Here's the first sighting of what the reference-design AMD Radeon HD 5770 could really end up looking like. Unlike a previous set of pictures of the engineering sample showing a cooler design that resembles that of the Radeon HD 4770 (AMD reference), and Radeon HD 3870, this accelerator by Gigabyte is retail-grade, as it was pictured at a store, and carries an AIB's branding. The card design in many respects looks like a further shortened version the Radeon HD 5800 series owing to essentially the same cooler design. It retains the black PCB pictured earlier, and the connectivity cluster of two DVI, and one each of DisplayPort and HDMI. This picture follows a recent photo-shoot of the Radeon HD 5750, and its reference design, showing a simpler GPU cooler design which is loosely based on that of the Radeon HD 4770 (AIB popular reference design).

Less than a week away from launch, graphics cards based on AMD's newest ATI Radeon HD 5700 series mid-range GPUs have began to surface on European retailers, only to be retracted hours after being listed. Such acts from retailers isn't particularly new, but what it does is give away the price, and sometimes pictures and specifications. One such set of listings from German retailer Mindfactory.de, pits the price of the upper mid-range PowerColor Radeon HD 5770 at 149.99 €, including 19% applicable tax, and the mid-range PowerColor Radeon HD 5750 at 119.99 €, including 19% tax. Both cards, as listed by the retailer, feature 1 GB of GDDR5 memory. AMD is expected to unveil the Radeon HD 5700 series this October 13. With it, it plans to expand its lineup of next-generation DirectX 11 compliant graphics cards, and breach the mainstream market segment. What is also planned is to establish performance leadership over competing products at those price-points.

A Chinese tech community MyMyPC.com member pictured, and tested a Radeon HD 5750 graphics accelerator, which is intended to be AMD's flagship product in the sub $150 market segment. Unlike the Radeon HD 5770, which is pictured with a different cooler that resembles that of the Radeon HD 4770 (AMD reference), and Radeon HD 3870, this card makes do with a GPU cooler essentially similar to that of the more common Radeon HD 4770 cooler design, except for a few changes with the fan and the cooler shroud. Under the black, egg-shaped shroud is a heatsink with radially-projecting fins, in which is nested a red 80 mm fan. Everything else on the card, relies on its air-flow.

Earlier talked about as being a mere speed bump over RV740 that probably locks horns with Radeon HD 4850 or even HD 4870 512 MB in terms of performance in today's applications, Juniper, codename for AMD's newer mainstream GPU that is looking to handle things under the $200 segment, is looking stronger than thought about before on paper, according to recent publication by Anandtech. Breaking away from the previous conception of a GPU with 800 stream processors, a 128-bit GDDR5 memory, and most other vital-stats resembling its ancestor, the report suggests something that's at least 75% as powerful as Cypress.

It is said to feature 14 SIMD blocks, which going by Cypress' architecture would imply 1120 stream processors (14 x 80 SPs). The report also hints at a stronger memory sub-system to keep up. Instead of a 128-bit wide interface, it hints at 192-bit, GDDR5 at that. This part doesn't seem convincing, as earlier pictures of the card showed it to be holding four memory chips on the reverse side of the PCB, with no fuses to show memory chips that aren't sharing memory channels. Accelerators with 192-bit wide memory interface, should have 6 or 12 memory chips typically. Other numbers include 56 texture memory units (TMUs), and 24 raster operation units (ROPs), if there is a 192-bit memory interface. Two accelerators based on the GPU, Radeon HD 5770 and Radeon HD 5750 should be out around the same time Windows 7 hits retail. Both target sub-$200 price points.

Remember this backroom photoshoot by our friends at Legit Reviews, where AMD refused to let the the DirectX 11 accelerator face the camera? A photographer in China was luckier, and grabbed three pictures of the rest of the accelerator, intact. As it turns out, the card is based on AMD's next generation successor to the 40 nm RV740, codenamed "Juniper". The pictures reveal quite a bit about the card, which inherits quite some of its design from the Radeon HD 4770.

The cooler resembles the one found on Radeon HD 4770 (reference), and Radeon HD 3870, albeit opaque black. With the 40 nm GPU running presumably cool, its air vent on the rear panel is reduced in size, and makes way for an arsenal of connectivity that includes two DVI-D connectors, and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort, just as pictured earlier. The PCB is black in color, holds memory on either sides. The card draws its power from one 6-pin PCI-E power connector. Expect a lot more about this as we head toward September 10, when AMD plans to unveil its next-generation GPU technology. Juniper is part of AMD's "Evergreen" family of DirectX 11 compliant GPUs.