# AMD Pitcairn Specifications Surface



## btarunr (Feb 20, 2012)

The launch of AMD's Radeon 7800 series is on course for March, as AMD wants to complete the launches of the entire Radeon 7000 series before NVIDIA even has its first GPU out. Radeon HD 7800 will be designed to occupy key price points in the sub-$300 market segment, where it strikes price-performance sweetspots for gamers. Central to this series is a new 28 nm GPU, codenamed "Pitcairn", from which will be derived three SKUs: the Radeon HD 7870, Radeon HD 7850 2 GB, and Radeon HD 7850 1 GB. The specifications look like this:

*Radeon HD 7850* 
20 Graphics CoreNext Compute Units, 1280 stream processors
80 TMUs, 24 ROPs (de-linked from the memory bus, of course)
256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, 2 GB and 1 GB variants
Clock speeds of 900 MHz core, 1250 MHz (5.00 GHz effective) memory
Radeon HD 7870 specifications follow.



*Radeon HD 7870* 
22 GCN CUs, 1408 stream processors
88 TMUs, 24 ROPs (de-linked from memory bus)
256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, 2 GB
Clock speeds of 950 MHz core, 1375 MHz (5.50 GHz effective) memory
Some time after March, AMD will likely launch a "Radeon HD 7890" SKU, which will be based on the Tahiti GPU.

*View at TechPowerUp Main Site*


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## Super XP (Feb 20, 2012)

Seems they are trying to corner the market big time. What purpose would the Radeon HD 7890 have? We've already had the HD 4890 which was the last GPU released shortly before Evergreen's HD 5000 series.


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## ViperXTR (Feb 20, 2012)

these are supposed to be the replacement of HD 6800 yes? (the supposed to be midrange parts), HD 7700 being the mainstream and the HD 7900 series high end.


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## Daimus (Feb 20, 2012)

It looks like 7870 will replace 6970 and 7850 replace the 6950. The new architecture will maintain the performance of previous generations with fewer shader units.


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## btarunr (Feb 20, 2012)

Super XP said:


> What purpose would the Radeon HD 7890 have?



At this moment it looks like just a contingency plan in case competition heats up. I don't think we'll see that SKU any time soon.


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## dieterd (Feb 20, 2012)

it will be the same story no matter what it is called 79xx or 77xx - price/preformance will suck bad vs HD 69xx.


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## Crap Daddy (Feb 20, 2012)

Daimus said:


> It looks like 7870 will replace 6970 and 7850 replace the 6950. The new architecture will maintain the performance of previous generations with fewer shader units.



At best this will be the outcome. Same price probably for the same performance as last generation.


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## Shinshin (Feb 20, 2012)

Crap Daddy said:


> At best this will be the outcome. Same price probably for the same performance as last generation.



I'm afraid this is true...
No bang for the buck in this generation of AMD...


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## dj-electric (Feb 20, 2012)

If this kind of news find it's way to techpowerup it only means that w1zz has approved with he's samples.


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## Daimus (Feb 20, 2012)

Crap Daddy said:


> At best this will be the outcome. Same price probably for the same performance as last generation.



Let's hope that with the release of Kepler prices will fall.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Feb 20, 2012)

makes perfect sense

Juniper was half of Cypress

cape verde is half of Pitcairn 

makes perfect sense, 

Radeon HD 7770

    All CUs enabled, 640 stream processors
    1 GB GDDR5 memory
    40 TMUs, 16 ROPs
    1000 MHz core clock-speed
    1125 MHz (actual), 4500 MHz (effective) memory clock-speed


7770 to 7850

640 shaders to 1280 shaders
1GB to 2GB
40 TMUs to 80 TMUs
16 ROPs to 24 ROPs

7770 to 7870
640 shaders to 1408
1GB to 2GB
40 TMUs to 88 TMUs
16 ROPs to 24Rops

if you look at the 7970

7770 to 7970
640 to 2048
1GB to 3GB
40 TMUs to 128TMUs
16 ROPs to 32 ROPs

depending on which card in the series you look at 

essentially Cape Verde is Doubled or Tripled to meet the next performance bracket neccesary, 

and we can already see the performance 7800 series offers just look at 7770 crossfire, same situation as 5770 crossfire was to 5870 essentially, it makes sense considering AMDs idea to design a middle of the road gpu they can scale up and down to meet market demands

AMD as doubled and tripled shader counts from CapeVerde to each segment 
ROPs get increased by 8 

so we have 640 shaders 16 rops 40 tmus
next step up 1280 24 80
next step above that 1920 32 120,  gives a rough idea of what AMDs idea was with GCN
7770 = entry 7770 xfire = 7870 and 7970 is of course 7970 

Notice the Performance jump 40% then 30% roughly what we should expect when the value of diminishing returns are taken into account,


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## resident10 (Feb 20, 2012)

I wonder in what program can I make so beautiful diagram or graph like in the post above (by crazyeyesreaper).


