Internationally renowned graphics card and mainboard manufacturer MSI announces today the R6870 Twin Frozr II graphics card. It is equipped with the latest 40nm AMD Radeon HD6870 GPU, IGB GDDR5 high-speed graphics memory, and the award-winning Twin Frozr II thermal solution. As a result, the operating temperature and noise of the R6870 Twin Frozr II are reduced by 19°C and 12.8dB respectively (versus the reference design). Also, the overvoltage function from the MSI-exclusive Afterburner software further enhances the OC potential of the Barts GPU, and AMD's Eyefinity Technology provides optimal multi-display 2D/3D output for gaming, productivity and entertainment. Along with the super reliable Solid CAPs which prolong product life and enhance product stability and quality, the R6870 Twin Frozr II is the best choice ever for power users looking for graphics cards with ultimate performance and low operating temperature.

Club 3D B.V. is pleased to announce the introduction of the next generation video card based on the Bart XT chipset, AMD' second generation DirectX 11. The new Club 3D Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 Overclocked Edition video card features now the AMD HD3D technology which allows you to play your favorite games in full stereo 3D with a single video card (up to 3 monitors), and enjoy with the new EyeSpeed technology to watch the latest Blu-ray movies in 3D.

Do things faster with AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing (APP) technology on the most demanding applications and take advantage of the Dolby True HD support for a theatre-quality experience. Now is available to you with 940 Mhz GPU Clock, 4400 Mhz GDDR5 and 1120 Stream Processors.

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, today announces its PCS+ series expansion to the HD6870 product lineup. As part of the award-winning PCS series, the latest PCS+ HD6870 is enhanced with factory overclocked settings and PowerColor's outstanding custom cooling solution. The PCS+ HD6870 is sure to deliver immersive gaming performance to hard core gamers.

The PCS+ HD6870 clocks in at 940MHz core speed, while memory clocks in at 1100MHz; with the most advanced GDDR5 onboard memory, it easily enhances data transmission rates up to 4.4Gbps and boosts up the gaming performance, ready to tackle all the most demanding game titles.

Prepare for a wave of custom-design AMD Radeon HD 6870 graphics cards. MSI joins the party with its new R6870 Twin Frozr II graphics card that uses the company's tried and tested Twin Frozr II GPU heatsink assembly on top of AMD reference design PCB. The cooler is advertised to keep the GPU up to 19 °C cooler, and 12.8 dB quieter compared to the AMD reference design cooler. It makes use of a large aluminum fin array to which heat is conveyed by 8 mm thick heat pipes. Ventilation is care of two 90 mm fans. MSI didn't specify if this card is factory-overclocked, but there's a good chance it is. Expect MSI's card to be launched in the days to come.

AMD released the fifth hotfix update for Catalyst 10.10 WHQL. Catalyst 10.10e, like Catalyst 10.10c Hotfix, packs a number of game-specific performance improvements, and extends MLAA (morphological anti-aliasing) support introduced by Catalyst 10.10d Hotfix, to all Radeon HD 5000 series GPUs. The new Catalyst AI controls in control center are extended to Radeon HD 5000 GPUs, these were previously available only to users of Radeon HD 6800 series. Support for new stereoscopic 3D capable hardware was also added.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 10.10e Hotfix Update

A detailed list of changes follows.

Back at its launch, AMD didn't allow its board partners to release custom-design Radeon HD 6870 graphics cards right away, though such a restriction wasn't in place for the HD 6850. They were, however, allowed to come up with factory-overclocked models, that stick to the AMD reference design. That restriction could soon be lifted, with one of the first pictures of a completely non-reference design HD 6870 graphics card, the PowerColor HD 6870 PCS+, smiling for cameras.

The Professional Cooling System Plus (PCS+) from PowerColor makes use of a high-grade cooler that facilitates better overclocking, and runs quieter compared to the reference design cooler. It consists of a racy-looking shroud under which there's a large GPU heatsink, which is cooled by a 90 mm fan. The PCB also looks to be non-reference design. The card is also overclocked out of the box, 940/4400 MHz (core/memory, GDDR5 effective), vs. reference speeds of 900/4200 MHz. The Radeon HD 6870 is based on the 40 nm "Barts" silicon, it packs 1120 stream processors, and connects to 1 GB of memory over a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. The PowerColor HD 6870 PCS+ is expected to release towards the end of this month.

