SAPPHIRE Technology has just added a 2 GB model to the recently introduced HD 7790 series of graphics cards. Like the other members of the series, the SAPPHIRE HD 7790 2 GB OC is based on the latest Bonaire chipset featuring the highly acclaimed graphics GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture from AMD and sets a new standard for performance in mainstream graphics.

The SAPPHIRE HD 7790 2 GB OC Edition has 2 GB of the latest DDR5 memory and is factory overclocked, with core clocks of 1050 MHz and memory clocks of 1600 MHz (6.4 GT/s effective), to deliver new levels of performance in its price segment. Performance is optimized with the latest version of AMD's PowerTune technology.

To tackle upcoming generations of Ultrabooks and NUC that lack space for discrete graphics, yet having to keep up with the demands of higher display resolutions (i.e. proliferation of 3840 x 2160), Intel is designing special variants of its Core "Haswell" processors that feature large integrated graphics cores bolstered by fourth-level eDRAM caches on-package. Pictured below, is one such contraption.

The graphics-enhanced Core "Haswell" processor is an MCM (multi-chip module) of two dies, the larger one is the actual "Haswell" processor complex with cores, uncore, and the larger GT3 integrated graphics core. While the standard Haswell silicon with GT1 and GT2 integrated GPU options, physically features up to 20 execution units (EUs), the large GT3 silicon features double that, at 40 EUs.

AMD is apparently working on its second CPU for extreme overclocking, since the nearly four-year old Phenom II Black Edition TWKR 42. Being referred to as "Centurion FX," the chip is said to be based on the eight-core FX "Vishera" silicon, featuring an unlocked multiplier, but born out of some extremely careful chip selection by AMD. How careful you ask? For starters, these chips should be capable of running at 5.00 GHz with just air-cooling, with potential for more, on better cooling.

If the TWKR 42 is anything to go by, Centurion FX should be made specifically for extreme overclockers looking for clock-speed and multi-core performance records, the chip should come with rather low clock speed, and unlocked multiplers, so overclockers could tweak it themselves. The chips should cost four times the average FX-8350, nearing $800, which is "affordable," considering the four-figure prices some of the golden Core i7 K-series Ivy Bridge chips command on online marketplaces.

AMD made an addition to its "Never Settle Reloaded" game bundle. Everyone who has already redeemed "Never Settle Reloaded" for their AMD Radeon products, will receive keys to activate Ubisoft's newest FPS title, FarCry 3: Blood Dragon, by e-mail. Those with unused coupons will automatically receive the game, when the coupons are redeemed. They keys will be given out by May 1st.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is a standalone game, and an expansion pack in-principle to Far Cry 3. You don't need to own the original to play Blood Dragon. It gives you a single-player campaign that's completely set apart from the Far Cry universe, and features a retro-futuristic, exploitative B-movie setting, which is interesting and never tried out by a game studio in the last decade. A little earlier this month, AMD vice-president Roy Taylor announced that Battlefield 4 will be part of the company's next "Never Settle" bundle.

PowerColor introduced its third graphics card based on AMD's latest Radeon HD 7790 mainstream GPU, the factory-overclocked HD 7790 OC V2 (model: AX7790 1GBD5-DHV2/OC). The card uses a single-fan cooler design that's unlike either of the two already launched models. Its cooler uses a compact aluminum fin stack, to which heat is fed by a single 8 mm-thick copper heat pipe; which is ventilated by a single 70 mm fan.

PowerColor appears to have used an AMD-reference design PCB that's red-colored, on the new OC V2 variant. It features factory-overclocked speed of 1030 MHz core, which puts it between AMD reference speed of 1000 MHz, and the 1075 MHz of PowerColor's own TurboDuo implementation. The OC V2 could be PowerColor's attept to fix the rather bland looks of the similarly clocked AX7790 1GBD5-DHV2/OC. The company didn't reveal pricing or availability.

