AMD Releases Teraflop Graphics Card

AMD introduced the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics processor today, hoping to push the boundaries of the 1080P high-definition threshold. The company claims this is the first graphics processor to break the teraflop barrier — meaning the processor executes over one trillion floating point operations per second. Aimed at gaming enthusiasts, the chip supports the industry-leading Unified Video Decoder (UVD) and ATI Avivo HD for exceptional platform efficiency and image quality for H.264 and VC-1 high definition content. Enhanced HDMI functionality is also offered via integrated HDCP and audio for HDMI video. Through an elegant yet aggressive design, the 55-nanometer process-based ATI Radeon 3870 X2 combines two ATI Radeon HD 3870s on a single graphics board, connected through integrated CrossFire technology. It also supports Microsoft’s upcoming DirectX 10.1 technology. “We’re pleased to see our newest DirectX 10 technology brought to market so soon with the introduction of AMD’s latest enthusiast hardware," Kevin Unangst, senior global director of Games for Windows at Microsoft, said in a statement. Last week, AMD released the ATI Radeon HD 3400 and ATI Radeon HD 3600 series graphics products, completing a comprehensive portfolio of next-generation 55nm GPUs that deliver on price, performance and energy efficiency. The ATI Radeon 3870 X2 will be priced at approximately $449.