Aitech Defense Systems Inc. recently announced the M598, the latest video and graphics PMC in its vast line of AMD-driven solutions, designed to simultaneously drive several independent video streams in a wide variety of outputs. The versatile PMC uses the AMD Radeon E8860 (Andelaar) GPU, providing six independent graphics heads with 2 GB of GDDR5 operating at up to 1125 MHz.

In addition to the independent video stream capture, the M598 provides advanced video overlay functionality. Once the E8860 processor generates the graphics images, an input from one of the video formats is superimposed and the final image is sent to a monitor. Used in civil or military aviation or ground vehicle systems, the M598 is ideal for a number of graphics-intensive display computing environments. These include fixed- and rotary-wing mission and cockpit display computers and heads-up displays as well as electro-optical (EO) video camera, EO night vision and Infrared (IR) video frame grabbing, multi-role tactical mission displays found in advanced 2D and 3D C4ISR and EW video processing systems.

AMD today announced multiple new discrete AMD Embedded Radeon graphics options suitable for multiple form factors. The suite of products is specifically designed to advance the visual and parallel processing capabilities of embedded applications. The graphics cards represent continued AMD commitment to embedded market innovation, providing engineers with more choices to achieve their design goals, from leading performance to energy efficiency.

The new offerings cover a broad range of needs, from 192 GFLOPS to 3 TFLOPS of single precision performance, and from 20 to less than 95 watts of thermal design power. The products are offered as a Multi-Chip Module (MCM), Mobile PCI Express Module (MXM) and PCIe options, with AMD offering the only MCM solutions. All of these products offer extended support and longevity. The new discrete graphics cards offer the right balance of performance, power and graphics memory size, to meet the needs of most customers.

"The demand for rich, vibrant graphics in embedded systems is greater than ever before, and that demand is growing," said Scott Aylor, corporate vice president and general manager, AMD Embedded Solutions. "Our latest additions to the embedded product lineup help designers build mesmerizing user experiences with 4K multi-screen installations and 3-D and interactive displays. In addition, the powerful capabilities of our GPUs can address the toughest parallel compute challenges."

Shuttle Computer Handels GmbH, the European subsidiary of Shuttle Inc., one of the leading developers and manufacturers of compact PC solutions such as the world-renowned XPC Mini-PC Barebones, again shows its commitment to fanless solutions as the Shuttle Barebone DS437T hits the shops today.

This 36 mm thin steel barebone comes already fitted with a hard-wired Intel Celeron 1037U processor (dual-core, 2 MB cache, 1.80 GHz). The DS437T's two SO-DIMM slots together support up to 16 GB DDR3 memory. The SATA 6 GBit/s port offers rapid connection for 2.5" SSDs and hard disks. With the easy-to-open back cover, it is simple to install memory modules and a drive.

SAPPHIRE Technology has just announced a new model in the successful R-series of graphics cards. The SAPPHIRE R7 265 Dual-X is based on the highly acclaimed graphics GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture from AMD and sets a new standard for price:performance in mainstream graphics.

The SAPPHIRE R7 265 Dual-X has 2 GB of the latest DDR5 memory clocked at 1400 MHz (5.6 GB/s effective) and core clocks of 900 MHz (925 MHz with dynamic boost) to deliver new levels of performance in its price segment. Performance is optimised with the latest version of AMD's PowerTune technology and can be further enhanced with SAPPHIRE TriXX software, available free to download from the SAPPHIRE website.

After last minute hiccups, AMD managed to release Catalyst 14.1 beta to the press. The driver brings along the first release of Mantle, AMD's ambitious 3D graphics API to rival Direct3D and OpenGL. Installing the driver was less than straightforward. We couldn't just install the driver over our Catalyst 13.12 WHQL installation like we normally do. A driver cleanup and reinstalling did the trick. Catalyst 14.1 beta enables the 3D renderer option in Battlefield 4, which lets you choose between DirectX 11.1 and Mantle.

Our first (subjective) impression, is that we couldn't tell the difference. Our Radeon R9 290 already offered frame-rates well above 60 FPS (1920 x 1080, Ultra, 4x MSAA), on Direct3D, and so we never really stood to gain anything that makes the game more playable than it already was. What could have been interesting, was to see how Mantle makes the lives of R9 270X owners better, who could see frame-rates drop below 60 FPS at our settings. According to a change-log of the driver posted by Guru3D, AMD hasn't optimized Mantle for any of the Graphics CoreNext (GCN) based GPUs other than Radeon R9 290 series, R9 260X, and A-Series "Kaveri" APUs.