MSI announced a pair of Radeon HD 7970 graphics cards which feature PowerTune with Boost, yet aren't based on the HD 7970 GHz Edition chip. The company labeled these cards simply "HD 7970 Boost Edition." Among the cards MSI unveiled are a base-model (R7970 TF 3GD5 BE), and a factory-overclocked one (R7970 TF 3GD5 BE/OC). The base model features a GPU clock speed of 925 MHz, PowerTune Boost clock speed of 975 MHz, and memory speed of 5.50 GHz. The OC variant, on the other hand, features a GPU clock speed of 1000 MHz, Boost clock of 1050 MHz, and memory clock of the same 5.50 GHz. Hence neither conform to AMD's HD 7970 GHz Edition specs.

Both cards are based on custom designed PCBs and cooling solutions, by MSI. Its trusty Twin Frozr III cooling solution, which uses a pair of 80 mm "Propeller Blade" (high sweep) fans to ventilate a dense heatpipe-fed aluminum fin stack; is in charge of cooling the GPU, while a heatspreader looks after the memory and VRM. TDP of both cards is rated at 253W, both cards draw power from a combination of 8-pin and 6-pin PCIe power connectors. Display outputs on both cards include a dual-link DVI, an HDMI 1.4a, and two mini-DisplayPort 1.2 connectors. MSI did not reveal pricing.

An anonymous tipster left an interesting picture on our doorsteps. It shows a pair of Radeon HD 7990 "Malta" reference-design graphics cards chugging along inside an enthusiast PC. AMD surprised us late last month, when it showed off a reference-design Radeon HD 7990 dual-GPU graphics card, at the Game Developers' Conference (GDC) event. The cards in this new picture appear to be identical to the one AMD showed. The "Radeon" embossing appears pretty clear on both cards, so one can't mistake them for FirePro S10000.

Bearing a new internal codename "Malta," compared to last year's various dual-HD 7970 contraptions that were codenamed "New Zealand," the new Radeon HD 7990 is being designed to be far more energy efficient, and quiet. While the various "New Zealand" cards often featured three 8-pin PCIe power connectors and triple-slot cooling solutions, "Malta" makes do with just two 8-pin power connectors, and a dual-slot cooler. We've been talking to a lot of reliable sources in the industry, and nobody has any clue about a tentative launch date.

ACROSSER launches a new All-in-One Gaming Board, the AMB-A55EG1. AMB-A55EG1 features AMD Embedded G-Series T56N 1.65GHz dual-core APU, two DDR3-1333 SO-DIMM, which provides great computing and graphic performance is suitable for casino gaming and amusement applications. It is designed to comply with the most gaming regulations including GLI, BMM, and Comma 6A. AMB-A55EG1 is specifically designed to be a cost competitive solution for the entry-level gaming market.

AMB-A55EG1 utilizes the functions of an X86 platform, 72-pin Gaming I/O interface, intrusion detection and also various security options, and a complete line of Application Programming Interfaces to create smoother gaming development.

AMD's "Never Settle" bundles may be selling the company's discrete GPU lineup, but it's not leaving its APU lineup lying down. Starting next week, and running up to the end of Q3 2013, AMD will be bundling select A8 and A10 series desktop APUs with Origin-redeemable codes for SimCity, the season's hottest strategy game. Among the eligible models are A10-5800K, A10-5700, A8-5600K, and A8-5500. The freebie bears a staggering US $60 market value, tied with processors starting at $80, leading up to $130. In its marketing slide, AMD pointed out how the Radeon HD 7000D series graphics cores of these APUs outperform similarly priced Intel Core i3 chips by over 80 percent, in the game.

Advancements in PC graphics technology could be on the verge of a slump, according to GPU major AMD. In an interview with German publication Heise.de, AMD vice president of global channel sales, stated that his company doesn't believe there will be a DirectX 12 API, at least not as far as the company can see. The timing of this statement is particularly important, as both AMD and NVIDIA are expected to unveil next-generation graphics products by the end of the year.

Neither Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, nor the rumored Windows "Blue" 8.1, could ship with a newer DirectX version. Taylor was responding to a question from Heise about next-generation GPUs and technologies they could be built around, to which he replied that normally, new DirectX versions stimulate introduction of new GPU architectures, but there won't be a DirectX 12, and so the company's next-generation GPUs will integrate other technologies. Answering another question, Taylor hinted that Battlefield 4, EA's upcoming entry to the hit online FPS multiplayer franchise, could be part of the company's next "Never Settle" bundle.

