NVIDIA's next-generation GeForce GPU based on the Fermi architecture is reportedly further delayed to March 2010, up from its originally expected time-frame of January. NVIDIA on its part maintained that Fermi-based GeForce GPUs will be released sometime in Q1 2010, and with a March launch, that would still stand true.

Fermi's development history is marked with late arrivals. The DirectX 11 compliant architecture was announced in October 2009 to counter the market-available DirectX 11 compliant ATI Radeon HD 5800 GPUs. Then in mid-November, the company released the first products based on the architecture - GPGPU accelerators under the NVIDIA Tesla HPC banner. An alleged working prototype GeForce accelerator was spotted around the same time, with word doing rounds that NVIDIA will be ready with the new GeForce GPU in early Q1, probably coinciding with the CES event. Faced with further delays, NVIDIA reportedly notified its partners that the new GPUs will be released to the marked only in March.

NVIDIA plans to launch the 40 nm Fermi-GF100 GPU which is DirectX 11 compliant and supports GDDR5 memory in March, and will launch a GF104 version. Till then, the mainstream-thru-performance segments will be left to be defended by GeForce GTS 250, GT 240, GT 220, 210, 9800 GT, against a fortified mainstream lineup by AMD consisting of ATI Radeon HD 5670/5650 (codenamed "Redwood"), and ATI Radeon HD 5450 (codenamed "Cedar"). These DirectX 11 compliant GPUs from AMD will be released in January.

With the recent spurt of non-reference design Radeon HD 5770 graphics cards, ASUS seems to be ready with its EAH5770 CuCore, where "CuCore" stands for copper (Cu) core, used in the GPU cooler. Speaking of which, the GPU cooler consists of a GPU base which has 5.8 oz (164.5 g) of copper, for better transfer of heat, to the rest of the heatsink which has radially-projecting aluminum fins. The PCB designed by ASUS seems to be slightly longer than the reference AMD PCB, yet it only makes room for one CrossFire connector, meaning its can pair with only one more card of its kind (or up to three more cards with two CrossFire connectors).

The 40 nm Juniper GPU has DirectX 11 compliance, and is powered by 800 stream processors, and connects to 1 GB of memory across a 128-bit GDDR5 memory interface. Despite the swanky cooling the card sticks to reference AMD clock speeds of 850/1200 MHz (core/memory), but comes with the ASUS VoltageTweak feature that allows software voltage adjustments. The rear-panel is redesigned too, with one of the slots making for a large vent, with the lower slot holding one each of DVI-D, D-Sub, and HDMI. The ASUS EAH5770 CuCore is expected to be priced under 130 EUR.

NVIDIA's latest DirectX 11 compliant GPU architecture, codenamed "Fermi," is getting its first consumer graphics (desktop) implementation in the form of the GeForce GTX 300 series. The nomenclature turned from being obvious to clear, with a set of company slides being leaked to the media, carrying the GeForce GTX 300 series names for the two products expected to come out first: GeForce GTX 380, and GeForce GTX 360. The three slides in public domain as of now cover three specific game benchmarks, where the two graphics cards are pitted against AMD's Radeon HD 5870 and Radeon HD 5970, being part of the company's internal tests.

Tests include Resident Evil 5 (HQ settings, 1920x1200, 8x AA, DX10), STALKER Clear Sky (Extreme quality, No AA, 1920 x 1200, DX10), and Far Cry 2 (Ultra High Quality, 1920x1200, 8x AA, DX10). Other GPUs include GeForce GTX 295 and GTX 285 for reference, just so you know how NVIDIA is pitting the two against the Radeon HD 5000 GPUs, given that the figures are already out. With all the three tests, GTX 380 emerged on top, with GTX 360 performing close to the HD 5970. A point to note, however, is that the tests were run at 1920 x 1200, and tests have shown that the higher-end HD 5000 series GPUs, particularly the HD 5970, is made for resolutions higher than 1920 x 1200. AA was also disabled in STALKER Clear Sky. NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 300 will be out in Q1 2010.

