Thanks to Asian website ITOCP, we can get an idea of how fast the first ATI Radeon 3 series dual GPU graphics card will be. Benching on Intel Core 2 Duo 6600 processor at 2.4GHz and 2GB of RAM, the system managed to score 9573 marks (SM2.0: 4494, SM3.0/HDR: 4476) on Futuremark 3D Mark 2006 set to 2560x1600 resolution. The GPU Core/Memory of this card is rated at 770MHz / 2250MHz (2x512MB). Lower resolution benchmark numbers are not mentioned in the original article.

The beta version of the 8.1 Catalyst driver for Windows Vista has found its way onto the internet, although very few details are available so you'll have to try it yourself to find the improvements. The driver works on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the OS and should be compatible with all Radeon 9550 and newer cards. The driver can be downloaded here.

After taking the market by storm with the launch of the HD2900XT in mid-May, GECUBE launched today this year's heavyweight graphics card - the HD3800 Series. The product that reviewers and gamers have all been waiting for is now finally here. Equipped with the latest RV670 (55nm) graphics chip from AMD, the HD3800 series marks the first time that the PCI-Express 2.0 interface has been used on a graphics card and incorporates the latest ATI CrossFireX technology. With support for DirectX 10.1, it delivers next-generation 3D graphics performance for ultimate realism. You can now enjoy both high resolution and superior image processing technology at the same time!

Graphics card manufacturer Diamond has quite conveniently leaked the specs for AMD/ATI's upcoming HD 3800 series of cards, giving the technical details of both the HD 3850 and the HD 3870. These do conflict a little with the earlier leaked specs, although they're still quite similar. According to the Diamond site, the HD 3850 will feature a core speed of 668MHz and 256MB of 256-bit GDDR3 memory at 828MHz (1656MHz DDR) and the HD 3870 will have a core speed of 775MHz and 512MB GDDR4 memory at 1.2GHz (2.4GHz DDR). Both will be manufactured using a 55nm process, and both will support DirectX 10.1 and Shader Model 4.1. Interestingly the cards are also said to feature up to four GPU support using an AMD 790FX based motherboard. The full specs are shown in the screenshots below, as Diamond has now removed the cards from its website.

When gamers heard that the original R600 had a TDP of over 200W, gamers who wanted to play at respectable resolutions and settings went out and bought new power supplies capable of handling such a load, and dealt with the noise that comes with dissipating such a high TDP. Fortunately, these problems are not going to be associated with the RV670, AMD's next high-end graphics card. The RV670XT has a TDP of 132W, and the RV670Pro boasts a modest 104W TDP. Hopefully, these lower heat yields will allow for a quieter cooling solution for these cards. AMD attributes these lower TDPs to a 55nm manufacturing process.

While we have been hearing rumors of the HD2900Pro for some time now, and AMD has just recently released the card to the public, all that press does no good if customers can't even get the card. Fortunately, American online PC part retailer Newegg thought ahead, and made sure to stock plenty of the HD2900. You can now buy three variants of the 2900Pro, from a Sapphire model with 512MB of VRAM for $265USD, to one with an impressive 1 GB of VRAM for a reasonable $330USD.