Here are the first pictures of the obverse side of Cypress' PCB, and the first pictures of the centre of attraction: the AMD Cypress GPU. CzechGamer dissembled two Cypress "Radeon HD 5870" cards for a quick blurrycam photo-session. The PCB shot reveals quite a bit about Cypress, particularly about the GPU.

To begin with, the GPU is AMD's overhaul on transistor counts, and a bold work of engineering on the 40 nm manufacturing process, given the kind of problems foundry partners had initially. Apparently they seem to have recovered with most of them, as AMD's AIB partners are coming up with new products based on the 40 nm RV740 GPU on a weekly basis. The package holds a "diamond-shaped" die that is angled in a way similar to RV740, RV730, or more historically, the R600. The seemingly huge die measures 338 mm² (area), and for 40 nm, it translates to "huge", and is vindicated by the transistor count of ~2.1 billion. In contrast, AMD's older flagship GPU, the RV790 holds 959 million, and NVIDIA's GT200 holds 1.4 billion.

In a release to its AIB partners, AMD listed out the key features of its high performance GPU in the Evergreen family, codenamed "Cypress". While not getting into the GPU specifications, it lists out the key technologies the GPUs support. It comes as no surprise that AMD will name Cypress-XT and Cypress-Pro as Radeon HD 5870 and Radeon HD 5850, a model number scheme that's been running for the past two generations. While product launches, tentatively on September 22, and (p)reviews keep us busy in September, retail availability can be expected only in October, just in time for that of Windows 7.

• 1GB GDDR5 memory
• ATI Eyefinity technology with support for up to three displays
• ATI Stream technology
• Designed for DirectCompute 5.0 and OpenCL
• Accelerated Video Transcoding (AVT)
• Compliant with DirectX 11 and earlier revisions,supports OpenGL 3.1
• ATI CrossFireX multi-GPU support for highly scalable performance
• ATI Avivo HD video and display technology
• Dynamic power management with ATI PowerPlay technology
• 2x DL-DVI, DisplayPort, HDMI
• PCI Express 2.0 interface

EIZO Japan announced its newest 24.1 inch LCD monitor, the FlexScan S2433W-H. Aimed at graphics professionals and the likes, this monitor sports a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels (WUXGA). It provides a brightness of 360cd/m2, and a static contrast ratio of 1000:1. The EcoView and EyeCare features adjusts brightness to best suit the ambient lighting conditions, and work to conserve energy. The panel has a wide viewing angle of 178 degrees. It takes input from DVI-D (HDCP capable), D-Sub, and DisplayPort. It is able to reproduce 96% of the Adobe RGB colour-space. Available in matte black and silver, the FlexScan S2433W-H started selling in Japan for 94,800 JPY (US $995).

To meet the extreme productivity needs of today's CAD, Digital Content Creation (DCC) and oil and gas professionals, AMD announces that the ATI FirePro V8750 3D workstation graphics accelerator is joining the AMD line of ultra high-end professional graphics hardware.

ATI FirePro V8750 3D workstation graphics accelerator brings the highest number of shader engines (800) with the highest memory bandwidth (115.2 GB/s) in the entire 3D professional graphics offerings today1 which enables professionals to render incredibly complex models and photo-realistic images in real-time.

NEC Display Solutions will be launching the first 23" screen with IPS technology in 16:9 format in autumn 2009. The MultiSync EA231WMi combines excellent image quality in high resolution (full HD) with low energy consumption and its wide screen format enhances productivity. Another innovation for NEC desktop displays is the DisplayPort interface for future-proof digital connectivity. Priced at a similar level as conventional 19" or wide 22" models it offers more display area to work with several applications at the same time. The monitor comes with TCO 5.0 certification and is therefore ideally suited for professional use.