Update (12/15): NVIDIA's Director of Public Relations EMEAI told us that these slides are fake, but also "when it's ready it's going to be awesome".

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, introduced an upgraded addition into the HD5700 series: the PCS+ HD5770. Part of the award-winning PCS series, the PCS+ HD5770 features outstanding factory overclocked ability with core and memory clocks at 875 MHz and 1225MHz respectively and GDDR5 onboard memory. Memory data transmission rates are enhanced up to 4.9Gbps, easily boosting gaming performance.

The PCS+ HD5770 also features an ultra quite 92mm cooling fan which is made of a low-noise impeller, easily dissipating heat from the copper base that fully covers the GPU at lower fan speed and efficiently cools down the temperature up to 10°C compared to that of reference board design. This allows more headroom for overclocking giving gamers maximum performance of their rig.

Sapphire expanded its Radeon HD 5700 series with the Sapphire HD 5770 Vapor-X. This release comes around a month after the HD 5750 Vapor-X, and resembles it in having the same GPU cooler: a GPU contact block with a Vapor chamber acts as a large heatpipe, uniformly conveying heat to the heatsink above it, which is cooled by a fan. Unlike the HD 5750 Vapor-X which comes with a blue reference PCB, this one retains the black reference one, with the cooler being the only noticeable change.

The Radeon HD 5770 is based on the 40 nm Juniper GPU. It is DirectX 11 compliant, and has 800 stream processors, along with 1 GB of memory installed across a 128-bit GDDR5 interface. It also supports the ATI Eyefinity technology that allows users to scale a display head across three physical displays. Connectivity includes two DVI-D, and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort. Sapphire also gave it a modest factory overclock, with the core running at 860 MHz (vs 850 MHz reference), while the memory stays at 1200 MHz (4.8 GHz effective). It is priced around 145 EUR.

Adding to the expansive list of non-reference design Radeon HD 5750, is Club3D with its new silent HD 5750 model. The new accelerator carries a red PCB which seems to resemble the reference PCB, but for the color. The GPU is cooled by a large silent heatsink which consists of a GPU block from which four copper heatpipes arise, conveying heat to an aluminum fin array. The memory seems to be cooled by heatsinks, too. It retains the rear panel of the reference design, with two DVI-D and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort.

The rest of its specs are identical to others in its league: DirectX 11 support, 720 stream processors, 1 GB of memory across a 128-bit GDDR5 interface, ATI CrossFireX and Eyefinity support, it asks 140€ for staying quiet.

AMD's lower-mainstream DirectX 11 compliant graphics card slated for Q1-2010, the ATI Radeon HD 5670 has been pictured and detailed, sourced from a [H]ardOCP HardForum community member. The HD 5600 series is based on a 40 nm GPU codenamed "Redwood". From the specifications the GPU-Z screenshot shows, it has a 50% downscaled SIMD engine, with 400 stream processors, while it retains the 128-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, with 16 ROPs. Assuming the clock speeds shown in the screenshot to be the reference speeds, they are 775 MHz for the core, and 1000 MHz for the 1 GB of memory (resulting in 64 GB/s of memory bandwidth).

An engineering-sample of the card has also been pictured, revealing a red-colored PCB breaking away from the black PCB scheme of the rest of the HD 5000 series. The card draws all its power from the PCI-Express slot. The GPU cooler consists of a simple heatsink with radially-projecting metal fins, in which is nested a fan. Output connectivity includes DVI, HDMI, and D-Sub, though the leads behind the D-Sub connector shows that offering a DisplayPort in its place might be possible.

HIS is readying its second non-reference design Radeon HD 5750 graphics cards with the HD 5750 IceQ+. This model continues in the series of IceQ series graphics cards from the company, which come with superior, quieter cooling, while also being visually appealing and reactive to UV case lighting. The HIS HD 5750 IceQ+ seems to be using the reference design PCB, albeit in blue color.

