It boasts of a GCN Architecture and TrueAudio technology which takes your gameplay on a mind blowing level. It delivers the most realistic visuals and sound that you can ever ask for. The AMD Radeon R9 290X is also the fastest among AMD’s 200 series graphic cards.

The R9 290X features the following specs:

• 2,816 stream processing units
• Up to 1 GHz engine clock
• 4GB GDDR5 memory
• Up to 5.0Gbps memory clock speed
• 320GB/s memory bandwidth (maximum)
• 5.6 TFLOPS Single Precision compute power
• API support for DirectX® 11.2, OpenGL 4.3 and Mantle

It has also garnered mix reviews from the following tech sites:

Anandtech:

“The 290X is not only the fastest card in AMD’s 200 series lineup, but the 290 series in particular also contains the only new GPU in AMD’s latest generation of video cards. Dubbed Hawaii, with the 290 series AMD is looking to have their second wind between manufacturing node launches. By taking what they learned from Tahiti and building a refined GPU against a much more mature 28nm process – something that also opens the door to a less conservative design – AMD has been able to build a bigger, better Tahiti that continues down the path laid out by their Graphics Core Next architecture while bringing some new features to the family.”

Tom’s Hardware:

“After eight months of watching Nvidia go uncontested in the ultra-high-end graphics market, AMD has a new GPU based on existing technology that promises to challenge the top position. It gets mighty loud at times, but you can’t ignore the R9 290X’s price.”

“And now AMD is billing its new Radeon R9 290X as a ready-for-4K solution. Them’s fighting words, particularly with Ultra HD targeted as the next frontier in PC gaming. The technology is still very expensive, and it’s far from refined. But I challenge you to enjoy your favorite title on a 32”, 8.3-million-pixel screen, and then hand it back willingly. Expect 4K to be the battleground on which AMD and Nvidia drop their high-end GPUs moving forward.”

Bit-tech:

“The most important thing to say about the new Radeon R9 290X 4GB is that on the price performance scale it’s a clear winner against Nvidia’s GTX 780 3GB, at the time of writing. It undercuts it by at least £50 in the UK and $100 stateside, yet outperforms it almost universally. In doing so, it makes GTX Titan look even worse value than the GTX 780 3GB already does.”

“Compared with other AMD cards, it’s value isn’t quite as good, however. For example, while its performance is a huge jump over the R9 280X 3GB (up to 40 percent in some tests), it’s also double the price of it. Sadly, diminishing returns are to be expected with the highest end cards. We’ve also seen some very good deals on the HD 7990 6GB recently as well, although whether or not a dual GPU card is for you is another story. These cards also lack the TrueAudio DSP that the R9 290 series features, although this is mostly an unproven technology for now.”

“The card is a decent enough overclocker, although the Overdrive interface certainly needs some work. That said, it shouldn’t be long before better third party overclocking utilities fully support the card’s new approach to overclocking.”

TechPowerUp:

“The Radeon R9 290X is an important product for AMD because it’s the first truly new high-end graphics chip from the company in a very long time (21 months). AMD’s other late 2013 graphics card launches, led by the Radeon R9 280X, are merely rebrands of the company’s close to two-year old HD 7000 series, with price adjustments and repositioning within the product-stack. We must point out that NVIDIA didn’t handle its lineup any differently. Barring the GTX TITAN and its cut-down GTX 780, the rest of the GTX 700 lineup is largely derived from the previous generation GTX 600 series. Under the Radeon R9 290X’s skin is the swanky new 6.2 billion-transistor “Hawaii” silicon. Built on the existing 28 nanometer silicon fabrication process, it has solid credentials on paper, looking NVIDIA’s GTX TITAN and the GK110 silicon it’s based on right in the eye.”