Axle took its own sweet time coming up with a Radeon HD 6800 series graphics card lineup, the company released its HD 6870, which sticks to AMD reference design, like every other HD 6870 out there, at the moment. Based on the second-generation DirectX 11 compliant GPU architecture by AMD, the HD 6870 features 1120 stream processors, and makes use of 1 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface. Display connectivity include two each of DVI, mini-DisplayPort, and one HDMI. Power is drawn in from two 6-pin connectors. Axle's HD 6870 also uses AMD-reference clock speeds of 900/1050 MHz, and is expected to be priced like almost every other card in its league, around $240.

AMD gave out the latest hotfix driver update to its recently published Catalyst 10.10 WHQL, which is a whole lot more than being just a hotfix, this time. A hotfix update is usually given out by AMD if it misses out on addressing a couple of important issues with a recently published Catalyst WHQL driver update. Catalyst 10.10c Hotfix adds early OpenGL 4.1 support, and surprisingly adds multiple game-specific performance improvements (unusual for a Hotfix).

DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 10.10c Hotfix
Details are as follows:

MSI announced its Radeon HD 6800 series graphics cards, the HD 6870 based R6870-2PM2D1GD5, and the HD 6850 based R6850-PM2D1GD5. While the HD 6870 card sticks to AMD reference design both with PCB and cooling assembly, the HD 6850 uses AMD reference design PCB, with MSI's in-house cooler design, which makes use of a slightly larger GPU fan-heatsink, and a sporty-looking cooler shroud. Both cards also stick to reference clock speeds.

While the Radeon HD 6870 has 1120 stream processors, and clock speeds of 900 MHz core with 1050 MHz (4200 MHz effective) memory; the HD 6850 has 960 stream processors, 775 MHz core, 1000 MHz (4000 MHz effective) memory. The prices are expected to be largely standard, too. Around $250 for the HD 6870, and around $180 for the HD 6850.

Industry leader XFX has added a new dimension to gaming with its XFX AMD Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850 graphics cards. This latest series of AMD Radeon graphics cards is AMD's first introduction of a 3-D gaming and multi-media solution for desktop computers, plus one of the first HDMI 1.4a and DisplayPort 1.2 solutions for Stereoscopic 3-D on the market.

This advance into Stereoscopic 3-D ushers in a new era of gaming that takes it to the next level. With up to 120 Hz active shutter technology, the quality of 3-D achievable with the AMD Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850 is unprecedented in comparison to previous 3-D solutions created by other manufacturers. The AMD 3-D experience is truly immersive and seamless.

Hightech Information System (HIS) Limited is proud to unleash the revolutionary new HIS RadeonTMHD 6850 & 6870 graphics cards. Loaded with HD3D stereoscopic technology and three main pillars- Eyefinity, EyeDefinition and EyeSpeed, the new HIS Radeon HD 6850 & 6870 bring an incredible experience of application performance and flawless high-resolution imagery for fully immersive gameplay.

Whether it's enthusiastic gamers hungry for the latest and coolest technology to win virtually at every game, or PC users who want a fast system for their multi-tasking, the new HIS RadeonTM HD 6850 & 6870 are without a doubt the best solution around. The HIS RadeonTM HD 6850 & 6870 not only offer incredible HD gaming performance on all the latest game and DirectX 11 support, but also makes multi-tasking easier with features like Eyefinity technology. So get ready as we bring our all-in-one technology - HD3D, Eyefinity, EyeDefinition and EyeSpeed- right into your home.

Tomorrow, AMD will release its much talked about next-generation Radeon HD 6800 series graphics cards, to reinvigorate the company's competitiveness in a price-segment both it and NVIDIA regard as "the gamer's sweet-spot" price segment, which spans between $189 and $249, offering performance levels very close to enthusiast-grade products. To put it in perspective, you should be able to play any DirectX 11 game at 1920 x 1080 (full-HD) resolution with medium-to-high level of detail. Currently, NVIDIA holds the upper hand in this segment with its GTX 460-768 MB and GTX 460-1 GB, which is exactly what Radeon HD 6850 and Radeon HD 6870 seem to be after, with the HD 6870 also holding the potential to disturb higher-end SKUs that are currently priced around the $299 mark.

With no new SKU for this segment in sight, NVIDIA's immediate reaction is reportedly that of introducing "fairly big" price-cuts on the GeForce GTX 460 duo, the company also plans to cut prices of the high-end GeForce GTX 470. To what extant exactly these price cuts would go is not known, but they will be put into effect either today, or tomorrow. Meanwhile, sources close to AMD told us that in response to this development, the red-team will fine-tune the final pricing of the Radeon HD 6800 series, to step up pressure on the competition. We expect as much as $20 to be cut on the currently expected prices of the Radeon HD 6800 series pair.Update (10/21; 20:50 IST): NVIDIA sent us a circular about revised pricing of certain GeForce products. Details follow.

