AMD is completing the next generation DirectX 11 graphics cards as we type this. The graphics circuit architecture dubbed Southern Islands is expected to launch as Radeon HD 6000 and according to the manufacturer the cards will be available in November.
AMD has not revealed any further details, other than that the second generation DirectX 11 architecture will launch in fourth quarter, but according to sources to DigiTimes the launch date is set to October, while sales will start for real the month after, which implies a late October launch.
Southern Islands will most likely be more of a evolution of AMD’s graphics card segment and the top priority is to keep NVIDIA behind until the 28nm Northern Islands architecture arrives.
Southern Islands will, just like Evergreen (Radeon HD 5000), be made with TSMC’s 40nm technology but AMD is expect to make the chips more efficient for both better performance and lower power consumption. Exactly how well it has done we will know in October.
AMD Radeon HD 5870 – Första DX11 grafikkortet på marknaden
Until then we can look forward to wide price cuts with AMD’s current Radeon HD 5000 family to undermine NVIDIA’s sales of the GeForce GTX/GTS 400 family. These price cuts are said to come in the very close future.