SAPPHIRE Technology has just introduced a passively cooled card in its new R7 series. The SAPPHIRE R7 250 ULTIMATE is the first totally silent card to embody all the features of this new generation of products based on the highly successful graphics GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture from AMD.

The SAPPHIRE R7 250 ULTIMATE is the first card in this generation to use a passive heatpipe and heatsink cooler with no fan to deliver totally silent cooling, and increased reliability as it has no mechanical moving parts. It shares all the features of the R7 series and the highly acclaimed GCN graphics processing architecture making it ideal for HTPCs and any general purpose PC where operational noise needs to be kept to a minimum. Casual and online gamers will find its silent operation attractive, as the GCN architecture supports gaming at 1080p with moderate settings.

Along with its highly anticipated game patch that includes an AMD Mantle renderer for Battlefield 4, DICE posted numbers from its own testing, pointing out the performance difference between DirectX 11.1 and Mantle. DICE put Battlefield 4 through three test scenarios, entry-level gaming, mainstream gaming, and enthusiast gaming. The entry-level test-bed comprised of an AMD A10-7850K APU, with its integrated Radeon R7 200 series GPU (512 stream processors, 720 MHz GPU clock). This is a CPU and GPU limited scenario, in which the game was tested at 1280 x 720 pixels resolution. DICE notes that with Mantle, the game yielded about 14 percent higher frame-rates.

Next up, is mainstream gaming. The test-bed runs an AMD FX-8350, which offers roughly the same gaming CPU performance as a Core i5-3570K. A Radeon HD 7970 is in charge of graphics, and the game is run at 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution, with 1x MSAA and "Ultra" preset. DICE found that the setup yields about 26 percent higher frame-rates. Lastly, there's the enthusiast test-bed, running an Intel Core i7-3960X CPU, and dual Radeon R9 290X (CrossFire) graphics. The resolution stayed at 1920 x 1080, settings at "Ultra" preset, but the anti-aliasing was cranked up to 4x MSAA. The result? A stunning 58 percent higher frame-rates. It's important to note here that in addition to settings, the other thing that's not constant between the three setups is the test scene. Even if DICE' assessment is most generous towards AMD's claims, there really does seem to be a performance increment on offer, with Mantle. Can't wait to check it out for ourselves. For more details and notes from the developer, check out the source link.

DICE, developers of the smash-hit online multiplayer FPS of the season, Battlefield 4, rolled out its promised game update that lends it support for AMD Mantle API. The low-overhead 3D graphics API, according to leaked documents we've seen, is claimed to improve performance of the game by up to 45 percent in CPU-limited scenarios. By that token, we imagine the performance increment in GPU-limited scenarios to be different. The game patch is only half of the story. The other half is the API itself, which will be distributed by AMD, in its Catalyst software suite. The first public release of Mantle will be part of Catalyst 14.1 beta, which will be rolling out a little later this week. Stay tuned for our comprehensive DirectX 11.1 vs. Mantle testing, starring a Radeon R9 290.

At its CES press-meet, AMD detailed the upcoming versions of Catalyst Software Suite, which will be unified to include graphics and system drivers for both discrete AMD Radeon GPUs, and integrated AMD A-Series APUs; and AMD core-logic (chipsets). The biggest takeaway from the presentation, by AMD's Terry "CatalystMaker" Makedon, is that the company will release the first Mantle and TrueAudio runtime environments with the upcoming Catalyst 14.1 Beta, due for later this month. Mantle is AMD's ambitious attempt at a 3D graphics API to rival Direct3D and OpenGL, that's optimized for its Graphics CoreNext micro-architecture; while TrueAudio is a positional audio DSP that promises to make games and movies sound more realistic.

Mantle promises "great" performance improvements in Battlefield 4, the only AAA game that we know of, to make use of the API. Mantle support was expected to be added to the game as an update around this time, but DICE' plans fell off the track with publisher EA coming down hard on the studio for shipping a game that's riddled with bugs. DICE will most likely have to fix most of its bugs for the retail DirectX 11.1 game, before EA allows it to toy with updates that add support for new and experimental APIs, let alone expansion packs. In related news, Catalyst 14.1 Beta will introduce additions to its frame-pacing fix, that will soon support Ultra HD displays, and Eyefinity setups on non-XDMA (pre R9 290 series) GPUs.