Guru 3D:

“With the release of the Radeon R9 290X series AMD brings an incredibly fast product to the market. It rocks all performance scores in pretty much any game to date. Having that much raw unadulterated horsepower under the hood will bring options to the table. You play your games at 2560×1440 and flick on every quality setting that you can think of. Even then the cards will do a terrific job. For the few of you that already made the step towards UHD or 4K gaming at 3840 x 2160 that where these card do make sense. Admittedly just one 290X would probably be borderline acceptable when you select the finest image quality settings. So I foresee that the Ultra High Definition games simply will go for two R9-290X cards setup in Crossfire, which would be my recommendation. The product is often as fast or faster then a GeForce GTX Titan, whilst it is going to be priced a good chunk below the GeForce GTX 780. So that in retrospect means (even at this price level) performance for money. Honestly I am really excited to see prices below 499 EUR (incl VAT for this little powerhouse of a graphics card. But let’s bullet some stuff up and walk through the several segments and experiences from the review.”

The AMD Radeon R9 290X is now available in the market for $549.

LOS ANGELES, CA — (MARKET WIRE) — 06/07/11 — AMD (NYSE: AMD) today reintroduced the FX brand for PC processors and platforms at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). FX-branded products will be geared toward enthusiast PCs and HD entertainment aficionados. AMD also announced new members for its “Gaming Evolved” program, driving the PC gaming experience forward with native HD3D support in Eidos Montreal’s “Deus Ex: Human Revolution,” and new collaborations with Bioware, Creative Assembly and Codemasters.

FX Brand Enables Top-Flight Experience for Gamers and HD Media Enthusiasts The FX brand is associated with AMD’s fastest processors and most powerful platforms — those designed for unrestrained PC performance for the ultimate gaming and HD entertainment experiences. In addition, these processors and platforms drive rich visuals for graphics-intensive applications and high-resolution AMD Eyefinity multi-monitor configurations. The first platform to earn the FX title, the “Scorpius” platform, will feature the now-available AMD 9-series chipset motherboards and AMD Radeon” HD 6000 Series graphics cards, plus the upcoming “Zambezi” unlocked, native eight-core processor.(1)

“AMD’s FX brand will enable an over-the-top experience for PC enthusiasts,” said Leslie Sobon, vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, AMD. “By combining an unlocked, native eight-core processor, the latest in chipset technology, and AMD’s latest graphics cards, FX customers will enjoy an unrivalled feature set and amazing control over their PC’s performance.”

AMD Adds New Members, Titles to Gaming Evolved Furthering its commitment to PC gaming innovation and promoting an open and advanced experience for gamers, AMD continues to add members and grow relationships in the second year of the Gaming Evolved program. True to its previously announced commitment to PC gamers, AMD remains focused on working with the best software developers to maximize the user experience. Gaming Evolved combines AMD’s expanded support for Microsoft DirectX� 11 games (which use the latest graphics technology from Microsoft), along with AMD Eyefinity multiple-monitor configurations, AMD Dual Graphics (which enable multiple graphics processors in one computer), and native AMD HD3D support to enable standards-based stereo 3D display capabilities for a truly immersive 3D visual experience.(2)

“Since the launch of AMD’s open stereo 3D initiative last year, developers have been embracing native 3D support that will work with a range of 3D glasses and monitors from different vendors,” said Neal Robison, director of ISV Relations, AMD. “This excitement by developers is starting to pay off with the announcement by Eidos-Montreal that ‘Deus Ex: Human Revolution,’ will enable native stereo 3D support.”

With AMD HD3D, gamers can experience amazing stereoscopic 3D gaming image quality for a more realistic experience. AMD HD3D technology supports more than 400 titles through AMD’s technology partners, and AMD’s open 3D ecosystem approach encourages the broadest selection of 3D solutions, available at the most affordable cost.

“We are thrilled to be working with AMD, an innovative leader in PC hardware and software, incorporating their technology into Deus Ex: Human Revolution for PC,” said Stephane D’Astous, general manager of Eidos-Montreal, a Square Enix studio. “It’s also exciting that Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the first video game title optimized to natively utilize AMD HD3D-capable hardware. Coupled with AMD Eyefinity functionality, PC gamers will be even more immersed in the action-rich gameplay and compelling storyline.”