VIZIO announced today the pricing and availability of its spring 2013 line-up of Windows 8 PCs, equipped with 10-finger capacitive touch displays on every new model and supported by outstanding picture quality and rich audio. With select models now available for pre-order at VIZIO.com and on sale at MicrosoftStore.com, each Thin + Light and All-in-One model offers seamless touchscreen technology, powerful performance and premium entertainment enhancements for the ideal interactive Windows 8 experience.

Offering the top-of-the-line quad-core processors from both AMD (A10 APU) and Intel (Core i7), the VIZIO Touch PC line-up boasts optimal performance in an exquisitely designed, premium PC. Highlighted by 15.6" Full HD (starting at $1,189.99) and 14" HD+ (starting at $1,089.99) screen sizes, VIZIO's Thin + Light Touch models showcase an ultra-thin profile, multi-gesture touchscreen and increased battery capacity. A standard voltage quad-core processor enables the Thin + Light Touch to perform like a desktop, but is conveniently mobile thanks to an ultra-thin chassis.

Today at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) AMD (NYSE: AMD) unveiled its leadership strategy for the worldwide gaming market. AMD's Unified Gaming Strategy comprehensively addresses how AMD will drive the gaming market across consoles, cloud platforms, tablets and PCs. By working with the world's leading hardware and game developers, and by continuing to be a leader in the market by providing the most innovative graphics technologies, AMD is effectively positioned to drive the next revolution in gaming.

Gaming Evolved, launched three years ago at GDC, is at the core of the AMD Unified Gaming Strategy, and has been the driving force behind the revolutionary "Never Settle" gaming bundles and a major factor behind the adoption of powerful AMD engines in the latest next-generation gaming consoles. Building on this momentum, AMD today introduced AMD Radeon Sky Graphics, the cornerstone of AMD's industry-leading cloud gaming platform.

In its GDC press-briefing on Tuesday, AMD previewed the reference-design Radeon HD 7990 dual-GPU graphics card. The company dragged its feet over such a product throughout 2012, and allowed its AIB partners to launch graphics cards with their own designs. Among the two that made it to the market were a PCS+ board by TUL, sold under the PowerColor, VTX3D, and Club3D brands, and the ASUS ROG ARES II. While those cards had different company codename, "New Zealand," the new HD 7990 is being referred to internally, as "Malta."

AMD's belated move to launch the Radeon HD 7990 reference design could reiterate the company's long-haul strategy with the Radeon HD 7000 series, which could sail the company through the crucial Summer sales season, over to Q4 2013, when the company is expected to launch its next GPU generation. AMD's reference design HD 7990 enjoys an edge over current market offerings: dual-slot thickness. It uses three 90 mm fans to cool a complex heatsink cooling the two GPUs, the bridge chip, and the VRM to feed them all. AMD didn't speak much about the card, but mentioned that its triple-fan approach is paying dividends. "It's whisper quiet," commented Matt Skynner, general manager of AMD's graphics business unit.

AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced the successful closing of its transaction with 7171 Southwest Parkway Holdings, LP to sell and lease-back the company's "Lone Star Campus" located at 7171 Southwest Parkway in Austin, Texas. The transaction generated proceeds of approximately $164 million in cash, net of all fees, which will be reflected in the company's first quarter 2013 financial statements when reported on Apr. 18, 2013.

As a part of the agreement, AMD has entered into a 12-year sublease agreement with Lantana HP, Ltd. with an extension option to continue its operations on the Lone Star Campus. 7171 Southwest Parkway Holdings, LP is an affiliate entity of real estate investment company Spear Street Capital. Lantana HP, Ltd. is an affiliate entity of HPI Real Estate Services and Investments.

