970 offer the power of two 5800 GPUs and 3200 stream processors on a single board. It delivers groundbreaking graphics performance along with the most advanced feature set in the graphics industry.

Powered by the top-of-the-line 5970 GPU, HIS Radeon HD 5970 2GB GDDR5 accelerates PC gaming with more than 4 teraFLOPS computing power! Running at 725MHz core clock speed and 4Gbps memory clock speed, the, HIS Radeon HD 5970 ensure extreme game play at high resolutions and maximum settings. It delivers full support for Microsoft DirectX 11 graphics and compute functionality. Besides, it features an architecture tailored to excel with DirectCompute 11 (Shader Model 5.0) and OpenCL, taking ATI Stream functionality to next level.

World leading graphics supplier, SAPPHIRE Technology, now introduces the world's fastest graphics card, the SAPPHIRE HD 5970 OC Edition. With twice the computing power of the highly acclaimed SAPPHIRE HD 5870, the new HD 5970 model shares all the exciting features of this family - including support for the DirectCompute 11 instruction set of Microsoft DirectX 11, hardware tessellation and multi threaded communication with the system CPU. It also supports the acceleration of applications supported by ATI Stream, and the ability to display across three monitors simultaneously with ATI Eyefinity.

The SAPPHIRE HD 5970 OC Edition ships with enhanced clock speeds of 735MHz core and 1010MHz (4.04GHz effective) - faster than the standard model, making the SAPPHIRE HD 5970 OC the fastest card in its class, and the fastest in the world*. Enthusiasts will also be able to tune performance of these SAPPHIRE cards using the SAPPHIRE Redline voltage tweaker tool** to enable higher levels of overclocking.

XFX takes technology for a trip down the fast lane with the debut of The XFX ATI Radeon HD 5970 graphics card. The fastest dual GPU-on-a-PCB card on the planet, in addition to the base powerhouse, this card also comes in an "I've-never-seen-that-kind-of-performance-before" Black Edition with an exclusive performance enhancing Overvolt Tool.

Created for the true performance enthusiast, this card offers the ultimate in speed, with the XFX ATI Radeon HD 5970 scoring in excess of X10000 in 3DMarkVantage v. 101, the highest single graphics card score achieved to date. It also features all of the latest, state-of-the-art technologies that hardcore gamers want, including ATI Eyefinity technology, ATI Stream technology and full DirectX 11 support.

World renowned graphics card and mainboard brand and manufacturer, MSI, captured the hearts of powerful performance enthusiasts after unveiling its all-new R5800, R5700 series of graphics cards. Today, MSI unveils its top model, the R5970-P2D2G graphics card, which not only equips two advanced 40nm GPUs, but also utilizes 3200 stream processors (SPs)*, and 2 GB 512 bit** GDDR5 graphics memory, making it the best performing card on the planet today!

Additionally, MSI's R5970-P2D2G graphics card features ATI Eyefinity triple-display output technology, allowing gamers to get fully immersed in the latest DirectX 11 environments. The card also offers PowerPlay power-saving functionality that shows remarkable power-saving when the machine is in stand-by. Equally noteworthy is MSI's own "Afterburner" overclocking software that allows the user to adjust both the voltage and overclocking settings for better performance. With CrossFire X enabled, the dual GPUs offer outstanding, stable performance that redefines fast. Without a doubt, this card will be the first choice of performance enthusiasts.

AMD today announced the flagship installment in the award-winning line of graphics cards, the ATI Radeon HD 5970, the fastest card ever created. The new ultra high-end model joins a growing list of the world's first and only graphics cards to fully support Microsoft DirectX 11 technology and ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology.

Designed to support the most demanding PC games at ultra-high resolutions and image quality settings, the ATI Radeon HD 5970 has unlocked overclocking potential, granting access to every bit of power the card has to offer through ATI Overdrive technology. Now shipping from retailers and available in the channel, the ATI Radeon HD 5970 also launches today in new Alienware Area-51, Area-51 ALX and Aurora desktop PCs.

AMD published its near-monthly installment of the ATI Catalyst Software Suite, which provides essential drivers for the company's ATI Radeon graphics processors, AMD 7-series chipset IGPs, ATI multimedia products, and the AMD FireStream GPGPU processors. Version 9.11 announced today, comes with the same hardware support base as the older version, includes two new features, and carries the usual application-specific fixes.

New features include GPU Acceleration of H.264 video content using Adobe Flash Player 10.1 Beta, and High Quality downscaling for video transcoding MSE. The release of ATI Catalyst, according to AMD, supports the new Hardware Acceleration features of Adobe Flash Player 10.1 Beta for video encoded in the H.264 format. Adobe Flash Player 10.1 Beta introduces hardware-based H.264 video decoding to deliver smooth video playback, reduce system resource utilization, and preserve battery life. Hardware acceleration is supported on all existing Radeon HD 5000 and HD 4000 series graphics processors. The release of ATI Catalyst includes an enhancement for the ATI Video converter for users transcoding high quality interlaced content (1920x1080i @60i videos) down to small resolution progressive content (320x240 @30p - iPod videos as an example), by maintaining high visual quality when down-scaling by a significant amount and converting interlaced video content to progressive. For a list of minor issues fixed in the release, refer to the Release Notes document.

