Advanced Micro Devices has unveiled its new code-named Bonaire graphics processing unit aimed at the mainstream market. The first graphics card powered by the new chip costs $149 and outperforms its direct competitor, Nvidia Corp.’s GeForce GTX 650 Ti, by 8% - 32%. Unfortunately, the new boards will only become available next month.

AMD Bonaire graphics processor features 896 stream processors, 56 texture units, 16 render output units as well as 128-bit memory bus with GDDR5 support. The new chip is not a cut-down version of another one, but a brand new ASIC with 2.08 billion transistors with 160mm² die size. Like all Radeon HD 7000-series chips, the new Bonaire GPU support all the advantages that the graphics core next (GCN) architecture has to offer, including support for DirectX 11.1, OpenCL 1.2, OpenGL 4.3, 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. 

According to AMD’s own performance measurements, AMD Radeon HD 7790 “Bonaire” is on average 20% faster than its direct rival GeForce GTX 650 Ti in video games and benchmarks. Performance advantage over the competitor varies from 8% in Battlefield 3 to 14% in Crysis 3 to 32% in Tomb Raider and to over 40% in Dirt: Showdown.

Thanks to increased number of stream compute processors and high clock-speeds that result in 1.79TFLOPS of peak compute performance, AMD Radeon HD 7790 is also faster than Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti in applications that utilize GPGPU technologies. Depending on application, performance advantage of the new Bonaire-based solution over the competitor ranges from 18% in ComputeMark 2 to 70% in PassMark/Bitonic Sorting.

AMD Radeon HD 7790 also features a new version of AMD PowerTune technology that can now optimize voltages for efficient power consumption. That efficient power consumption allows AMD to bring even higher clock-speeds, which can translate into faster frame-rates for video games without increasing thermal design power. The Bonaire GPU has eight power states, each of which has its own clock-speed and voltage setting; the intelligent software can switch between power states in 10ms, thus providing either improved performance or lower power consumption.

AMD Radeon HD 7790 graphics cards from different add-in-board suppliers will be available in retail next month for $149 in the U.S. When customers purchase this new graphics card at a participating retailer, they will receive a free copy of BioShock Infinite valued at $59.99.

Tags: AMD, ATI, Radeon, GCN, Bonaire, 28nm, Sea Islands, Southern Islands