At its spot in AMD's GPU'14 tech day, EA-DICE confirmed to major technical features of Battlefield 4, one of the hottest online multiplayer shooters of the season. To begin with, the game will include 64-bit binaries that let the game take advantage of vast amounts of system- and video-memory. 8 GB of system- and 3 GB of video-memory are part of the game's recommended system requirements list. The next big feature is a DirectX 11.1 renderer, which takes advantage of shader tracing, and seamless switching between various DirectX feature levels. DirectX 11.1 is exclusive to Windows 8 (and above), and isn't fully implemented on GeForce GTX 600 series GPUs.

DICE did announce that there are fallbacks to both. Out of data pulled by Origin, DICE claims that 91 percent of Battlefield 3 players run 64-bit operating systems, which encouraged their 64-bit move, but the game should also include fallbacks to 32-bit for the remaining 9 percent. The percentage of gamers running DirectX 11.1-ready GPUs and Windows 8 (and above) will no doubt be a small percentage, and for them not much should be lost. Battlefield 4 should launch on October 29. In December, the studio plans to roll out a major update that includes support for a new 3D graphics API built by DICE, codenamed "Mantle."

AMD revealed that EA's highly-anticipated online shooter, Battlefield 4, is an AMD Gaming Evolved title, in the run up to its GPU'14 event, slated for later today. It also hints at the possibility of Battlefield 4 being part of an upcoming "Never Settle" bundle that's exclusive to buyers of the Radeon R 200 series. What does this translate to in the real world? Radeon HD 7700 series and above, and the upcoming Radeon R 200 series, feature 100% support for DirectX 11.1, which Battlefield 4 is rumored to take advantage of, on PCs running Windows 8 (and above). It could translate to better performance or visual effects.

Battlefield 4 minimum system requirements (MSR) lists released to the web show them to be largely identical to those of Battlefield 3, with a few changes in the GPU requirements. The RSR (recommended system requirements) list is interesting. There's no support for Windows XP, much like Battlefield 3, but contrary to rumors, Battlefield 4 doesn't mandate 64-bit platforms. It includes 32-bit executables, even if it can take advantage of over 4 GB of system- and over 3 GB of video-memory. Battlefield 4 needs at least a Windows Vista 32-bit installation, with Service Pack 2 and KB971512 update. An AMD Athlon X2 processor clocked at 2.80 GHz or Core 2 Duo 2.40 GHz processor, 4 GB of RAM (which 32-bit platforms don't fully make available anyway), and 2009-class DirectX 10 graphics cards, are part of the MSR.

Moving on to the recommended system requirements list, EA-DICE recommends 64-bit Windows 8, making us wonder why not Windows 7 64-bit, and if it has something to do with the fact that Windows 8 supports DirectX 11.1, which Windows 7 doesn't. Any six-core AMD CPU, and any Intel quad-core CPU will do. 8 GB of RAM is recommended. The developer recommends at least Radeon HD 7870 or GeForce GTX 660 graphics cards with at least 3 GB of video memory, which strangely disqualifies the Radeon HD 7870 from the RSR list, as there's no known HD 7870 variant with ≥3 GB of video memory. Hard drive space is consistent between the two lists, at 30 GB. It was 25 GB for Battlefield 3. In all, we expect Battlefield 4 to be another eye-feast, which rewards faster hardware, and perhaps even upgrading to Windows 8.

Eurocom has added the AMD Radeon HD 8970M to the Ivy Bridge based Racer 2.0 VGA upgradeable laptop. The addition of the MXM 3.0b spec AMD Radeon HD 8970M offers gamers and enthusiasts a new level of ultra high performance graphics to upgrade their existing Racer 2.0 or configure into their new system. Eurocom is always striving to allow upgradeability of legacy systems to allow customers the opportunity to upgrade their system to improve performance and life span. Eurocom engineers have recently finished stress testing and verifying the performance and operation of the 8970M in the Racer 2.0.

The AMD Radeon HD 8970M GPU has 1,280 compute cores running at 850MHz with 4 GB GDDR5 memory running at 1200MHz. With full DirectX 11.1 support, the 8970M offers a great gaming experience for all PC titles. AMD App Acceleration uses GPU compute to accelerate and improve image quality, video playback and overall computing performance. "At Eurocom, we have offered fully upgradeable notebooks to our clients for many years because we believe very strongly in the long term benefits it offers our clients; VGA upgradeability allows users to extend lifespan of their equipment without compromising performance " Mark Bialic, Eurocom President.

Galaxy Microsystems, a leading graphics card manufacturer, announced today the GTX 770 GC 4GB, now with 2 times the memory vs. reference editions. The 4GB version is tuned to match the impressive 1163 MHz boost clock of the GTX 770 GC 2GB and features an extra 2GB of memory to ensure smooth frame rates at high resolutions. The additional ram is especially critical for SLI setups where each card must share copies of the same resources.