At the heart of it is the DirectX 11 compliant ATI Radeon HD 5750 GPU with 720 stream processors, aided by 1 GB of memory across a 128-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. The GPU is clocked at 700 MHz, with the memory at 1150 MHz. Display output connectivity includes DVI-D, HDMI with 7.1 channel audio, and DisplayPort. The card draws power from one 6-pin PCI-Express power connector. It is CrossfireX capable. Bundled in the package are Bumptop 3D desktop environment software, and a coupon for Dirt 2. It is expected to be priced around 130~140 EUR.

Close to two weeks after launching the industry's fastest graphics card with the Radeon HD 5970 2 GB, it looks like AMD will back the release with another high-end graphics card in Q1 2010, ideally to stack up a lineup against NVIDIA's performance DirectX 11 offerings that are slated for around the same time. The new release comes in the form of Radeon HD 5950, aimed to occupy the gap between the Radeon HD 5870 and Radeon HD 5970.

The Radeon HD 5950 will retain the design methodology of the HD 5970. It will use two AMD Cypress GPUs with the same configuration Radeon HD 5850 uses. It has 1440 stream processors enabled per GPU, 72 TMUs and 32 ROPs enabled, and 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interfaces per GPU probably to hold 2 GB of total memory. Just as the dual-GPU HD 5970 uses lower clock speeds compared to the single-GPU HD 5870 that uses the same GPU, HD 5950 keeps up with the trend. It is expected to have its core clocked between 650~675 MHz, and memory at 900~1000 MHz (3.60 GHz to 4.00 GHz effective).

ASUS launched the new ASUS EAH5000 Series, a lineup of three graphics cards that cater to a wide spectrum of needs including extreme overclocking, fast-paced gaming and daily computing. Equipped with ASUS' exclusive Voltage Tweak technology, the ASUS EAH5970/G/2DIS/2GD5 and EAH5770/2DI/1GD5 graphics cards enable users to boost GPU voltages via the SmartDoctor application to enjoy up to a 31% improvement in performance. The ASUS EAH5770/2DI/1GD5 and EAH5750 FORMULA/2DI/1GD5 feature highly effective cooling solutions capable of up to 13% better heat dissipation, and boast ASUS' exclusive Xtreme Design-an effective marriage of hardware, software, and material choices-that delivers the performance, reliability and safety DIY users need to enjoy stable and smooth daily computing.

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, today introduces the fastest graphics card on the planet: the PowerColor HD5970. As the most powerful card in the world, this stunning graphics solution clocks at 725 MHz core speed and 1000 MHz effective memory speed. Memory data transmission rates up to 4.0 Gb/s, delivering unprecedented performance.

The PowerColor HD5970 is built with 3200 stream processing units, ready to tackle all the most demanding HD titles; with almost 5 teraFLOPs of compute power, it puts the power of graphics "supercomputing" in the hands of extreme gamers. Furthermore, the PowerColor HD5970 has massive headroom for overclocking capabilities giving all gamers the control and flexibility to tune their custom rig for maximum performance.

"This puppy here, is Fermi" announced a proud Jen-Hsun Huang, NVIDIA's CEO. The shiny, chrome-decked Tesla GPGPU accelerator that makes use of NVIDIA's Fermi architecture, soon turned out to be a mock-up, aimed solely at announcing the completion of development of the Fermi architecture. It was also strategically timed to coincide with AMD's market launch of the industry's first DirectX 11 compliant graphics cards under the Fermi is significant since it supports the DirectX 11 API. Today ironically, on the occasion of AMD's launch of its "Hemlock" Radeon HD 5970 flagship accelerator, a picture showing a working consumer graphics variant of Fermi working. It is as if to assert that a Fermi derivative is no more the paperweight it was when it was first paraded to the media.