Here are the press-shots given to us by AMD, of the Radeon HD 6000 series graphics cards, in their reference design. The Radeon HD 6870 was pictured from one angle much earlier, but this new deck of pictures show you the card from other angles. There is also the first set of pictures of the Radeon HD 6850 with its premium blower-type cooler. Partners can opt for this design, or choose a more cost-effective cooler design which isn't much more than a fan-heatsink over the GPU, probably heatsinks over the memory/VRM, and an egg-shaped cooler shroud. Past history has shown that when presented with two reference design cooler options, most AIB partners have chosen the cheaper one, for obvious reasons.

The styling looks a little carried forward from the HD 5000 series (black and red), only this time, the streaks of red-lines are on the top and rear-end of the card, not its obverse side (which now has a flame sticker). The sticker design around the fan intake is suggestive of an "eye", keeping up with the theme for this series and a trio of new "Eye" features the Radeon HD 6000 series will carry, one of them being next-generation Eyefinity. The Radeon HD 6800 draws power from two 6-pin power inputs, while the HD 6850 makes do with just one. Another important feature-change evident from these pictures is that the 6800 lacks support for 3-way and 4-way CrossFireX, there's only one CFI finger.

Sapphire is ready to launch its Radeon HD 6800 series products. As AMD's one of front-line partners, why wouldn't it be? The company will kick off its lineup with a Radeon HD 6870 model that sticks to the AMD reference design, and a Radeon HD 6850 based on an in-house design, probably marketed with the company's popular "Toxic" or "Vapor-X" brands. The Radeon HD 6870 card is compliant with the reference design, and uses reference clock speeds of 900/1050(4200) MHz (core/memory(effective memory)). It features DirectX 11 support, 1120 enhanced stream processors, 1 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface, and display connectivity that includes two DVI, two mini-DP 1.2, and one HDMI 1.4a. 2-way CrossFire is supported.

The Radeon HD 6850 card, on the other hand, sports an in-house design with both the PCB and the cooler. The PCB is colored in Sapphire's favourite shade of blue. The cooler looks quite muscular with a heatsink (probably making use of vapor-chamber technology) over the GPU, a 90 mm fan, and 8 mm heat pipes conveying heat to additional aluminum fin arrays. This card also reportedly sticks to reference clock speeds of 775/1000(4000) MHz, and features 960 stream processors, and 1 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide interface. Display connectivity on this card is more akin to what we're used to seeing on the HD 5800 series: two DVI, one standard-size DisplayPort 1.2, and one HDMI 1.4a. Expect both these cards to be out on the 22nd. A non-reference HD 6870 later down the line from Sapphire can't be ruled out.

An pair of early listings by a Dutch online store indicates what prices of some Radeon HD 6800 series products could look like, in that part of the world. The Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 (part number 11180-00-20R), is listed at €158.82 without taxes (€189 with it); and Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 (part number 21179-00-40R) at €214.29 w/o taxes (€255 with it). We conservatively estimate the USD pricing to look like $199 for the HD 6850, and $249 for the HD 6870, on the basis of this listing.

The fine folks at IT168 revealed the first pictures of the Radeon HD 6870 PCB with its cooler completely off, and in its production livery (black). Also let out is the first [clear] picture of the GPU itself. The PCB was first pictured in its nascent qualification sample form, with a development GPU cooler on. The final version of the PCB sticks to its qualification sample for the most part, it has VRM components positioned forwards, trailed by the GPU and its memory. The card makes use of a 4+1+1 phase VRM. All eight memory chips are on the obverse side, each with its own 32-bit wide path, since there's a 256-bit memory interface.

The GPU package is of the same dimensions as the Cypress package, albeit a smaller die. We're getting to hear that Barts is pin-compatible with Cypress (meaning that a Barts GPU can be placed onto a Cypress PCB, given the appropriate BIOS, and it will work), however, no AIB is likely to reuse Cypress PCBs other than for Eyefinity6 designs, because while Barts can make do with a 6-layer PCB, close to every existing Cypress PCB is an 8-layer one, and that Cypress PCBs lack the second mini-DP connector. The die is placed diagonally on the package (à la Cypress and R600), it is rectangular, while the Cypress die is more or less square. ChipHell.com contributor musicinlove did a nice size measurement and comparison. Finally, the AMD "arrow" logo is etched onto the die, it's curtains down for ATI.