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## Yellow&Nerdy? (Feb 20, 2012)

These will probably be the cards I'm most likely to get. Again, there probably won't be anything wrong with the cards themselves, let's just hope AMD can figure out how to price them properly and not pull off what they did with Cape Verde.


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## HossHuge (Feb 20, 2012)

resident10 said:


> I wonder in what program can I make so beautiful diagram or graph like in the post above (by crazyeyesreaper).


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## btarunr (Feb 20, 2012)

resident10 said:


> I wonder in what program can I make so beautiful diagram or graph like in the post above (by crazyeyesreaper).



MS Paint.


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## resident10 (Feb 20, 2012)

HossHuge said:


>


What software was used to generate this picture?
http://tpucdn.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7750_7770_CrossFire/images/perfrel_1920.gif


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## resident10 (Feb 20, 2012)

btarunr said:


> MS Paint.


I'm serious. Every tech blog has beautiful bars (or charts) in articles and reviews. I'm sure these pictures are generated automatically, but the key question - what software was used.


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## btarunr (Feb 20, 2012)

We made our own software that makes those graphs. Trade secret.


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## resident10 (Feb 20, 2012)

btarunr said:


> We made our own software that makes those graphs. Trade secret.


Oh, I understand 
Thanks a lot


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## brandonwh64 (Feb 20, 2012)

resident10 said:


> I'm serious. Every tech blog has beautiful bars (or charts) in articles and reviews. I'm sure these pictures are generated automatically, but the key question - what software was used.



He is serious LOL


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## DarkOCean (Feb 20, 2012)

and the price for the 7870 is ...$320 or $350? seing how 7770 is priced.


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## HossHuge (Feb 20, 2012)

resident10, those bar graphs have been used on TechPowerUp for reviews for forever.  Go have a look. 

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=5

On topic.  WTF is a Pitcairn?


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## btarunr (Feb 20, 2012)

DarkOCean said:


> and the price for the 7870 is ...$320 or $350? seing how 7770 is priced.



If HD 7870 outperforms GTX 570, then AMD might troll us with $349. If it doesn't outperform GTX 570, then $299.



HossHuge said:


> On topic.  WTF is a Pitcairn?



A beautiful set of islands.


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## Crap Daddy (Feb 20, 2012)

btarunr said:


> If HD 7870 outperforms GTX 570, then AMD might troll us with $349. If it doesn't outperform GTX 570, then $299.



I think it will not outperform a GTX570 and it will be 350$. But hey, you can overclock like hell, draws far less power etc. etc.


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## stupido (Feb 20, 2012)

btarunr said:


> If HD 7870 outperforms GTX 570, then AMD might troll us with $349. If it doesn't outperform GTX 570, then $299.
> 
> 
> 
> A beautiful set of islands.



meh... not trolling exactly.. just "healthy greed" so typically seen...  if they can of course (I think there are enough fanbois out in the wilderness to be hunted)


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## MarcusTaz (Feb 20, 2012)

I wonder if it was a waste that I just purchased a Sapphire 6950 100312-3L  with bios switch pre loaded 6970 bios for $ 220 AR...


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## btarunr (Feb 20, 2012)

MarcusTaz said:


> I wonder if it was a waste that I just purchased a Sapphire 6950 100312-3L  with bios switch pre loaded 6970 bios for $ 220 AR...



No way, $220 is an awesome price for that.


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## MarcusTaz (Feb 20, 2012)

Oh good I feel so relieved!  I just cannot see spending the $ on AMD's new line... Really feel like they are screwing us all but that is for another topic.


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## Casecutter (Feb 20, 2012)

Daimus said:


> Let's hope that with the release of Kepler prices will fall.


Unless Kepler has shrunk the relative size of die significantly (not just because on the process shrink itself, I doubt AMD is worried as to Nvidia getting any leg up on piece price on 28Nm.


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## theeldest (Feb 20, 2012)

MarcusTaz said:


> Oh good I feel so relieved!  I just cannot see spending the $ on AMD's new line... Really feel like they are screwing us all but that is for another topic.



In the short term it may feel like AMD is sticking it to us but let's be realistic, if we want continued competition in CPUs and GPUs then we need AMD to pull in as much money as possible while they have the chance. Once nVidia launches the prices are going to drop to be competitive so less profit for AMD.

If AMD doesn't profit, they can't do R&D, and we lose competition.