NVIDIA's Fermi GPU architecture is to be implemented in three variants: GF100, GT300, and GT300GL, to drive three of the company's product lines: GeForce, Tesla, and Quadro, respectively. GF100 is of utmost relevance to us. A picture leaked recently to Bright Side of News shows a GeForce accelerator based on GF100 to be working, where it appears to be rendering the Unigine Heaven DirectX 11 benchmark. This early sighting, however, doesn't mean that the product is any closer to its launch. It is still slated for Q1 2010, meaning that it will miss out on the X-Mas shopping season. The GF100 GPU is said to have 512 shader cores, and connects to GDDR5 memory across a 384-bit wide memory interface.

World leading graphics supplier, SAPPHIRE Technology, now introduces the world's fastest graphics card, the SAPPHIRE HD 5970 OC Edition. With twice the computing power of the highly acclaimed SAPPHIRE HD 5870, the new HD 5970 model shares all the exciting features of this family - including support for the DirectCompute 11 instruction set of Microsoft DirectX 11, hardware tessellation and multi threaded communication with the system CPU. It also supports the acceleration of applications supported by ATI Stream, and the ability to display across three monitors simultaneously with ATI Eyefinity.

The SAPPHIRE HD 5970 OC Edition ships with enhanced clock speeds of 735MHz core and 1010MHz (4.04GHz effective) - faster than the standard model, making the SAPPHIRE HD 5970 OC the fastest card in its class, and the fastest in the world*. Enthusiasts will also be able to tune performance of these SAPPHIRE cards using the SAPPHIRE Redline voltage tweaker tool** to enable higher levels of overclocking.

XFX takes technology for a trip down the fast lane with the debut of The XFX ATI Radeon HD 5970 graphics card. The fastest dual GPU-on-a-PCB card on the planet, in addition to the base powerhouse, this card also comes in an "I've-never-seen-that-kind-of-performance-before" Black Edition with an exclusive performance enhancing Overvolt Tool.

Created for the true performance enthusiast, this card offers the ultimate in speed, with the XFX ATI Radeon HD 5970 scoring in excess of X10000 in 3DMarkVantage v. 101, the highest single graphics card score achieved to date. It also features all of the latest, state-of-the-art technologies that hardcore gamers want, including ATI Eyefinity technology, ATI Stream technology and full DirectX 11 support.

World renowned graphics card and mainboard brand and manufacturer, MSI, captured the hearts of powerful performance enthusiasts after unveiling its all-new R5800, R5700 series of graphics cards. Today, MSI unveils its top model, the R5970-P2D2G graphics card, which not only equips two advanced 40nm GPUs, but also utilizes 3200 stream processors (SPs)*, and 2 GB 512 bit** GDDR5 graphics memory, making it the best performing card on the planet today!

Additionally, MSI's R5970-P2D2G graphics card features ATI Eyefinity triple-display output technology, allowing gamers to get fully immersed in the latest DirectX 11 environments. The card also offers PowerPlay power-saving functionality that shows remarkable power-saving when the machine is in stand-by. Equally noteworthy is MSI's own "Afterburner" overclocking software that allows the user to adjust both the voltage and overclocking settings for better performance. With CrossFire X enabled, the dual GPUs offer outstanding, stable performance that redefines fast. Without a doubt, this card will be the first choice of performance enthusiasts.

AMD today announced the flagship installment in the award-winning line of graphics cards, the ATI Radeon HD 5970, the fastest card ever created. The new ultra high-end model joins a growing list of the world's first and only graphics cards to fully support Microsoft DirectX 11 technology and ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology.

Designed to support the most demanding PC games at ultra-high resolutions and image quality settings, the ATI Radeon HD 5970 has unlocked overclocking potential, granting access to every bit of power the card has to offer through ATI Overdrive technology. Now shipping from retailers and available in the channel, the ATI Radeon HD 5970 also launches today in new Alienware Area-51, Area-51 ALX and Aurora desktop PCs.

