AMD today officially unveiled its new platform codenamed "Spider", powered by the company's quad-core processor and supporting scalable graphics.
The AMD Spider platform combines the introduction of AMD Phenom quad-core processors, ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series graphics processors with Microsoft DirectX 10.1 support, AMD 7-Series chipsets with CrossFireX and AMD OverDrive software.
"The AMD Spider platform embodies our approach to platform-level innovation and delivers a highly-advanced, feature-rich enthusiast computing experience. Our commitment to energy-efficient design and manufacturing excellence drives an unprecedented performance-per-watt at an amazing price point, putting enthusiast-class platforms in reach for more users than ever before," said Dirk Meyer, president and COO, AMD.
AMD?s Spider platform supports the ATI CrossFireX technology. The combination of the energy-efficient 55nm ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series of graphics processors and the increased system bandwidth of PCI Express Generation 2.0 and HyperTransport 3.0 technology, promise to offer the optimal processing power for a scalable HD multi-GPU experience.
With HyperTransport 3.0 technology, AMD Phenom processors have more system bandwidth than ever before with up to 14.4 GB/second of high bandwidth I/O. When combined with the additional bandwidth of AMD PCI Express 2.0 chipsets and graphics processors, the AMD Spider platform enjoys maximum bandwidth to support smooth 1080P video playback, enhanced multi-GPU and high-speed disk and network interfaces. In addition, the platform's AM2+ socket make it compatible with future 65nm and 45nm AMD Phenom processors.
ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series feature ATI Avivo HD video engine and the Unified Video Decoder (UVD). The addition of UVD ensures efficiency and image quality in HD-DVD and Blu-ray decoding for both H.264 and VC-1 specifications. Big screen gaming and entertainment is easier with HDMI connectivity with integrated HDCP and audio for HDMI video.
The multi-core design of AMD Phenom quad-core processors, based on Direct Connect Architecture, features an integrated memory controller designed to support memory speeds up to DDR2 1066(2), 128-bit floating point units and AMD?s Balanced Smart Cache for rapid access to memory, with a shared L3 cache.
The AMD 7-Series chipsets introduce the world to the latest ATI CrossFireX technology, supporting three or four ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series graphics processors. AMD 7-Series chipsets support up to four graphics processors and 42 PCI Express lanes. AMD 7-Series chipsets are also compatibe with the AMD OverDrive software, a software performance tuning utility. In addition, AMD AutoXpress settings can increase the system performance when combined with enthusiast memory modules, ATI Radeon graphics, as well as AMD Phenom quad-core processors.
The AMD Spider platform also includes a list of computing technologies and focus on power consumption, including: ATI PowerPlay, Cool?n?Quiet 2.0 technology, Microsoft DirectX 10.1 support, HyperTransport 3.0 technology and PCI Express 2.0.
The AMD 7-Series chipsets are designed using 65nm process technology, allowing for a a TDP of approximately 10-12 watts.
AMD Phenom processors 9600 (2.3GHz) and 9500 (2.2GHz) are now available for $283 and $251 respectively in 1,000-unit pricing. The ATI Radeon HD 3850 with 256MB of GDDR3 memory begins at US $179 MSRP and the ATI Radeon HD 3870 with 512MB GDDR4 memory from US $219 MSRP, available from AMD?s graphics products partners.