XFX is ready with the first AIB-branded Radeon HD 6000 series graphics card to be caught on camera. Its Radeon HD 6870 graphics card bears a racy-looking AMD reference-design blower-type cooling solution, with its own company sticker. The company has opted for the AMD-branded Radeon logo. It draws power from two 6-pin power connectors, has no backplate on the PCB's reverse side, and sports a custom-design rear-panel on which the XFX logo is etched on the exhaust. Display connectors include two DVI, an HDMI, and two mini-DisplayPort. Radeon HD 6870 is intended to be a successor to the Radeon HD 5700 series, a performance segment product targeting a price sweet-spot. Radeon HD 5800 series successors are Radeon HD 6900 series.

Earlier today, we were treated to the first picture of the Radeon HD 6870, a new and upcoming performance graphics card from AMD. It was also learned that the HD 6870 is based on a new GPU codenamed "Barts", which is intended to be a successor to the previous-generation "Juniper" GPU, which was at the center of the Radeon HD 5700 desktop and Mobility HD 5800 series. That left some uncertainty as to what GPU was going to drive the sub-$199 HD 6700 series. AMD may have found an answer, rebranding.

AMD seems to have been on the crossroads of which naming scheme to adopt. The first scheme based on conventional logic tells users that Barts-based SKUs should sit in the HD 6700 series, and Cayman-based single-GPU SKUs in the HD 6800; while the second scheme promotes Barts to the HD 6800 series, and Cayman to the HD 6900 series, pushing the low-volume, high-end Antilles (dual-Cayman) graphics card to the HD 6990 SKU. Evidently, AMD chose the newer, second scheme. The only rationale that makes sense is that the x800 series seems to be very popular, and if Barts, with its radically redesigned SIMD components can perform on par or better than the HD 5800 series SKUs, that's enough to justify its upwards push.

Here it is, the AMD Radeon HD 6870, all dressed up to go to work. There has been quite some speculation surrounding the naming scheme AMD is going to adopt with the HD 6000 series, but fresh information suggestively lays some of that to rest. Firstly, Radeon HD 6800 series is built around the "Barts" GPU, not "Cayman". Barts is a new performance GPU, though isn't the highest-end single GPU from AMD (which is reserved for Cayman). Barts "XT" is Radeon HD 6870, and Barts "Pro" is HD 6850. Pictured below is the HD 6870. At a purely subjective glance, the HD 6870 reference design card seems to be as long as the HD 5850 reference.

The new Radeon logo has been Photoshopped on to the fan, so the products in market will definitely do away with the older ATI logo. The rear panel resembles that of the Radeon HD 5800 series, except that the exhaust grille seems slightly wider, there are two DVI-I connectors, one standard HDMI, and two mini DisplayPort connectors for a change. The connector output sharing scheme isn't known right now, it could be 3 or 4 head Eyefinity, or all-out 5 head Eyefinity, a yet to be detailed "Eyespeed" feature is mentioned. We will definitely know more about this card in the weeks to come.

Even as NVIDIA is taking its own sweet time to complete building its lineup of DirectX 11 compliant GPUs to target all market segments, AMD, which got a 6 months' headstart into releasing its lineup, which ended up targeting all market segments in a span of 5 months, is readying the Radeon HD 6000 series for launch well within this year. Just as the Radeon HD 5000 series GPU family was codenamed Evergreen with its members codenamed after evergreen trees (such as Cypress, Juniper, Redwood, Cedar), the Radeon HD 6000 is codenamed "Southern Islands", with its members codenamed after islands in the Caribbean (not islands in the Mediterranean).

"Bart" (after Saint Barthélemy island) is the codename for the performance/upper-mid segment GPU, a successor to the "Juniper" Radeon HD 5700 series. "Cayman" (after Cayman Islands) is the enthusiast GPU, successor to Cypress, and will go into making SKUs that succeed the Radeon HD 5800 series. Finally, the king of the hill is codenamed "Antilles" (after Antilles Islands), it is the dual-GPU SKU that makes use of two Cayman GPUs, successor to the Radeon HD 5970 "Hemlock". AMD partners will be in a position to sell graphics cards based on these by November 2010. The Radeon HD 6970 "Antilles" should be out by December 2010. The lower-half of the family will likely release next year.