ASUS has developed its own take on AMD's mid-range Radeon HD 5750 graphics accelerator, with the EAH5750 Formula 1 GB. Being a non-reference design product, it makes use of both cooler and PCB indigenously developed by the company. The black PCB seems slightly shorter than the reference PCB, and has its power connector located on the top, rather than on the end. The Radeon HD 5750 GPU features DirectX 11 compliance, 720 stream processors, and a 128-bit GDDR5 memory interface to connect to the 1 GB of memory on this card. It sticks to AMD's reference clock speeds of 700/1050 MHz (core/memory).

The other, more important selling point of this card is its custom designed GPU cooler. Apparently the design involves a GPU contact block from which metal fins project radially, on which a PWM-controlled fan circulates air. Characteristic to ASUS' Formula series graphics cards, the cooler shroud coarsely resembles a Formula One racing car. The connectors are all rounded off onto one metal bracket, although the card still needs two expansion slots. Connectors include one each of DVI-D, D-Sub, and HDMI. The price is expected to be under € 120.

As part of its Financial Analyst Day for 2009, AMD listed out its priorities for the year ahead, looking into 2010. While the company has lived up to its development targets for this year by releasing a full-fledged lineup of PC and server processors built on the 45 nm process, increasing its market share with graphics products, and releasing the first DirectX 11 compliant (back then referred to as 'next generation') GPU, the year ahead looks equally ambitious for AMD.

AMD set the following product priorities for 2010: to deliver four new winning PC platforms in the first half of 2010, improve battery life of its notebook platform, expand homegrown DirectCompute 11 and OpenCL developer tools, propagate DirectX 11 graphics to notebooks, launch the company's first 12-core Opteron processor, and more interestingly, sample the company's next-generation "Bulldozer" architecture to industry customers, along with sampling the company's first Fusion-design "Bobcat" processor, which integrates the CPU with GPU, along with sampling some of the company's first processors built on the 32 nm manufacturing process.

HIS today rolled out its own designed graphics accelerator based on the Radeon HD 5750 graphics processor. The HIS HD 5750 iCooler IV is a completely non-reference design, including cooler and PCB. The design involves use of the company's iCooler IV GPU cooler the company has used on mid-range accelerators in the past, the blue PCB, and an overall compact design, including a rear-panel cluster that breaks away from AMD's connector cluster design for the Radeon HD 5000 series. Instead, the card uses a single bracket that includes one each of DVI-D, DisplayPort, and HDMI, although the card itself occupies two slots due to its cooler design.

The Radeon HD 5750 GPU has 720 stream processors available, and is wired to 1 GB of GDDR5 memory across a 128-bit wide interface. It is DirectX 11 compliant, and supports other technologies such as DirectCompute 11, and AMD's Eyefinity, and CrossFireX technologies. The clock speeds of the card stick to AMD's reference speeds, those of 700 MHz (core), and 1150 MHz (effective 4600 MHz, memory). HIS bundles a Collin McRae DIRT-2 coupon, which can be redeemed to get a copy of the game when it's out. Expect standard pricing.

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, today introduces a passive cooling solution into the HD5700 family: SCS3 HD5750. The PowerColor SCS3 HD5750 features an effective passive cooling solution dissipating excessive heat with minimal noise. The copper base, which fully covers, the GPU through 4 copper heat pipes and 32 piece heat sink offers outstanding cooling performance in a quite setting.

While running passively, the PowerColor SCS3 HD5750 maintains the original specifications with core engine of 700MHz, 1150 MHz memory speed. This model takes advantage of the latest 40nm technology, providing better performance while using less power and offering an excellent balance between a superior gaming experience and power efficiency.

