AMD Provides Sneak Peek of Full Line of Radeon™ RX Series Graphics Processors at E3

Today at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) CEO Lisa Su delivered a pre-launch showcase of the full line of forthcoming Radeon™ RX Series graphics cards set to transform PC gaming this summer by delivering enthusiast class performance and features for gamers at mainstream price points. AMD previously showcased the Radeon™ RX 480 graphics card, designed for incredibly smooth AAA gaming at 1440p resolution and set to be the most affordable solution for premium VR experiences starting at just $199 SEP for the 4GB version. Joining the Radeon RX family are the newly announced Radeon™ RX 470 graphics card delivering refined, power-efficient HD gaming, and the Radeon™ RX 460, a cool and efficient solution for the ultimate e-sports gaming experience.

The Radeon™ RX Series of graphics processors are designed to transform the PC gaming industry across a variety of form factors, delivering on three fundamental “entitlements” for gamers and game developers:

·       Extraordinary VR experiences at price points never offered before – Previewed at Computex, the Radeon™ RX Series will expand the VR ecosystem by democratizing exceptional VR experiences, making them available to many form factors and millions of consumers by lowering the cost barriers to entry.

·       Great game content delivered to PC Gamers in real time – Through a combination of Radeon™ RX Series performance profiles and close-to-the-metal APIs that closely mirror console APIs, AMD believes that developers will be further empowered to co-develop high quality, high performing game content for both consoles and PCs, enhancing the PC gaming ecosystem.

·       Console-class GPU performance for thin and light notebooks – Gaming notebooks have traditionally been large and cumbersome or under-powered for today’s gaming needs. The Radeon™ RX Series addresses this with flagship technology that effectively gives mobile users GPU performance that rivals that of consoles with exceptionally low power and low-z height to drive thin, light and high-performance gaming notebooks, and 1080p 60Hz gaming experiences for both eSports and AAA titles.

“Gamers and consumers today are being left behind,” said Raja Koduri, senior vice president and chief architect, Radeon Technologies Group, AMD. “Today only the top 16 percent of PC gamers are purchasing GPUs that deliver premium VR and Gaming experiences.² Hundreds of millions of gamers have been relegated to using outdated technology. Notebook gamers are often forced to compromise. And tens of millions more can only read about incredible PC VR experiences that they can’t enjoy for themselves. That all changes with the Radeon™ RX Series, placing compelling and advanced high-end gaming and VR technologies within reach of everyone.”

Gamers in the market for a new graphics card need look no further than the forthcoming Radeon™ RX Series, consisting of:

·       Superior technology engineered for unprecedented performance– The Radeon™ RX Series features the most advanced graphics and gaming technologies ever seen in a GPU priced under $300 SEP, delivering cutting-edge engineering to everyday PC gamers and VR consumers. The Radeon™ RX Series harnesses the revolutionary Polaris architecture optimized for the 14nm FinFET process, the most cutting-edge process technology in the world featuring the smallest transistors ever used in a GPU, engineered to deliver unprecedented performance and power efficiency from incredibly small and thin chips.

·       Extraordinary VR experiences never widely affordable before – With models starting at $199 SEP, the Radeon™ RX 480 is the most affordable solution for a premium VR experience, supplying the graphics capability necessary to bring high-quality PC VR experiences from Oculus and HTC³ to anyone who wants it.

·       Future-proof technologies¹ – The Radeon™ RX Series continues the Radeon™ tradition of innovation, like being first to 14nm FinFET process technology, first in memory types and bandwidth like HBM, and first to support low overhead gaming APIs. Gamers will enjoy these products for a long time to come with a range of “future-proof” benefits including:

o   Leading DirectX® 12 and Vulkan™ gaming – The Polaris architecture-fueled Radeon™ RX Series is built to deliver phenomenal DirectX® 9, DirectX® 10, and DirectX® 11 gaming performance, and designed to absolutely scream in DirectX® 12 and Vulkan™, the future of gaming. Polaris architecture uniquely supports asynchronous compute for superior experiences in games and VR applications using DirectX® 12 and Vulkan™. AMD brings gamers incredible  DirectX® 12 and Vulkan™ game experiences including phenomenal VR content, by collaborating with the top DirectX® 12 and Vulkan™ developers in the world who want to develop on Radeon™ to bring the best games to market.

o   Next-generation display technologies – Radeon™ RX Series includes support for next-generation HDR gaming and video on new HDR monitors and TVs. The Radeon™ RX Series also supports HDMI™ 2.0b and DisplayPort 1.3/1.4 supporting the new generation of high-resolution HDR and high-refresh displays. The Radeon™ RX Series features exceptional accelerated H.265 encoding and decoding, enabling effortless streaming or recording of 10-bit 4K video at 60 FPS⁴.

o   Radeon Software designed to provide the best performance, features, stability and control – Equally as sophisticated as the Radeon™ RX Series graphics cards is the software that powers them. Radeon Software enables the ultimate in performance, features and stability to ensure an exceptionally smooth and fast out-of-box experience, and one that gets better with age as updates roll out.

For more information on Polaris architecture-based Radeon™ RX Series graphics cards, stay tuned to the AMD newsroom and associated social media channels.

References:

1. Statement of “future-proof” refers to support of current and upcoming technology standards including 14nm FinFET process technology, DirectX 12 and Vulkan API support, new display technology, and experiences such as VR. “Future-proof” statement is not meant to serve as a warranty or indicate that users will never have to upgrade their graphics technology again. Support of current and upcoming technology standards described above has the potential to reduce frequency of graphics upgrades for some users.