With IPS technology the EA231WMi offers outstanding viewing angle and image stability which will be appreciated by all office users. Alongside its high-quality panel technology and award-winning design, the MultiSync EA231WMi also provides all the technical benefits of the EA series. These include integrated speakers, 110mm height adjustment and pivot as well as a USB hub. Additional environmental protection is achieved by an ambient light sensor for optimum screen brightness and energy usage at all times. The display features the latest Energy Star 5.0 and TCO 5.0 certification, with TCO 5.0 being one of the world's highest standards for ergonomics and environmental friendliness. This makes the EA231WMi the perfect office monitor from an ecological, economic and ergonomic point of view.

NVIDIA's upcoming 40 nm value GPUs, GeForce GT 220 and GeForce G 210 are on their way to a early Q4 launch. NVIDIA looks to give its 40 nm desktop GPUs the right profile with its reference designs that include low-profile (half-height), single-slot PCBs and coolers. The size and shape of these cards send out good signals about their thermal characteristics, at least for now.

Both these cards use essentially similar designs: a half-height PCB holds the GPU one one end, and memory chips are distributed on the front and back sides of the PCB. The G 210 offers DVI-D and DisplayPort connectors on the card, while the GT 220 offers DVI-D and HDMI. Both cards feature extensions for the D-Sub connector. The GT 220 has a slightly longer PCB, with a dense aluminum cooler. Both cards rely entirely on the PCI-Express slot for power. G 210 features 24 shaders, 512 MB of 64-bit DDR2 or GDDR3 memory, while the GT 220 features 48 shaders, up to 1 GB of 128-bit GDDR3 memory. Pictured below are GT 220 and G 210 and angled, front, and back pictures in the said order.

Major ATI partner Sapphire is releasing a variant of the HD 4890 Vapor-X accelerator, with double the amount of memory: 2 GB. Being a variant, it retains the rest of the feature-set, with a blue non-reference PCB, Sapphire Vapor-X GPU cooler, and separate heatsinks over the VRM and memory areas. The card comes with clock speeds of 870/4200 MHz (core/memory), and provides output from DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort connectors. It is expected to retail in Europe for as low as 226 EUR.

Matrox Graphics Inc., the leading manufacturer of specialized graphics solutions, today unveiled the Matrox DualHead2Go DisplayPort Edition and TripleHead2Go DisplayPort Edition Graphics eXpansion Modules (GXMs) for DisplayPort-enabled computers and monitors. These latest GXMs incorporate the next-generation display interface standard, allowing users to benefit from DisplayPort technology on two or three displays.

"Matrox is pleased to offer its first external multi-display upgrades to DisplayPort adopters seeking maximum display performance across multiple displays," says Samuel Recine, Director of Business Development, Matrox Graphics. "For example, with the new TripleHead2Go DP Edition, the DisplayPort interface allows users to easily connect three displays to a single notebook to generate a purely digital connection from system to monitors, while enabling resolution support of up to an impressive 1680x1050 per external display."

Matrox Graphics Inc., the leading manufacturer of specialized graphics solutions, today announced the availability of the Matrox M9138 and Matrox M9148 DisplayPort graphics cards. Expanding the M-Series product line, these new triple- and quad-monitor cards offer a remarkable 1 GB of memory, and with support for independent or stretched mode at resolutions up to 2560x1600 per output, users can drive business, industrial, and government applications on an exceptional multi-monitor platform.

"The first generation of Matrox DisplayPort graphics cards bring a tremendous amount of flexibility to today's DisplayPort users," says Samuel Recine, Director of Business Development, Matrox Graphics. "Not only can users choose any combination of pivoted, independent, or stretched displays, but also have the opportunity to combine two M9148 cards in a single system to drive up to eight DisplayPort or DVI monitors."

Having hit the 1.00 GHz (core) mark with its recently-introduced Radeon HD 4890 Atomic Vapor-X, Sapphire still finds the need for a card with the Vapor-X cooler sans the factory-overclocking, leaving some headroom for enthusiasts to play with. The new HD 4890 Vapor-X uses a non-reference blue PCB, along with the Vapor-X cooler similar to that on the HD 4870 Vapor-X model. A vapor-chamber plate makes direct contact with the GPU. It conveys heat to a radial heatsink cooled by a central fan. The memory is cooled by heatsinks, while the VRM-area is cooled by a heatsink of its own.

