AMD "Sea Islands" and "Solar System" GPU Families Codenames Detailed

[btarunr]

There has been quite some confusion over the codenames of AMD's next generation Radeon HD 8000 series GPUs. A new article, published by 3DCenter.org sought to dispel some of that. To begin with, the "Solar System" family, whose members are named after planets in the solar system, make up AMD's Radeon HD 8000M series mobile-GPUs. Some of these parts could even be featured in contraptions such as all-in-one desktops and compact nettops, owing to space-constraints. The "Sea Islands" line of GPUs, form the center of AMD's desktop discrete GPU lineup, the Radeon HD 8000 series, which make up graphics cards you can buy in the retail channel. Parts in this lineup are named after tropical islands.

AMD's Radeon HD 8000 series introduces refinements to its Graphics CoreNext micro-architecture, marked by the press as "GCN2." Not all parts are based on GCN2, with the already-announced Radeon HD 8000M "Mars" GPU being based on older GCN micro-architecture. The codenames for both lines are listed below.

Sea Islands
As mentioned before, Sea Islands consists of parts that will make up AMD's desktop discrete GPU lineup. Parts in the lineup are codenamed after tropical islands.

• Oland: An entry-level part based on the first-generation Graphics CoreNext micro-architecture. Packs 384 stream processors, 24 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and a 128-bit wide memory interface. Could go into making Radeon HD 8500 and HD 8600 series models
• Bonaire: A mainstream part based on second-generation Graphics CoreNext, possibly succeeds "Cape Verde," could go into making cetain Radeon HD 8600 to HD 8700 series parts.
• Hainan: A performance part based on second-generation Graphics CoreNext, possibly succeeds "Pitcairn," could go into making Radeon HD 8800 series
• Curacao: A high-end part based on second-generation Graphics CoreNext, possibly succeeds "Tahiti," could go into making Radeon HD 8900 series.
• Aruba: A dual-GPU graphics card based on a pair of "Curacao" GPUs, possibly succeeds "New Zealand"

Solar System
While older lines of Radeon mobile GPUs lagged behind their desktop counterparts in adoption of micro-architectures, partly because AMD kept re-branding its lower-end silicons, with the new "Solar System" family, AMD looks to make long-overdue amends.

• Mars: Identical to "Oland," makes up entry-thru-mainstream parts
• Sun: Mainstream part based on second-generation GCN, similar in specifications to "Bonaire," goes into making Radeon HD 7700M series
• Neptune: Upper-mainstream part that's possibly similar in specifications to higher-configurations of "Bonaire," could go into making Radeon HD 7800M series
• Venus: Performance-segment part that's similar in specifications to "Hainan," high-performance Radeon HD 7900M series parts could be based around it

There is a fairly good possibility of AMD launching some of these parts in the first-half of 2013.

Source: 3DCenter.org

[Melvis]

i don't care if they call them "rat poo system" as long as there is a good jump in performance.

[radrok]

Reading news about upcoming GPUs makes me like a teenager waiting to go to prom

[james888]

The entry level: 24 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and a 128-bit
Where does this compare to the 7xxx series.

[okidna]

Aruba: A dual-GPU graphics card based on a pair of "Curacao" GPUs, possibly succeeds "New Zealand"

So, where's New Zealand, AMD?

[btarunr]

Originally Posted by okidna

So, where's New Zealand, AMD?

PowerColor, VTX3D, Club3D, and HIS have those cards.

[RejZoR]

Originally Posted by okidna

So, where's New Zealand, AMD?

It's very close to Australia...

[okidna]

Originally Posted by btarunr

PowerColor, VTX3D, Club3D, and HIS have those cards.

Ah right, so those cards are "New Zealand".

Originally Posted by RejZoR

It's very close to Australia...

[Relayer]

Originally Posted by okidna

So, where's New Zealand, AMD?

Originally Posted by RejZoR

It's very close to Australia...

Reminds me of when I met my partner, who's from NZ, and she asked me if I knew where NZ was. I gave the same answer, "It's close to Australia". She told me it was 2500K away (~1400 miles). Which is like saying Texas is close to New York. Although she did say it was too close for her liking.

[buggalugs]

Haha, NZ is closer to Eastern Australia than Perth so it is relatively close.

Its going to be interesting to see what happens with the 8 series.

[RejZoR]

Yeah well, Australia is indeed the closest biggest thing to New Zealand. All the rest is basically all the smaller islands that make up the Oceania which are all much further away and less known to most.

[lyndonguitar]

It seems like only yesterday when we still had ATI Radeon 8500 graphics, now we have AMD Radeon HD 8500

[RejZoR]

Radeon 8600 XT ? This has to be some regional model as i don't remember it at all. 8500 yes, 8600, no. Especially not with the XT marking. AMD brought XT to life with Radeon 9000 models, 9600 XT and 9800 XT specifically.

[HammerON]

I do not remember a Radeon 8600 XT either...

[lyndonguitar]

Originally Posted by RejZoR

Radeon 8600 XT ? This has to be some regional model as i don't remember it at all. 8500 yes, 8600, no. Especially not with the XT marking. AMD brought XT to life with Radeon 9000 models, 9600 XT and 9800 XT specifically.

Originally Posted by HammerON

I do not remember a Radeon 8600 XT either...

oops my mistake, I corrected it lol, My memory is bad

[3870x2]

Originally Posted by lyndonguitar

oops my mistake, I corrected it lol, My memory is bad

You have to be careful, some people will go ape-shit if you make a mistake and throw feces at you.

[tastegw]

I just wonder about the performance gains

[TheMailMan78]

As I grow older and more experienced in computers I tend not to get excited about this stuff anymore. Especially knowing most everything we get is a port from 7 year old hardware and the next generation of consoles will be a minor update to 7 year old hardware performance wise.

[Prima.Vera]

agree -^

[techtard]

Can't wait for the release date on these new cards and the new GTX lineup too. I'm starting to get the upgrade itch for a new GPU.

[jagd]

More than 10 years passed ,it was hard to find in my country .Actualy it was hard to find ati cards until ATI got performance crown with Radeon 9700 and changing business model and adding partners like sapphire ,powercolor etc.

Originally Posted by lyndonguitar

It seems like only yesterday when we still had ATI Radeon 8500 graphics, now we have AMD Radeon HD 8500

[Casecutter]

I kind of want to think the raw performance gains won't be earth shattering, but GCN2 will be more refined as to boost implementation and efficiency for the performance added. Drivers and latency will be something AMD will be focused on and will put into action on this next release. Over all a refinement that AMD lacked in the 7000, or at least once we saw how cultured the GTX670 came to be.

I think the Sea Island parts are technically and production wise are fully vetted, although with the competition today so close AMD needs to dwindle down exist stock without having to undermine the pricing struture. I think it will be March before we see any new 8000 GPU from AMD, and then I’m hoping they go with the mainstream 8850 and 8870. That would set Nvidia back on their heels with GTX660 (GK106) and GTXTi (GK104) pricing, and really cause the reassignment of those prices to drag down the GTX670.