The general consumer doesn't realize prices will drop considerably in the next 3-6 months and is happy paying a bit more for more performance.

We (techies on forums) are more willing to wait and plan ahead to reap the benefits of a competitive market.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Feb 20, 2012)

wow, i really didnt expect too much of 7xxx series but its not looking bad to someone who skipped 6xxx series, and since i knows the limits of my games and screen ill be right till 8xxx appear 

IMHO you tend to expect too much if your upping each generation, simples 

makes me chuckle tho



theeldest said:


> We (techies on forums) are more willing to wait and plan ahead to reap the benefits of a competitive market.



and be swayed by what's ahead


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## MyFriendOfMisery (Feb 20, 2012)

*Are you kidding?*

"Radeon HD 7800 will be designed to occupy key price points in the sub-$300 market segment, where it strikes price-performance sweetspots for gamers."

Excuse me, in what era or dimension you leave in? The sentence has no meaning. I live in Europe, in a country where 250 GBP is a month's median salary and prices are the same as in Paris, Milan or Hamburg.

These sobs are squeezing us dry for more than half a century now and all you do is play their whistle. Editors like you make the world a more horrible place for us all. You think you're being deontological, because corrupt and weak people trying to justify their sins told you compromise is good in life, is a sign of responsibility and balance and that seeing things for what they are is just immature, rebellious and irresponsible. 

Say it like it is, the $$ go in their pockets and those cards cost between 15 to 20$ to make. So why propagate their lies like facts? 

Take it as a productive critique. After all, every kick in the groin is a step forward to becoming a better human being.


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## jamsbong (Feb 21, 2012)

There is actually more detail found on the link given:

http://www.expreview.com/18484.html

So, US$249 is the price of 2gb 7850 and $359 for 7890. A huge price difference.
With my current GeForce card overheating/restarting my computer regularly, I am very tempted to go back to ATI. I mean what is the point of speed with one can't enjoy the reliability/stability.


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## MarcusTaz (Feb 21, 2012)

jamsbong said:


> There is actually more detail found on the link given:
> 
> http://www.expreview.com/18484.html
> 
> ...





This i what i was saying for $249 for the 7850 i wonder if i should have waited for some benches? 

Will the 7850 be so much better then the 6950??


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## xenocide (Feb 21, 2012)

MarcusTaz said:


> This i what i was saying for $249 for the 7850 i wonder if i should have waited for some benches?
> 
> Will the 7850 be so much better then the 6950??



The $249 is MSRP, which usually tends to be inflated when a card launches.  If Nvidia doesn't have anything out by then, the price could potentially just be set to just above whatever HD6950's are at--which for a 2GB model is about $280.  Your purchase was a great deal, and I wouldn't feel bad about it.


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## MarcusTaz (Feb 21, 2012)

I feel relieved again... lol


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## jamsbong (Feb 21, 2012)

@MarcusTaz "Will the 7850 be so much better then the 6950??"

I went through reviews comparing 68xx with 77xx cards and the results shows that 77xx = 68xx at worse while 77xx>68xx in many occasions. Note that 77xx only has 640core while the 68xx had at least 960cores.

With that knowledge, I guess the 78xx > 69xx especially when the driver matures. Moreover, I am sure ATI will have much better power envelope. 

When it comes to power consumption, I'm not too concern about how much electricity it will cost me since electricity is mostly quite cheap anyway. I'm most concern about cooling. As a rule of thumb, it is always better to build a system with lesser power envelope. that way, you can overclock better, more flexibility managing heat, and the system will always be quieter.


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## zomg (Feb 21, 2012)

still waiting for tdp info... I want Pitcairn powered on single 6-pin, be it 7850 (Pro) or 7790 (LE)


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## N3M3515 (Feb 21, 2012)

jamsbong said:


> @MarcusTaz "Will the 7850 be so much better then the 6950??"
> 
> I went through reviews comparing 68xx with 77xx cards and the results shows that 77xx = 68xx at worse while 77xx>68xx in many occasions. Note that 77xx only has 640core while the 68xx had at least 960cores.
> 
> ...



May i ask where did you saw those results?, because everywhere including this site, the 7770 is equal or worst than the HD6850 which is the lesser performer of the 68xx series.
So going by that logic, the 7870 will be most likely equal in performance to the HD6950 2GB.

Although, those 1408 shaders and the 950Mhz core clock should put it near or equal to HD6970 performance imho.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Feb 21, 2012)

7870 will be slightly faster then a 6970 depending on the game, aka ROP limited or not, AA performance may suffer

7850 should be  somewhere between 6870 and 6950 again depending on benchmark etc eitherway dosent matter all that much we will know for sure soon enough


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## MarcusTaz (Feb 21, 2012)

I guess we will all have to wait and see.


