AMD to Ship RS780 in China First Due to Driver Issues

Although AMD has already completed the hardware for its next generation IGP chipset, RS780, the company is still waiting on drivers to support its new Hybrid CrossFireX technology. As a result the motherboards will be launched first in China on January 23, while the launch date in other countries will be set after the driver is complete. Since Hybrid CrossFireX technology is a major feature of the RS780 chipset, AMD hopes to give the technology the best introduction to the market it can. However, any significant delay in shipments could end up hurting AMD's profits and momentum. Therefore, the company has decided to adopt a strategy of selling the motherboards in certain regions first. Final Hybrid CrossFireX drivers are expected to be distributed to AMD's partners by the middle of February, with the worldwide launch of the RS780 to take place before the end of February, if everything goes by plan.