3Dcenter.org has managed to get its hand on some key information about the new AMD flagship graphics card the R9-290X. Based on the Hawaii chip this GPU succeeds the Tahiti series (HD 7900) and features a die area of 430mm² which is 18% bigger than Tahiti. The Hawaii GPU has 4 raster engines with 2816 shader units, 176 TMUs, 32-48 ROPs and a 384 bit GDDR5 interface. The next chip down still based on Hawaii should have 160 TMUs, 32-48 ROPs, 2560 shader units and a 384 bit interface.
In terms of performance 3D center estimate that we will see around 20 to 25% more performance compared to the HD 7970 GHz edition as a result of these new tweaks. The new RX-2XX series will feature hardware level support for Direct X 11.2. The new shaders use the GCN2.0 design and have a temperature controlled boost clock design. 3Dcenter says these new GPUs will presented in just 6 days on September 25th. Availability is slated for mid to late October.
Image #1 courtesy of AMD and Image #2 courtesy of 3Dcenter.org