FinalWire announced AIDA64 v2.85, the popular system diagnostic and benchmarking suite is updated with 64-bit benchmarks optimized for AMD's "Richland" APUs, improved support for "Kaveri," "Kabini," and "Temash" APUs; and Intel "Haswell" and "Valleyview" CPUs; early support for AMD "Beema" APU, Intel "Avoton" SoC, "Crystalwell," "Ivy Bridge-E," and "Haswell-E" CPU, "Haswell-ULT" SoC; preliminary support for DDR4 and GDDR5 system memory types; and GPU support for AMD Radeon HD 8000 series and NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan.DOWNLOAD: FinalWire AIDA64 v2.85 Installer (EXE), Archive (ZIP)

Club 3D, a worldwide supplier of high performance components to the PC gaming hardware market , presents its new '13Series today with the launch of the Radeon HD 7790 card. Answering to a growing demand from different markets and customers who do integrating projects, Club 3D launches the '13Series as a white label in addition to our existing product range.

Selected chipsets will be offered without any bundle in a simple white box. Club 3D are quick to respond to current developments and where price becomes an increasingly important factor we have the solution for those who need nothing more than the graphics card. Club 3D will keep focusing on our Black label 'PokerSeries' cards by adding exciting new products and bundles in 2013. The White label 13 Series will be supported by an aggressive price tag only.

HIS unveiled its first graphics card based on the brand new Radeon HD 7790 GPU, which are combines a blue AMD reference design PCB and HIS' in-house iCooler cooling solution. The card sticks to AMD reference clock speeds of 1000 MHz core and 6000 MHz memory. The iCooler is a copper core aluminum fan-heatsink, similar in design to the one XFX is using in its HD 7790 Ghost. Based on the 28 nm "Bonaire" silicon, the Radeon HD 7790 packs 896 stream processors, dual tessellation units, 56 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and a 128-bit GDDR5 memory interface holding 1 GB of memory; and a brand new dynamic-clock technology. The HIS HD 7790 iCooler is priced at US $149.99.

XFX kicked off its Radeon HD 7790 lineup with the HD 7790 Ghost. Featuring AMD reference clock speeds of 1000 MHz core and 6000 MHz memory, the card uses an AMD reference design PCB, with a custom-design fan-heatsink akin to Intel CPU coolers. Since the chip has a TDP of just 85W, the cooler looks sufficient. A slab of aluminum serves as shroud for the heatsink. Based on the 28 nm "Bonaire" silicon, the Radeon HD 7790 packs 896 stream processors, dual tessellation units, 56 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and a 128-bit GDDR5 memory interface holding 1 GB of memory; and a brand new dynamic-clock technology. The card is priced at US $149.99.

A renowned brand of graphics card maker - VTX3D, presents the advanced GCN design HD7790 X Edition graphic card. Being a very cost effective segment, VTX3D HD7790 X Edition supports well-tuned Direct 11.1, which offering perfect opportunities to ready your rig for the hottest games of the year.

The new VTX3D HD7790 X Edition is a new member of HD7700 series, offering a best choose for those mainstream users asking for performance, or enthusiastic with budget. Operating at 1030MHz boost clock, and 6.0Gbps memory clock, the HD7790 X Edition delivers the best performance in its class by using AMD PowerTune with boost, easily accelerate the PC to boost up the performance in your favorite games.

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphic cards, today introduces the latest HD7790 series: the PowerColor TurboDuo HD7790 OC and HD7790 OC version. The latest HD7790 series is introduced with advanced power saving controller, SVI2 Green Power Manage Technology. By taking advantage of it, the PowerColor HD7790 series can dynamically adjust voltage power along with GPU loading status, enabled the best power efficiency and graphics performance without any compromise.

The PowerColor TurboDuo HD7790 OC clocks at 7.5% overclocking speed on boost engine, packed with dual-fan cooling and S-shape heat pipe direct touch technology, easily took away the heat from GPU. Furthermore, it takes advantage of innovative Aerodynamics Kit design; through the dual cooling vents onboard, the air flow can be enhanced efficiently and dissipated the heat from the TurboDuo cooling solution to deliver the best cooling effect.