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, is excited to add liquid cooling to the world's fastest single GPU: the PowerColor Liquid Cooling Solution (LCS) HD5870 1GB GDDR5. Equipped with the award-winning EK cooling solution, the LCS HD5870 offers outstanding thermal performance in a single slot design, enhancing overclocking and allowing optimum stability.

The PowerColor LCS HD5870 has a full water block mounted on the card, fully covering the memory and power regulator chip. With a copper base design, it is able to reduce temperatures in the most efficient way possible. PowerColor packages a high-flow 3/8" and 1/2" fittings (barbs) to maximize water flow with captured o-rings to prevent leakage. Gamers can easily customize their own liquid cooling system using these two fittings.

Today Microsoft Corp. announced the worldwide availability of its new Windows 7 operating system. Windows 7 delivers on a simple premise: make it easier for people to do the things they want on a PC. The new operating system offers a streamlined user interface and significant new features that make everyday tasks easier and allow people to get the most out of computers of all styles and sizes.

"With Windows 7, there's never been a better time to be a PC," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. "Together with our partners, we're bringing more choice, flexibility and value to the market than ever before. With Windows 7, you're sure to find a PC that fits your life."

Now, more people than ever can experience real innovation in DirectX 11 gaming with the Club 3D HD5700 graphics card series. Loaded with advanced technology, this graphics card has the power and premium features you need for fully immersive gameplay. Expand your visual real estate across up to three displays and get lost in the action with revolutionary ATI Eyefinity technology. Using ATI Stream technology, accelerate even the most demanding applications and do more then ever with our PC. Enable realistic visual effects and an explosive HD gaming performance to dominate the competition.

Enjoy an incredibly immersive HD gaming/computing experience with ATI Eyefinity Technology. This revolutionary multi-display technology allows you to expand your visual real estate across up to three displays with innovative "wrap around" capabilities to maximize your field of view with incredible sharpness and clarity. Perform tasks on a PC faster with ATI Stream technology, speed up demanding everyday applications and get more done in less time. The first fully Microsoft DirectX 11-compatible GPUs, Club 3D HD5800 Series is designed to deliver ultimate HD gaming performance for the latest games and DirectX 11 applications so you can dominate the competition.

After launching the powerful R5800 series graphics card which successfully get global overclocking enthusiasts' attention, MSI, leading graphics cards and mainboard brand-manufacturer, today introduces the latest R5700 series graphics card, MSI R5770-PM2D1G and R5750-PM2D1G. With the advanced 40nm GPU, DirectX 11 support, high speed GDDR5 video memory, and ATi Eyefinity technology, the MSI R5700 series graphics card can fully provide stunning gaming experience by DirectX 11 to gamers. In addition to better performance/power ratio compared to popular HD 4870 of last generation product, MSI R5700 is the premium high performance graphics card that you must have! Now get it with a free DirectX 11 support racing game "Dirt2" and MSI exclusive VGA overclocking utility "Afterburner"!

The brand new MSI R5700 series is the same as its R5800 series, using the advanced 40nm GPU to implement decisively more transistors within the same amount of space and thereby reaching a new level of performance. In addition the modern 40nm process reduces power consumption and brings about a more efficient overall electrical utilization. Compared to popular HD 4870 of last generation product, the power consumption of MSI R5770-PM2D1G is significantly improved. The performance per watt result is 20% better than last generation.

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, today releases the latest gaming video cards: the HD5700 series. Designed for demanding DirectX 11 games at HD resolutions and high settings, PowerColor HD5700 series offers the intense gaming performance and unrivaled image quality.

PowerColor HD5700 series supports ATI's exclusive Eyefinity Technology, with dual DL-DVI / HDMI / Display Port onboard design, it can run up to three displays from a single card and let all gamers enjoy the "wrap-around" gaming experience like never before. Also, the latest HD5700 series is compatible with ATI Stream technology, enables demanding data parallel compute tasks from the CPU to GPU, accelerate the daily application and do more with your PC.