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## JrRacinFan (Feb 21, 2012)

What all of you are seeing is "Hey look this is a rehash at same price/perf". I am seeing it as "Hey these aren't bad power consumption is drawn in nearly half". Even the 7770's look quite good, but for myself I would have to go 7950 for a bump in performance. Time to just wait it out on my end.


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## NdMk2o1o (Feb 21, 2012)

JrRacinFan said:


> What all of you are seeing is "Hey look this is a rehash at same price/perf". I am seeing it as "Hey these aren't bad power consumption is drawn in nearly half". Even the 7770's look quite good, but for myself I would have to go 7950 for a bump in performance. Time to just wait it out on my end.



I am almost in the same boat and if I want any upgrade in performance I am going to have to pay £400 for a card that will give me a 30% boost, will be waiting for GF7 and AMD8 series I think, even then, what am I going to get for my money when I usually drop £200 on a card? possibly equally or slightly more perf than my 570 as the mid range is £200 now and the high end is too damn high


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## jamsbong (Feb 21, 2012)

N3M3515 said:


> May i ask where did you saw those results?, because everywhere including this site, the 7770 is equal or worst than the HD6850 which is the lesser performer of the 68xx series.
> So going by that logic, the 7870 will be most likely equal in performance to the HD6950 2GB.
> 
> Although, those 1408 shaders and the 950Mhz core clock should put it near or equal to HD6970 performance imho.



Oh sorry, I should have explain a bit better. The reason I said 77xx > 68xx (and 6790) is because 7770 only has 640 cores, where as 68xx has over 800-1120 cores. 

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7770/26.html

The performance summary shows that 6790 < 7770 < 6850. That means 640GCN approx. = 800-960VLIW cores. 

7850 has 1280cores while 6950 1408cores, so it means that 7850 can easily be >= 6950. Depending on how well the supporting architecture in feeding these GCN cores, the 7850 theoretically is always gonna be faster than 6950 (I think).

I also reckon that as driver matures, the 79xx series will gain quite a bit in performance. In other words, ATI is sand banging their performance awaiting for Kepler.

Please don't take my speculations as facts, ok? It will only be accurate if the 78xx specs are correct.


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## jamsbong (Feb 21, 2012)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> 7870 will be slightly faster then a 6970 depending on the game, aka ROP limited or not, AA performance may suffer
> 
> 7850 should be  somewhere between 6870 and 6950 again depending on benchmark etc eitherway dosent matter all that much we will know for sure soon enough



yes, you're right. the 24ROP of 78xx is probably the biggest weak link against the 32ROP of 69xx.
That means what I said before is not accurate.78xx may be just equal to 69xx because of the ROPs.


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## N3M3515 (Feb 22, 2012)

jamsbong said:


> Oh sorry, I should have explain a bit better. The reason I said 77xx > 68xx (and 6790) is because 7770 only has 640 cores, where as 68xx has over 800-1120 cores.
> 
> http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7770/26.html
> 
> ...



Indeed, this CGN architecture is much more efficient than vliw4 and 5, they should have put like 40% more shaders in all the 7xxx series , i mean since they are very strong at perf/watt


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## ViperXTR (Feb 22, 2012)

regarding GCN vs VLIW5, posted from other thread:



> GCN vs. VLIW5 performance improvements HD 5770 (VLIW5) vs HD 7770 (GCN)
> 
> ht4u.net made a pretty awesome comparison.
> 
> ...



http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?279169-GCN-vs.-VLIW5-performance-improvements

http://ht4u.net/reviews/2012/amd_radeon_hd_7700_test/index4.php


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## xenocide (Feb 22, 2012)

jamsbong said:


> Oh sorry, I should have explain a bit better. The reason I said 77xx > 68xx (and 6790) is because 7770 only has 640 cores, where as 68xx has over 800-1120 cores.
> 
> http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7770/26.html
> 
> ...



The 6850 has 25% more Shader Units than the 7770.  By comparison the 6950 has 10% more Shader Units than the 7850.  It also has 8 less ROPs which I honestly don't know will affect performance, but it's fairly likely that the HD7850 will fall right between the 6950 and 6970.


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## jamsbong (Feb 22, 2012)

N3M3515 said:


> Indeed, this CGN architecture is much more efficient than vliw4 and 5, they should have put like 40% more shaders in all the 7xxx series , i mean since they are very strong at perf/watt



Agree, The only group with increase cores are the 79xx cards and they cost so much money. Most of us have decent cards nowadays, unless game dev push the GPU boundary, there is very little incentives for upgrades.


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