In addition to Eidos, AMD’s new partners include major developers of critically acclaimed titles, including Bioware’s “Dragon Age II,” Creative Assembly’s “SHOGUN 2: Total War” and Codemasters’ “DiRT 3,” which will include native support for DirectX 11, AMD Eyefinity and AMD Dual Graphics technologies.

AMD at E3 2011 E3 attendees can experience these stunning technologies with their own eyes at the AMD booth (#823 South Hall), which will feature demos of AMD technologies and upcoming game titles including “Orcs Must Die!” from Robot Entertainment and DirectX 11-enabled “Blacklight: Retribution” from Perfect World.

Supporting Resources

Read AMD posts from E3 on the Game Blog.
Learn more about AMD Gaming Evolved here.
Get additional information on AMD HD3D technology here.
Follow news from the AMD team on Twitter at @AMD_Unprocessed.
Become a fan of AMD technology on Facebook.

About AMD AMD (NYSE: AMD) is a semiconductor design innovator leading the next era of vivid digital experiences with its groundbreaking AMD Fusion Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) that power a wide range of computing devices. AMD’s server computing products are focused on driving industry-leading cloud computing and virtualization environments. AMD’s superior graphics technologies are found in a variety of solutions ranging from game consoles, PCs to supercomputers. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.

AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, Radeon and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

(1) AMD’s product warranty does not cover damages caused by overclocking even when overclocking is enabled via AMD software.

(2) AMD Eyefinity technology works with games that support non-standard aspect ratios, which is required for panning across multiple displays. To enable more than two displays, additional panels with native DisplayPort” connectors, and/or DisplayPort” compliant active adapters to convert your monitor’s native input to your cards DisplayPort” or Mini-DisplayPort” connector(s), are required. Support for six simultaneous displays may require complementary products compatible with DisplayPort 1.2 Multi-Stream Transport. Maximum number of configured displays may vary — check with your component or system manufacturer for specific model capabilities and supported technologies. SLS (“Single Large Surface”) functionality requires an identical display resolution on all configured displays.

On the outside, the new Lamborghini VX6S looks almost identical to its predecessor. The case and design still have the same style keyboard and trackpad. The only things noticeably different was that the VX6S on display was sporting a bright orange glossy hood and the palm rest was covered in leather.

The real changes are on the inside, where ASUS has now upgraded the processor and switched the graphics card from the NVIDIA ION to the AMD Radeon HD 6470M. The specs listed also mentions AMD’s HD3D capabilities of the graphic chip, which could mean a 3D display for the VX6S.

However, the display model was only a prototype, and the ASUS reps deliberated a bit when asked about possible 3D support before answering “no.” A lot of the specs could still be up in the air and even misprinted. The spec list had the words “New Intel Atom Processor NM10″ when NM10 is actually the Express Chipset used for Atom D510.

Nonetheless, the other specs are fairly standard with a 12.1-inch display, Bluetooth, Wireless N, 500 GB hard-drive, card-reader, and Windows 7 Home Premium. Pricing and release date are not yet available.

Publicly, Intel had planned to start shipping Ivy Bridge in late 2011, although its usual practices would still have meant a more likely early 2012 release in actual computers. Current timing might mean Ivy Bridge shipping only at the start of next year to meet the new goal.

Notebook processors don’t yet have a corresponding roadmap and are eitehr likely to follow in lock-step with the desktops or else sit on another schedule.

The launch could leave most computer builders leaning on the existing, 32nm Sandy Bridge architecture for longer than usual. Intel may have been aware of this for awhile as it has been planning an interim upgrade, Sandy Bridge E, with more cores and larger cache sizes. System builders like Apple, Dell, and HP, who are often dependent on Intel’s release schedule to dictate their own strategies, may have to wait later than this year.