Sapphire rolled out its Radeon HD 7790 lineup with two models, both of which feature non-reference designs. The Sapphire Radeon HD 7790 (base model) features a single-fan aluminum fin-stack cooler, which utilizes a pair of 8 mm-thick copper heat pipes, AMD-reference clock speeds of 1000 MHz core, 6000 MHz memory; and a price of $149.99; while the premium Radeon HD 7790 Dual-X features a more meaty dual-fan cooling solution that uses a pair of 80 mm fans to ventilate an aluminum fin-stack, factory-overclocked speeds of 1075 MHz core, and 6400 MHz memory. Based on the 28 nm "Bonaire" silicon, the Radeon HD 7790 packs 896 stream processors, dual tessellation units, 56 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and a 128-bit GDDR5 memory interface holding 1 GB of memory; and a brand new dynamic-clock technology. The base model is priced at $149.99, the Dual-X OC at $159.99.

AMD announced its Radeon HD 7790 mid-range graphics card, with which the company plans to fill a gap in its product-stack, between the Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition, and the Radeon HD 7850. Based on the brand new 28 nm "Bonaire" silicon, the HD 7790 features 896 stream processors based on the Graphics CoreNext architecture, dual-independent tessellation units, 56 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and a 128-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, holding 1 GB of memory. The core is clocked at 1.00 GHz, and memory at 6.00 GHz, churning out a memory bandwidth of 96 GB/s.

With the HD 7790, AMD is introducing an updated dynamic clock adjustment technology, which works to give games more access to the set 1.00 GHz core clock speed, which working to reduce power draw further. The technology should make the current and future AMD Radeon chips as energy-efficient as NVIDIA's. The card draws power from a single 6-pin power connector, its TDP is rated at 85W. Display outputs should typically include one or two DVI connectors, and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort. AMD is targeting a price-point of $149.99, its add-in board partners are free to launch custom-design products from day one.

In an effort to clear inventories of its current-generation A-series "Trinity" desktop APUs, creating room for next-generation "Richland," AMD is preparing a string of price-cuts for April. APUs including (but probably not limited to) A8-5600K, and A4-4000 series could be part of these price cuts.

In addition to its APUs, AMD is also planning early price-cuts of some of its socket AM3+ CPUs, such as the FX-8320, FX-6300, and FX-4300, which is probably preemptive to Intel's June launch of Core "Haswell" desktop processors. AMD recently launched the mobile variants of its A-series "Richland" APUs, its desktop variants could be launched some time in Q2 2013, beginning with high-performance parts such as the A10-6800K and A8-6600K.

A presentation slide, allegedly by AMD, leaked by a Japanese distributor confirmed specifications of AMD's upcoming Radeon HD 7790 graphics card. According to the slide, the HD 7790 is indeed based on a brand new silicon, with a transistor count of 2.08 billion. Compare that, to the 1.5 billion TC of "Cape Verde," and 2.80 billion of "Pitcairn." The silicon is built on the 28 nanometer silicon fab process.

The clock speed mentioned in the slide could be core, which is clocked at 1.00 GHz. Next up is the stream processor count, which stands at 896. The HD 7790 is mentioned to feature a primitive rate of 2 prim/clk, suggesting that its component hierarchy is more similar to "Tahiti" than "Cape Verde," which could mean double the tessellation processing power. All said and done, the HD 7790 belts out 1.79 TFLOPs of floating-point performance. The source goes on to mention in its text that the card features a 128-bit wide memory interface, memory clock speed of 6.00 GHz (96 GB/s), a TDP of 85W, and a single 6-pin PCIe power connector. It is expected to launch no later than tomorrow (22/03).

Just ahead of a skirmish between AMD and NVIDIA in the sub-$200 market segment, which could go down later this month, TechPowerUp released GPU-Z v0.6.9, with tested support for the two contenders: AMD Radeon HD 7790, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti with GPU Boost (refresh). In addition, the new GPU-Z version gets you support for Radeon HD 8870M, GeForce GT 415, and GT 750M. For GeForce "Kepler" family GPUs, DirectX feature-set value is fixed. A number of tool-tips are added to key window elements, such as vendor logo, vBIOS extraction, render test, and screen-capture.DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z v0.6.9 | GPU-Z v0.6.9 with ASUS ROG skin

The change-log follows.