Skip to main content

Look out, Nvidia, AMD Radeon 300 Series GPUs Are (Almost) Ready to Rumble

amd radeon 300 series gpus are almost done r9 290x feature
Image used with permission by copyright holder
GPU market leader Nvidia recently gave perennial underdog AMD an unexpected hand towards financial recovery, botching the specifications of the upper mid-range GTX 970 video card. The Red Team is now pulling all the stops to capitalize on its rival’s misfortunes, aggressively promoting the Radeon R9 290 as a “true” 4GB RAM alternative, and teasing the next-gen graphics launch.

Ah, yes, the Radeon R9 380X and 390X are no longer rumors backed by questionable evidence, they’re officially confirmed products in pre-release stages. In the words of AMD’s Facebook handler, “we’re still putting the finishing touches on the 300 series to make sure they live up to expectation.”

Thrilling stuff, but alas, there are no dates to share “just yet.” The Sunnyvale-based semiconductor giant also trumpets its “excitement” vis-à-vis the 300 family, though that doesn’t really tell us much. What are they to say, that the graphics cards are humdrum, but fingers crossed?

Anyway, it’s good to get formal corroboration of the GPU lineup’s existence, and there’s been (faint) hints of an early Q2 rollout instead of a distant summer deadline. Rumor is the Radeon R9 380X and 390X will pioneer something called high bandwidth memory (HBM) technology for vastly improved RAM performance.

Most likely built on 20nm architecture, the powerhouse duo could leave Nvidia’s industry-dominating GeForce GTX 980 in the dust not only in raw speed, but energy efficiency too. Of course, the “green team” is probably working hard on a 20nm die shrink and upgrade as well, albeit we’re a lot lighter on purported technical details and timelines for the GTX 990, with a 1000 series possibly delayed until 2016.

Of course, this is all in the future. Right now Nvidia, GTX 970 woes aside, is riding high on favorable reviews for the GTX 900 series. This back-and-forth is standard in the GPU industry, as both AMD and Nvidia constantly attempt to upstage each other.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Adrian Diaconescu
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Adrian is a mobile aficionado since the days of the Nokia 3310, and a PC enthusiast since Windows 98. Later, he discovered…
Meta’s AI smart glasses collection can live stream video — but they’re missing a big feature
Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses in Headline style are worn by a model.

Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses shown in hand at the Meta event. Fionna Agomuoh / Digital Trends

Meta just announced its second-generation smart glasses, once again partnering with Ray-Ban to add more style to this collection of tech-enhanced glasses and shades. The headline feature is the ability to livestream video directly to Instagram and Facebook, but unlike some more premium options, the frames don't include displays for a mixed reality experience.

Read more
How to preorder the Meta Quest 3
Meta Quest 3 sitting on a display table.

Meta's Quest 3 is official, and it's arriving soon. The VR headset is sure to be in high demand when it releases on October 10, so you'll want to secure a Meta Quest 3 preorder if you want to be among the first to use the headset.

Some listings are already live, so in this guide, we'll show you how to preorder the Meta Quest 3.

Read more
Meta just created a Snoop Dogg AI for your text RPGs
Meta AI's Dungeon Master looks like Snoop Dogg.

Meta Connect started with the Quest 3 announcement but that’s not the only big news. The metaverse company is also a leader in AI and has released several valuable models to the open-source community. Today, Meta announced its generative AI is coming soon to its social media apps, and it looks both fun and useful.
Meta AI for text
When CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta AI for social media, it seemed interesting. When one of the custom AIs looked like Snoop Dogg wearing Dungeons and Dragons gear, there was a gasp from the live audience, followed by whoops of joy and applause.

Meta AI's Dungeon Master looks like Snoop Dogg. Meta

Read more