Advanced Micro Devices has introduced a new family of graphics cards powered by its latest GCN (graphics core next) architecture and made using 28nm process technology. The Radeon HD 7800-series graphics adapters will boost performance in the segment of relatively affordable high-end graphics cards and will thus offer competitive advantages to Nvidia Corp.'s GeForce GTX 560 Ti and 570 solutions.

“Engineered for supremacy, designed for efficiency and packed with incredible features, the AMD Radeon HD 7800 series offers more than the just world’s most advanced graphics: it offers the incredible performance every gamer deserves. AMD continues to lead the industry in desktop graphics innovation with unrivalled computing and unequalled technologies like our game-changing GCN architecture,” said Matt Skynner corporate vice president and general manager of GPU division at AMD.

AMD claims that the model 7870/2GB is on average 40% faster than Nvidia GeForce GTX 570 with 1.25GB of memory (which price begins at roughly $250) whereas the model 7850/2GB is on average 25% faster than Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti with 1GB of memory (which prices begin at about $200).

The new Radeon HD 7800 family supports all the advantages that the GCN has to offer, including support for DirectX 11.1, OpenCL 1.2, PCI Express 3.0, AMD Eyefinity 2.0, ultra high-definition output support using DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4a, optimized power consumption, integrated 7.1 audio controller, stereo-3D/Blu-ray 3D support, and other new technologies.

AMD pins hopes on owners of the Radeon HD 5800-series graphics boards - which were bestsellers two years ago - to upgrade their graphics solutions to the new 7800-series graphics adapters. The AMD Radeon HD 7870 and AMD Radeon HD 7850 graphics boards will come equipped with 2GBs of GDDR5 memory and will be available worldwide from add-in-board partners with select models starting at $249.

Unfortunately, at present the Radeon HD 7800-series graphics cards are not available for sale. AMD promises that the boards will eventually be released by will be available worldwide from add-in-board partners like Asustek Computer, Club 3D, Diamond, Gigabyte, HIS, MSI, Powercolor, Sapphire, VisionTek and XFX.

Tags: AMD, ATI, Radeon, Southern Islands, Pitcairn, 28nm