Sapphire uses AMD reference clock speeds: 850 MHz (core), and 975 MHz memory. The card features 1 GB of GDDR5 memory. Its outputs are care of DVI, D-Sub, HDMI and DisplayPort connectors provided right on the card. The card will reach retail in a few weeks' time.

AMD today announced the availability of the ATI FirePro V7750 graphics accelerator for the high-end market, ideally suited for graphics professionals working in engineering, digital content creation and scientific fields. These professionals need a 3D graphics accelerator that can quickly handle large models and shader-intensive applications, while delivering accurate color reproduction and superior visual quality. The ATI FirePro V7750 delivers features that matter most to these users at $899 MSRP.

"Creating astounding visuals for movies is a tremendous challenge - it has to look absolutely perfect, but time is always of the essence," said Jabbar Raisani, visual effects expert, Troublemaker Studios. "The ATI FirePro V7750 graphics accelerator helps me achieve flawless effects fast by speeding up rendering so I can focus on creating content rather than waiting for it. I need stable and robust performance graphics hardware to get the job done quickly and the ATI FirePro V7750 is the perfect solution."

The warm market response the NVIDIA MCP79 chipset received - in its numerous forms that is - meant that the company is already developing a product line. The newest one is in the works. Named the MCP89E, the chipset, specifications-wise, is a toned-down version of the MCP79. Perhaps that is what "E" in the model name reflects. The chipset is built to support Intel processors that usually feature as part of the Centrino 2 platform. It has an identical pin-layout to the MCP79, so existing motherboards can accommodate it seamlessly with only a BIOS to change.

The specifications sheet, as sourced by VR-Zone, shows the level to which the MCP89E slims down from that of the MCP79. What exactly makes it a generation ahead (as the "89" in the codename suggests), is the fact that this is one of the first platform chipsets to support the generation-3 SATA interface (SATA III, 600 MB/s). It does away with support for the DDR2 memory standard, and has a toned-down PCI-Express root complex with only 8 PCI-E 2.0 lanes to spare. The IGP features only one DAC in comparison to the MCP79, though its output configuration differs: it supports up to two DisplayPort or HDMI connections. NVIDIA may announce this chipset soon, which will further reduce platform costs and thermal footprints for notebooks.

ATI Radeon specialist Sapphire is preparing a new SKU based on its recently unveiled cooler design based on its Vapor-Chamber technology. In an attempt to step up performance and spicing up specifications sheets, the company plans to load 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on an HD 4870 accelerator. To hold that much memory, GDDR5 chips are populated on both sides of the PCB. The chips on the back of the card are cooled by a heatsink, while the ones in the front are subjected to the fan's air-flow. The card uses reference AMD clock speeds of 750/900 MHz (core/memory). DVI, D-Sub and DisplayPort make for the card's connectivity. It is expected to be priced at 258 EUR.

Known to be an innovative lot when it comes to designing graphics cards, Palit has quitely slipped in a new variant to its Radeon HD 4850 series: the Palit Radeon HD 4850 Sonic Special Edition. What makes this card special, or rather different from the HD 4850 Sonic, are its memory and connectivity options. This is perhaps the first and only Radeon HD 4850 accelerator with GDDR5 memory. The card features 512 MB of GDDR5 memory across a 256-bit wide bus.

It uses an identical dual-slot cooler design to that of the HD 4850 Sonic. If the faster memory wasn't incentive enough, Palit has also expanded the connectivity options. The card provides a DVI, D-Sub (analog), HDMI and DisplayPort connectors all on the card. Owing to the Sonic branding, the card definitely sports higher clock-speeds than what AMD specifies. Further blurring the line between this card and a Radeon HD 4870, is its requirement of two 6-pin PCI-E power inputs. We are in the process of finding out its exact clock speeds, price and a larger picture.