DOWNLOAD: ATI Catalyst 9.11 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 32-bit | Windows 7/Vista 64-bit | Windows XP 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit

AMD's dual-GPU flagship graphics accelerator, the Radeon HD 5970, is closer than you think it is. Slated for 18th Nov, it includes every feature that allows AMD to reclaim the performance leadership it yearned for since the beginning of this year. In a series of company slides sourced from XtremeSystems Forums, it is learned that this could be one of the first accelerators which AMD "openly" markets as having a "Massive Headroom" for overclocking. While the clock speeds on the HD 5970 are lower than those on the single-GPU HD 5870, AMD lifted limits on what the driver-level ATI Overdrive software can offer in terms of clock speeds. While the engine (core) and memory speeds are set at 720/1000 MHz, the unlocked ATI Overdrive lets users take the clock speeds all the way up to 1000/1500 MHz. That's 30% for the core, and a stellar 50% for the memory.

To back such speeds, AMD seems to have splurged heavily on top-notch components on the PCB. To begin with, the PCB holds two high-grade AMD Cypress GPUs, each with all its 1600 stream processors enabled. The GDDR5 memory, while clocked at 1000 MHz or 4 GT/s, is technically rated by its manufacturer to run at 1250 MHz or 5 GT/s. All systems are powered by high-grade digital PWM voltage regulators, with independent Volterra VRM controllers that allow real-time monitoring, and software voltage control. Barring the five-odd cylindrical solid-state capacitors, Japanese pure ceramic surface-mount capacitors are extensively made use of.

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, today announces a new flavor to HD5700 series: PLAY! HD5770. PLAY! HD5770 features full digital output solution with Display Port / HDMI/ DVI onboard design; delivers an incredible visual performance at all resolutions. And with the support of ATI Eyefinity technology, PLAY! HD5770 can run up to three displays from one single card and give all gamers a surreal gaming experience.

PowerColor PLAY! HD5770 clocks at 850MHz core speed and 1200MHz of memory speed; with an ultra 92mm cooling fan, PLAY! HD5770 is able to increase air flow in low fan speed, yet still dissipates heat easily from the cooper base, which covers the GPU entirely. This cooler also reduces fan noise and enhances cooling ability to deliver the ultimate gaming performance in a low-noisy, and cool operating environment.

Some of the first online store listings of AMD's newest high-end graphics accelerator, the ATI Radeon HD 5970, have started to surface. Austrian computer hardware online store aggregator Geizhals.at has sources out three such stores which list the accelerator by AIB partner Sapphire, between € 505.39 and € 514.46, including 20% applicable tax (excluding which, it is priced between € 421 and € 428). The Sapphire HD 5970 accelerator listed carries the part number 21165-01-50R. It features a total of 2 GB of memory (2x 1GB), contrary to an earlier report. A short list of stores can be found here.

AMD released the latest version of its ATI Catalyst software suite. Version 9.10 WHQL brings with it official support for the company's newest ATI Radeon HD 5800 series graphics processors, adds features that enhance usability under Windows 7, along with the usual list of bug fixes. The driver also adds support for Super Sample Anti-Aliasing, for Radeon HD 5800 GPUs. A complete list of changes can be read in the release notes document. The most important of them are listed below:

• ATI Catalyst 9.10 now includes full GPU support for the award winning ATI HD Radeon 5800 series GPUs.
• Provides support for a new Anti-Aliasing method on the ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series. Users can now experience the high level of anti-aliasing image quality using Super Sampling anti-aliasing while maintaining good performance levels
• Adds GPU acceleration for the Windows 7 Drag and Drop video converting application

DOWNLOAD: ATI Catalyst 9.10 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 32-bit | Windows 7/Vista 64-bit | Windows XP 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit

Introducing the newly arrived High-end VGA Graphics Array cooler, Slimod. This cool VGA Card cooler is brimming with technology and innovation. Applicable to the latest NVIDIA GeForce and ATI Radeon GPUs, the Slimod will deliver optimum cooling for today's hot GPUs.

Equipped with 3 all copper 6mm Direct Touch heat-pipes for swift and efficient heat transport to the 30 aluminum, nickel coated heat-sink fins which are cooled down by two silent and PWM controlled 8mm DC fans.

Danger Den continues to extend their broad line of full coverage video card blocks with the new ATI 5870 water block. The DD-5870 block is a single slot solution cooling all of the major heat components including the GPU, RAM, power mofsets, and more.

The DD-5870 block is designed to have superior cooling performance while minimizing the pressure loss across the block. This combined with other Danger Den blocks maintains a high flow rate through the entire system maximizing the cooling performance of all the components.