Beyond the shrink to the smaller, more efficient 22nm process and the resulting boosts to clock speeds, Ivy Bridge adds official USB 3.0, PCI Express 3.0, and a new graphics chipset capable of supporting both DirectX 11 (OpenGL 4) and OpenCL 1.1.

Original roadmap at top; new version at bottom

NVIDIA demoed the new goodness on a Honeycomb slate with 1280 x 800 resolution and the frame rates remained smooth throughout. In order to emphasize the generational leap that we can expect with Kal-El, the company switched off two of the four cores momentarily, which plunged performance down to less than 10fps. That means the simulations we’re watching require a full quartet of processing cores on top of the 12-core GPU NVIDIA has in Kal-El. Mind-boggling stuff. Glow Ball will be available as a game on Android tablets once this crazy new chip makes its way into retail devices — which are still expected in the latter half of this year, August if everything goes perfectly to plan. One final note if you’re still feeling jaded: NVIDIA promises the production chip will be 25 to 30 percent faster than the one on display today. Full video demo follows after the break.

Traditional Netbooks are minimalist, typically sub-$350 laptops that average about 3 pounds and feature Intel’s power-frugal Atom processors. But the specially designated category of Netbooks is fading as more companies and consumers gravitate to plain old small laptops, minus the Netbook nomenclature and minus Intel’s Atom. And, as many analysts are saying of late, the surge of consumer interest in tablets, like Apple’s iPad, is also causing problems for the Netbook.

AMD told me this week it “sold out” of the Fusion processor in its most recent fiscal quarter. “Demand far exceeded supply,” Raymond Dumbeck, product marketing manager for AMD’s mobile products, said in a phone interview.

In further conversations with AMD this week, I was told it has delivered about 5 million Fusion chips since their introduction in the fourth quarter of 2010, and that the total includes somewhere between 3.5 million and 4 million in the most recent (first) quarter. And this number will undoubtedly increase when AMD discloses more numbers at the end of the current quarter. This is enough to dent Atom shipments, since the first-quarter Fusion number cited above comprises more than half the average number of Atom processors shipped per quarter.

“There is a significant interest in Fusion, especially the Llano parts that have yet to be released,” said Jim McGregor, an analyst at In-Stat. Which means more un-Netbooks like Sony’s 11.6-inch Y series–very deliberately not labeled as a Netbook. And Sony has made it clear it’s not interested in the category anymore.

So, is Fusion that much better than Atom? Let’s put it this way: Though AMD’s Fusion processors don’t clobber comparable Atom chips in benchmarks, Fusion offers enough of a performance cushion over Atom for PC makers like Sony, Hewlett-Packard, and Lenovo to create new designs. Sony and HP, among others, are using Fusion in 11.6-inch designs that are designated simply as small laptops. (See CNET review of HP Pavilion dm1Z with commentary about AMD’s Fusion chip performance vis-a-vis Atom.)

Not surprisingly, Intel disagrees about the demise of Netbooks–though in a phone interview Friday, the chipmaker’s marketing chief said tablets are having some impact. “It is fair to say that if people have discretionary income and they’re going to spend 500 or 600 dollars, it’s a tablet today [which] could have been a Netbook a year ago. So, there’s no question there’s a substitution that could be happening there,” said Tom Kilroy, a senior vice president and general manager at Intel’s Sales and Marketing Group.

And a couple of final thoughts about Netbooks: Apple is also doing its part to diminish the format. Though there’s a gaping price difference between, let’s say, a $300 Atom-based 10-inch Netbook and a $999 11.6-inch MacBook Air, Apple offers consumers a clearly superior choice to a Netbook.

And let’s not forget the Chromebook, a dark horse in all of this. These small (11- and 12-inch) Google Chrome OS-based laptops, due in June, are powered by Intel’s latest dual-core Atom processors. Atom’s performance characteristics are better suited to the Chrome OS than Microsoft’s resource- and performance-intensive Windows 7, which runs (slowly) on all Netbooks today.