Galaxy's Force Air Bracket is also present to help exhaust heat from the PC, and it provides a flexible assortment of outputs including DVI-I, DVI-D, DisplayPort, and HDMI. An adapter is included for VGA displays. Like other GTX 700 series cards before it, the GTX 770 GC 4GB supports DirectX 11.1, GPU Boost 2.0, TXAA, and a maximum of 4 concurrent displays. Overclockers will make full use of the card's superior 5+2 phase power supply (vs. 4+2 reference) which delivers more stable current to the GPU, in addition to IR DirectFET MOSFETs that reduce EMI (electromagnetic interference) and heat output.

EA-DICE' upcoming online shooter Battlefield 4 will take advantage of DirectX 11.1 API, on PCs running Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Running the game with DirectX 11.1 will have a positive performance impact compared to running it on DirectX 11.0, or on older operating systems like Windows 7 (which doesn't support DirectX 11.1). In the words of the technical director behind Frostbite, the underlying engine for Battlefield 4, "We use DX11.1, there are some optimizations in it (constant buffer offsets, dynamic buffers as SRVs) that we got in to the the API that improves CPU performance in our rendering when one runs with DX11.1." This could give Radeon HD 7000 series GPUs an edge over their GeForce competitors. GPUs based on NVIDIA's "Kepler" micro-architecture don't fully support DirectX 11.1. Incidentally, Battlefield 4 was just bagged and tagged by AMD for its future "Never Settle" bundle. Join the dots.

ASUS today announced the new A88XM-A and A55BM-A/USB3 motherboards, the first from any manufacturer to support new Socket FM2+ APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) from AMD. The A88XM-A with AMD A88X chipset and A55BM-A/USB3 with A55 chipset are both Micro-ATX motherboards for existing AMD 'Richland' and 'Trinity' FM2 APUs, and are hardware-ready for upcoming AMD 'Kaveri' FM2+ APUs that support DirectX 11.1 and PCI Express 3.0 natively. ASUS is committed to supporting the latest in PC technology. The new FM2+ motherboards offer customers the very latest in motherboard design, with the added flexibility of both backward and forward compatibility with AMD APUs.

Our recent editorial on adoption of Windows 8.1 by PC enthusiasts concluded saying "...and Microsoft isn't stopping with its innovations that will get increasingly out of reach for Windows 7 users." It looks like the first of such innovations is DirectX 11.2. Microsoft revealed that the latest version of its multimedia API will require Windows 8.1 on the PC, and comes built into its next-generation Xbox One console. With this, Microsoft established that you will need Windows 8.1 or later, to access future versions of DirectX.

Microsoft has often used the tactic of limiting DirectX versions to certain versions of Windows, often citing driver-model changes, to force PC enthusiasts to either upgrade, or lag behind in PC technology, and in the past it worked. Windows XP capped out at DirectX 9.0c, forcing gamers to upgrade to Windows Vista, to experience cutting-edge games of the time, such as "Crysis," with new visual effects that DirectX 10 brought to the scene. DirectX 11.0 had the unique distinction of spanning across Windows Vista and Windows 7. DirectX 11.1 was exclusive to Windows 8 and above, as it required WDDM 1.2 (Windows display driver model). The Direct3D component of the API didn't bring anything substantial to the scene. With Windows 8.1, Microsoft is introducing DirectX 11.2, it requires WDDM 1.3, which the operating system introduces. Since Windows 8.1 will be offered as a free upgrade to current Windows 8 users, it's effectively the Windows 7 user-base, that's being asked to take a hike.

With Microsoft readying a Release Preview of its upcoming Windows 8.1 operating system; AMD jumped in with a specialized Catalyst driver. Windows 8.1 features an upgraded display driver model, WDDM 1.3, which lets users take advantage of a few new features. GPUs based on AMD's Graphics CoreNext architecture will be supported by Windows 8.1 over WDDM 1.3, while older VLIW4 and VLIW5-based GPUs (Radeon HD 6000 series and older), will be supported over older WDDM 1.2 based drivers.

Windows 8.1 brings some enhancements to PC graphics, with support for Microsoft's own standardized wireless display technology; 48 Hz dynamic refresh rates for video playback, V-sync interrupt optimization, video conferencing acceleration, and a new instruction to the DirectX 11.1 API, named "tiled resources." Like the operating system itself, AMD's Windows 8.1 Preview Catalyst driver is a beta, and its use comes with no warranties. Microsoft expects to launch Windows 8.1 later this year, reportedly available as a free upgrade for current Windows 8 users.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst Windows 8.1 Preview Driver

Lists of AMD GPUs supported by WDDM 1.3 and WDDM 1.2 follow.

