A previously unknown web-site has published what it claims to be full specifications of Advanced Micro Devices graphics division ATI’s code-named R600 graphics processing unit (GPU). In addition, the web-site asserts that it had managed to benchmark an add-in board based on the aforementioned chip.

Specifications published by the web-site, which names itself Level505.com, resemble specs revealed by some other sources earlier, but are not fully similar:

• 64 4-Way SIMD Unified Shaders, 128 Shader Operations/Cycle;
• 32 texture mapping units, 16 raster operation units;
• 512-bit memory interface full 32 bit per chip connection;
• 230W thermal power envelope;

The web-site also claims that the next-generation graphics chip from AMD’s graphics division formerly known as ATI Technologies will support so-called GPU clustering, which allows to install 2ⁿ number of GPUs (4, 8, 16, 32, etc), though it is unclear whether this is something new, as ATI’s graphics chips supported multi-GPU capability for professional solutions from companies like Evans & Sutherland for many years now. In addition, Level505 reports that the R600 chip is compatible with “draft DX10.1 vendor-specific cap removal” application programming interface, something, which is unlikely to be utilized for a substantial amount of time.

Consumer graphics boards running the R600 chip will feature 1GB of memory and there will be a version with GDDR3 memory at 1.8GHz (due in January) and a version with GDDR4 memory at 2.20GHz (due in March). Pricing is yet unclear.

According to benchmark results obtained in several popular benchmarks on a system running quad-core Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 overclocked to 3.2GHz with 2GB of system memory, the ATI R600 graphics board has just a tiny performance improvement over Nvidia’s GeForce 8800 GTX, though, the testers used modified drivers for Microsoft Windows Vista to benchmark the R600-board under Windows XP.

The results of the GeForce 8800 GTX graphics card are, however, also lower than those, obtained by X-bit labs. For example, The GeForce 8800 GTX scores 6368 in 3DMark06 in 1600x1200 with 4x FSAA and 16x AF, according to Level 505; meanwhile, X-bit labs obtained 6700-6800 points with similar settings, but on a system that was based on lower-performance AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 processor. Results in some other benchmarks also seem to be somewhat strange.

The web-site claims that its R600 sample “is an RTM sample used in the MS CERT process for driver validation (especially for Vista)”. Picture of the board itself was not published, as the “the card contains major ID tags” which cannot be removed “for source protection”.

Representatives for AMD did not comment for the story.