2.  Based on AMD internal data and analysis only, as of May 2016.

3.  See http://www.htcvive.com/ca/product-optimized/ and https://www.oculus.com/en-us/rift/ for required minimum system specifications for different VR headsets.

4.  HEVC acceleration is subject to inclusion/installation of compatible HEVC players

AMD Takes 83% Share of Global VR System Market, Driving Leading VR Experiences for Consumers and Developers

AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) recently announced at the 2016 Game Developer Conference that the company will underscore its dominance of the global virtual reality systems market. It revealed new advances in hardware and software to further the reach of VR, and unveiled its new GPU certified program that simplifies adoption of VR technology for consumers and content creators.

“AMD continues to be a driving force in virtual reality,” said Raja Koduri, senior vice president and chief architect, Radeon Technologies Group, AMD. “We’re bringing the technology to more people around the world through our efforts to expand the VR ecosystem with VR i-Cafés in China, new Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets, and a wide variety of content partners in gaming, entertainment, education, science, medicine, journalism and several other exciting fields.”

AMD is also making VR more easily accessible to consumers and content creators with its GPU certified program featuring the new “Radeon VR Ready Premium” and “Radeon VR Ready Creator” tiers. Its forthcoming Polaris GPUs and award-winning AMD LiquidVR™ technology will simultaneously advance groundbreaking VR-optimized graphics.

Expanding the VR ecosystem

• Leading market share – AMD is powering the overwhelming majority of home entertainment VR systems around the world, with an estimated 83 percent market share.¹ This share is driven in part by AMD technology powering VR-capable game consoles installed in millions of homes globally.
• Powering the premium VR headsets of 2016 – AMD is partnering with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive Pre headset manufacturers to ensure the Radeon™ ecosystem is ready to take advantage of their hugely anticipated launches this year.
• Collaborating to develop new form factors – AMD is working with Sulon Technologies Inc. on the Sulon Q™ headset, the world’s first and only all-in-one, tether-free, “wear and play” headset for virtual reality, augmented reality, and spatial computing. Powered by Radeon™ graphics and leveraging AMD’s LiquidVR™ technology for smooth and responsive AR and VR experiences, the Sulon Q™ headset allows users to effortlessly enhance the real world through augmented reality applications, and seamlessly transitions from the real world to virtual worlds.
• Powering premium VR experiences beyond gaming – AMD is collaborating with leading organizations to illustrate the power of VR outside of gaming, working with companies in healthcare, entertainment, education, media, training and simulation, among others. AMD is already seeing fruits of the efforts in projects including General Electric’s “The Neuro VR Experience” experience simulating brain activity, The Smithsonian Museum’s “First: The Story of Orville and Wilbur” experience, and incredible storytelling in VR through a recently announced collaboration with the Associated Press.

Advancing technology to power premium VR experiences

• Showcasing next-generation VR-optimized GPU hardware – AMD demonstrated for the first time ever the company’s forthcoming Polaris 10 GPU running Valve’s Aperture Science Robot Repair demo powered by the HTC Vive Pre. The sample GPU features the recently announced Polaris GPU architecture designed for 14nm FinFET, optimized for DirectX® 12 and VR, and boasts significant architectural improvements over previous AMD architectures including HDR monitor support, industry-leading performance-per-watt 2, and AMD’s 4th generation Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture.
• Growing adoption of GPUOpen’s LiquidVR™ technology – AMD LiquidVR™ technology helps address obstacles in content, comfort and compatibility that together take the industry a step closer to true, life-like presence in VR games, applications and experiences. Today AMD LiquidVR™ technology is being used across the VR software stack by headset manufacturers, including Oculus, HTC, game engine developers and content creators.

Simplifying VR adoption for consumers and content creators

AMD recently announced its new GPU certified program for VR, allowing OEMs, system builders, and AIB partners to instantly communicate to consumers which certified Radeon™ products can be used to deliver exceptional VR experiences with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets.

• “Radeon™ VR Ready Premium” solutions for exceptional VR experiences–Certified Radeon™ R9 290-class graphics cards and higher, and systems built using those cards, are now eligible for the “Radeon™ VR Ready Premium” seal.
• “VR-optimized systems like the HP ENVY Phoenix is specifically configured with the quality, performance and computing power to enable amazing virtual experiences,” said Kevin Frost, vice president and general manager, consumer personal systems, HP Inc. "HP is working with AMD to deliver the VR-ready HP ENVY Phoenix tower for a seamless out-of-the-box experience. With the Radeon™ VR Ready Premium program, it will help customers to take the guess work out of selecting the right VR capable graphics.”
• “Radeon™ VR Ready Creator” solutions for VR professionals, experience designers, and developers –The “Radeon™ VR Ready Creator” seal signifies unprecedented performance and industry-leading innovation that empowers VR content creators and experience designers with incredibly powerful and capable development tools. Featuring an upcoming graphics card with AMD’s LiquidVR SDK (software developer kit), the “Radeon™ VR Ready Creator” designation signifies the ultimate performance for both content creation and consumption for VR professionals.

About AMD

For more than 45 years, AMD has driven innovation in high-performance computing, graphics, and visualization technologies ― the building blocks for gaming, immersive platforms, and the datacenter. Hundreds of millions of consumers, leading Fortune 500 businesses, and cutting-edge scientific research facilities around the world rely on AMD technology daily to improve how they live, work, and play. AMD employees around the world are focused on building great products that push the boundaries of what is possible. For more information about how AMD is enabling today and inspiring tomorrow, visit the AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) website, blog, Facebook and Twitter pages.