S3 Graphics today announced the latest addition to its power-efficient Chrome 500 Series graphics processor family, with the unveiling of an 850MHz clocked GDDR3 based Chrome 540 GTX. Today's users can convert an ordinary PC into a Hi-Def entertainment powerhouse for Dual-Stream Blu-ray and HD videos, using the newly defined DisplayPort digital interface, HDMI and Dual-Link DVI for seamless connectivity to the latest digital monitors and HDTVs.

Today's multimedia enthusiasts require extra GPU horsepower to perform high-quality HD video decoding, image post-processing, and stunning color enhancement when displaying the latest HD content on Blu-ray or streaming video-on-demand. With the Chrome 540 GTX, you now have the power to bring every movie experience to life, and enjoy bonus footage through Picture-in-Picture, all while enjoying 8 channels of high fidelity audio with the S3 Graphics built-in Dolby 7.1 digital surround sound processor.

S3 Graphics made a quiet addition to its lineup with the Chrome 540 GTX graphics card. Spotted first on the GStore by TechConnect Magazine, the new graphics card made it to the company's store without the company even announcing it, or assigning a product page on the company website. From what the card's specifications on GStore and its tiny picture tell, this card builds on the basic architecture of its predecessor the Chrome 530 GT, by increases in clock-speeds and expanding connectivity options.

The Chrome 540 GTX features a core clock speed of 800 MHz, its memory is clocked at 850 MHz. The card uses a 64-bit wide GDDR3 memory interface that holds 256 MB of memory. It is compliant with the latest graphics standards: DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 3.0, and uses a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 interface. Compliance aside, the accelerator is built mainly for HD video acceleration and multi-head display. The Chromotion 2.0 technology is said to provide hardware-acceleration for Blu-ray, H.264 and VC-1 video standards. It uses a full-height PCB to hold three connectors on-board: DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort. The card is HDCP-capable and has an integrated audio controller that is routed to the connectors. The Chrome 540 GTX is available at the GStore for US $69.95.

Coming March, NVIDIA is expected to roll-out its first GPU built on the newer 40nm silicon fabrication process: the GT218. This GPU will spearhead the company's next generation of entry-level graphics cards. It will succeed the G98 GPU in the process. VR-Zone has access to some more details about this GPU apart from what we know (covered here).

The GT218 will go into making four SKUs, based on two primary NVIDIA reference PCB designs. VR-Zone accessed the schematics of the P692 PCB design codenamed D10M1-30, that reveal a half-height, SFF-friendly PCB that holds the GT218. The clock-speeds of the GPU are 550 MHz (core), 1,375 MHz (shader) and 800/1600 DDR MHz (memory). The GPU makes use of a 64-bit wide GDDR3 memory bus. The GPU supports output standards that include DVI, D-Sub and DisplayPort. The older report suggested this GPU to carry 32 stream processors, 8 TMUs and 4 ROPs, with a suggested TDP of around 22W. NVIDIA is looking to unveil this new GPU at the upcoming CeBIT even in March, followed by product launches in April.

S3 Graphics will participate in the annual Lunch@Piero's press event, held during CES in Las Vegas on January 8th and 9th. Attendees at Lunch@Piero's can experience the latest HD IP-based media-on-demand based on a unique and innovative hardware-level IP protection mechanism showcased on the S3 Graphics Chrome 400 Series Hi-Def multimedia processor using a Content Protection LSI from Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited.

With the market transition to IP-based HD multimedia, movie studios and content creators canuse this new, secure multimedia platform to protect and control precious HD video IP distribution from source to display, while overcoming the inherent vulnerabilities of today's widely used software-based security methods.

Gigabyte today, has released a new graphics card based on the ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics processor (GPU), in a non-reference design. While sporting a thin and light appearance, the card retains high-grade electrical components such as digital PWM circuitry the reference PCB sports. The prominent features of the card include a DisplayPort connector alongside an HDMI port, both on the PCB. The card features 1 GB of GDDR5 memory made by Qimonda, across a 256-bit wide bus.