GIGABYTE Technology introduces today, in coordination with Intel's official launch, two initial models of single socket server/workstation motherboards designed for the brand new Intel Xeon processor E3-1200 V3 product family (former codename Haswell). Suitable for both rack and desktop tower integration, GIGABYTE introduces here ultra-flexible products featuring the latest technologies and built to deliver all the benefits and new features of this new CPU line in many professional application scenarios.

Still based on the 22 nm tri-gate lithography, this new generation of Xeon processors is built on Intel's latest microarchitecture and brings up to 15% computing power improvement and increased L3 cache across the line. In addition, this new generation also brings to the Xeon E3 family the support of 1600MHz ECC memory, Intel Trusted Execution and Virtualization technologies, as well as AVX 2.0 and TSX instructions. Last but not least, the Xeon E3-1200 V3 processors will include the latest Intel integrated graphics, which will bring the support of OGL3.2+, DirectX 11.1, and higher frequencies over the previous generation.

Galaxy Microsystems, a leading graphics card manufacturer, today announced the all new GeForce GTX 770 GC 2GB factory overclocked, custom cooled graphics card. The GC edition cooling features a twin fan design and quad nickel plated heat pipes housed in a sleek, dark finished aluminum cover.

The GTX 770 GC is fine tuned for even greater performance than the previous generation. Memory speed has been boosted to an unprecedented 7 GHz for increased frame rates at high resolutions, and a new highly optimized fan control algorithm helps to keep noise levels low during intense, unpredictable gameplay.

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphic cards, today releases the first HD7750 low profile with 4 display technology, the HD7750 Eyefinity 4 LP Edition. To fulfill those users who need a card fitted into slim chassis, but also want it to support Eyefinity technology, PowerColor successfully developed a solution combines both advantages at one card, using 4 mini DisplayPort to build different display combination, that's PowerColor HD7750 Eyefinity 4 LP Edition.

Also having advantage of low profile, the new HD7750 is fitted with massive capacity of 2 GB GDDR5 memory to fulfill multi-display demand. Clocked at 800 MHz for the core and 1125 MHz for the memory, the new HD7750 allows more bandwidth for demanding DirectX 11.1 gaming title. Except for gaming use, the new HD7750 also can be used on financial services, TV wall, transportation, monitoring, professional design, digital signage and so on.

AMD today launched the AMD Radeon HD 8970M, the world's fastest notebook graphics card. The AMD Radeon HD 8970M graphics processing unit (GPU) delivers the best mobile gaming experience imaginable to gamers, powered by AMD's award-winning Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture.

"Today's gaming notebooks need a graphics card that is fast, powerful and energy-efficient," said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager, Graphics Business Unit, AMD. "The AMD Radeon HD 8970M GPU is the perfect combination of technologies, blending performance, immersive features and an extensive battery life that delivers an unrivaled gaming experience, even on the go."

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphic cards, today unrolls a new model of SCS3 series, the SC3 HD7850. Being a new generation of SCS3, the HD7850 extends PowerColor strong capability of passive cooling design, enables gamers to play under extremely silent environment. Together with 1 GB of GDDR5 memory, and 1024 units of stream processor, the SCS3 HD7850 is equipped with all high standard specification, also includes the latest AMD Eyefinity technology, DirectX 11.1, and AMD App Acceleration technology, enabling quiet gaming but also with performance.

Do you want to play Crysis 3 on a high resolution notebook that offers a smooth gaming experience? Want to experience the awesome graphics performance by AMD's latest Radeon HD 8970M with the super wide angle view that only three screens can offer. Now, it is available with the MSI GX70, officially recommended for Crysis 3.

GX70 gaming laptop offers gamers the best of both worlds--performance and affordability. It packs the latest AMD platform with A10-5750M quad-core architecture and the top-end HD 8970M, supporting DirectX 11.1 for superior video resolution, as well as MSI's Eyefinity triple-screen output. This GX70 also comes with the limited Crysis 3 bundle, including Crysis 3 serial number, so you can download a legal copy. In addition, the GX70 comes in a limited edition of Crysis 3 box.

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards, mini-PCs and accessories, today supercharges the TITAN with the ZOTAC GeForce GTX TITAN AMP! Edition, the world's fastest single GPU graphics card.

"Gamers have always depended on the ZOTAC GeForce AMP! Edition series for the best performance within a given series. With the ZOTAC GeForce GTX TITAN AMP! Edition, we're able to deliver the absolute best performance from a single GPU in this generation," says Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International.