Being non-reference and Gigabyte, it's expected to have a blue coloured PCB. The GPU is cooled by a Zalman VF830 cooler, which features on several of today's graphics cards by Gigabyte. The memory is left to be cooled under its air-flow. The VRM area gets a heatsink of its own. The card is powered by two 6-pin PCI-Express power connectors. It uses reference clock speeds of 750 MHz for the GPU and 900 MHz (effective 3600 MT/s) for the memory. It is yet to be priced.

ZOTAC International, a leading manufacturer of NVIDIA-based motherboards and graphics cards, today expands its Display Port-equipped graphics card lineup to include new affordable models - the ZOTAC GeForce 9400 GT DP and 9500 GT DP. The new ZOTAC GeForce 9400 GT DP and 9500 GT DP join the current ZOTAC GeForce 9600 GT DP for a complete lineup of affordable Display Port enabled graphics cards. The new ZOTAC GeForce 9400 GT DP and GeForce 9500 GT DP feature complete Display Port support for Display Port compatibility in Microsoft Windows Vista and XP operating systems. The two new ZOTAC Display Port equipped cards can also display pre-OS boot procedures, including the system BIOS, to Display Port displays for a seamless transition to Display Port technology.

ASUS is proud to announce an exclusive partnership with NVIDIA in the creation of the most powerful DirectX (DX) 10 motherboard-the ASUS P5N7A-VM motherboard. A showcase of intelligent and innovative motherboard design, the P5N7A-VM features an LGA775 socket for Intel Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Quad / Core 2 Duo processors and supports the GeForce 9300 / nForce 730i chipset and memory expansion of up to a maximum of 16 GB with four DDR2 800/667 dual channel memory slots. With support for Hybrid SLI, CUDA and PhysX graphics acceleration, the P5N7A-VM promises to be the most powerful DX10 motherboard in the consumer market today.

After a long period of stagnation, Apple today unveiled a brand new 24-inch LCD monitor for all Apple lovers. The new LED Cinema Display features a stunning 24-inch LED-backlit widescreen display with built-in iSight video camera, mic, and speakers in an elegant, thin aluminum and glass enclosure. Other specs include a native resolution of 1920x1200, a 3-port USB hub and a new Mini DisplayPort. Expect the 24-inch LED Cinema Display to become available in November for $899. We'll also have more technical information (panel type, response time, contrast, brightness etc.) as the release date approaches.

Gainward has launched a custom design Radeon HD 4670 graphics card featuring the latest GPU from ATI. The card spans across two slots. While cooling might attribute to that, the other reason is that Gainward has provided every kind of display connector that's standard today. The card has a dual-link DVI, an analog D-Sub, a HDMI with 7.1 ch audio, and a DisplayPort connector.

It comes with the RV730 core clocked at 750 MHz, features 512 MB of GDDR3 memory clocked at 2000 MHz. Underneath the sporty grill hood of the card is a cooler consisting of a fan blowing air onto a heatsink with radially projecting fins. Such a cooler can be seen on some of Gainward's own mid-range GeForce Golden Sample series graphics cards, though this card didn't get that title.

XpertVision is Palit's European VGA graphics cards brand. Only recently they released an announcement that the brands will merge again to become "Palit Microsystems Ltd.".

At the show we saw several new ATI based cards from Palit. Since their booth is located in the AMD hall, no NVIDIA cards were on display.First up is the new Palit HD 4870 which does not use the AMD reference design. The cooler is equipped with two fans and is much quieter than the normal cards. The HD 4870 Sonic Dual features DisplayPort and a Turbo switch which allows you to change the clock frequencies on the fly. When in "Turbo" mode, the card runs at 775/1000 and 750/950 in "Normal" mode. Even in normal mode this is still an overclock over the AMD reference clocks.

Pictures of a fresh-bake Radeon HD 4670 have surfaced. There are several iterations of this card (as in display output configurations), the one in the picture has a dual-link DVI port along with two DisplayPort connectors. Sources tell GPU Café that the card manages a 3DMark Vantage Performance score of P32xx (anywhere between P3200 and P3299).Here are its GPU specifications: