# AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumour)



## heidi2521 (May 8, 2013)

> The report was made by ChipHell and seems to suggest that AMD will skip Sea Islands completely, at least insofar as the discrete GPU and add-in board industry is concerned.
> 
> The GPUs will be designed with the 20nm Gate-Last process from TSMC or Common Platform Alliance, assuming no problems arise that force 28nm to be used again.
> 
> ...



AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 - Softpedia

Edit: TL;DR/Simplified:


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## Sainatarajan (May 9, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*

wth , 9xxx series!!! Will there wont be 8xxx series???


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## RCuber (May 9, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*

this is getting interesting.. I wonder what AMD has up their sleeves now  .. cant wait for the rumors


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## Extreme Gamer (May 9, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*



Sainatarajan said:


> wth , 9xxx series!!! Will there wont be 8xxx series???



7 series rebranded for OEMs


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## rock2702 (May 9, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumr*

Hope it beats the crap out of nvidia and is priced right


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## heidi2521 (May 9, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumr*



Sainatarajan said:


> wth , 9xxx series!!! Will there wont be 8xxx series???



As Extreme Gamer has said, OEM only.



rock2702 said:


> *Hope it beats the crap out of nvidia* and is priced right



I'd guess the pricing will be at around the Titan. Nvidia really needs to up their game if this is true.

@Bold: You trying to start a flame war here, mate?


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## rock2702 (May 9, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Diled, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumour)*



dead5 said:


> @Bold: You trying to start a flame war here, mate?



I am stating my opinion.If it turns out into a flame war so be it 

Seriously want AMD to up their game and better Nvidia, which will be a boon for the consumers as the pricing will come down to a more sane level.

The  volcanic island gpu's from AMD, If and when they come out will be a direct competitor to Maxwell, titan won't even be close to them in performance.


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## vickybat (May 9, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*

This looks more like a competitor to titan or titan ultra than maxwell. From the specs itself, it seems more powerful than titan.
Architecturally, i doubt this to be GCN 2.0 ( i can be wrong though). 

Maxwell is a different beast though and will be completely different from fermi and kepler architecture.
Such a wide bus also comes with its fair share of troubles unless amd made it more efficient. Even this gen, GCN was no match for kepler's memory management unit.
That explains logically how a gtx 680 with a 256 bit bus and 2gb vram could keep up with a 7970 with 384 bit bus and 3gb vram even at resolutions higher than 1440p.


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## heidi2521 (May 9, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Diled, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumour)*



rock2702 said:


> I am stating my opinion.If it turns out into a flame war so be it
> 
> Seriously want AMD to up their game and better Nvidia, which will be a boon for the consumers as the pricing will come down to a more sane level.
> 
> The  volcanic island gpu's from AMD, If and when they come out will be a *direct competitor to Maxwell, titan won't even be close to them in performance*.





TSMC to install 20nm fab equipment ahead of schedule, says report


This does lend some more credence to the leak


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## sukesh1090 (May 9, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*

^^
that could be for "APPLE".


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## topgear (May 10, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*

here's some spec details though not confirmed 
AMD Radeon HD 9970 | techPowerUp GPU Database


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## heidi2521 (May 10, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*



topgear said:


> here's some spec details though not confirmed
> AMD Radeon HD 9970 | techPowerUp GPU Database



Nice(Though most of that was already mentioned in the posted link/apparent from the diagram). Here's to hoping that it is true.


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## Cilus (May 10, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*

I guess AMD is also going to implement true HSA design in their HD 9000 series card, especially if they follow current trends of technology.


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## vkl (May 10, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*

The codename Volcanic Islands is almost confirm as it has been talked off in an interview by AMD officials some days ago,still there is no official word on specifications and the manufacturing process it will use.  Rage3D.com : The Future of AMD: Jim Keller and Chekib Akrout Interviewed [ Looking forward ]

Here is more on the image by chiphell :Unknown AMD SoC Features 8 Bulldozer Modules, 1024 Stream Processors, 512-Bit Memory Bus


> from *Xbitlabs*
> The chip, which block diagram was published by ChipHell web-site is claimed to be code-named Hawaii graphics processing unit that has sixteen serial processing units (and eight floating point units), 4096 stream processors, 256 texture units and 64 raster operating units. While installation of general-purpose/serial processing units into graphics processors seems to be a trend (since Nvidia Corp.’s Maxwell GPUs will have ARM-compatible Denver CPU cores), it does not seem that this is the case of this particular chip. In fact, it does not seem to be a GPU at all.
> 
> Although the image of the system-on-chip is extremely blurry, it is evident (if enlarge, sharpen, filter it and then add some logic) that it has all the blocks that the next-generation accelerated processing units are supposed to have. The SoC has security co-processor (ARM Cortex-A5), *AMD-V*, *AMD-P blocks*,* unified northbridge (UNB)*, system controller hub (SCH),* HyperTransport links*, PCI Express 3.0 lanes, CrossFireX interface, *eight 72-bit ECC DDR3 memory controllers*, display controller, *eight Steamroller-class x86 modules (with two integer/SPU cores, one FPU and L2 cache), unified L3 cache as well as a decent GCN architecture-based graphics processing unit*.



Doesn't look like a standalone GPU. AMD-P?It is a power saving technology used in some AMD opteron processors.
There are some serial processing units in the image..GPU to have serial processing units as in CPU?maybe
Maybe a fake picture or something else(APU based Opteron?).Only time will tell.
Anyway unless something gets more concrete about it we can't make any conclusion from it,till then it(chiphell image) is just a speculation.

As far as 1440p or higher resolution performance is concerned single hd7970GHz has the upper hand over single gtx680(both 2GB and 4GB versions).
Frame Rating: High End GPUs Benchmarked at 4K Resolutions | PC Perspective

Frame Rating Dissected: Full Details on Capture-based Graphics Performance Testing | PC Perspective


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## vickybat (May 10, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*



vkl said:


> As far as 1440p or higher resolution performance is concerned single hd7970GHz has the upper hand over single gtx680(both 2GB and 4GB versions).
> Frame Rating: High End GPUs Benchmarked at 4K Resolutions | PC Perspective
> 
> Frame Rating Dissected: Full Details on Capture-based Graphics Performance Testing | PC Perspective



The point was not about out doing but keeping up. 680 competes with a paltry 256 bit bus. 7970 does not seem to have an advantage using a wide 384 bit bus.
Wider bus is like a wide highway for better streamlined data feed. Apart from that , you also need an efficient MMU to manage data efficiently through the bus.

The 680's are just a couple of fps lower than the GHz edition. They would still match a standard 7970 with their 256 bit bus. Read up about kepler's memory management unit. They were explained in several early reviews. Its superior to what GCN offers.

Besides, 4k is an overkill resolution for single gpu gaming. Apart from the titan, non of the cards are fast enough. Even titan falters in some.


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## vkl (May 10, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*



vickybat said:


> The point was not about out doing but keeping up. 680 competes with a paltry 256 bit bus. 7970 does not seem to have an advantage using a wide 384 bit bus.
> Wider bus is like a wide highway for better streamlined data feed. Apart from that , you also need an efficient MMU to manage data efficiently through the bus.
> 
> The 680's are just a couple of fps lower than the GHz edition. They would still match a standard 7970 with their 256 bit bus. Read up about kepler's memory management unit. They were explained in several early reviews. Its superior to what GCN offers.
> ...



The point is,it's not that having a wider memory bus with higher bandwidth would benefit you in all situations in gaming but it does benefit in some.Sure different architectures would have different ways of dealing with memory management and though we can talk about if one has a considerably higher memory B/W but that doesn't make it outrightly better in every situation though things change with higher memory uitlisation,resolution,AA.
Wider memory bus and B/W of GPUs of same architecture can be compared better than comparing memory management of two different archtectures as they don't work identically.With kepler nvidia have more cache and higher bandwidth,full 512KB of L2 cache shared through the GPU,the cache hit-rate is optimized than their Fermi chips,SMX units together are more optimized than previous SM units for parallelism.

Even at 1080p hd7970GHz and gtx680 trade blows but at higher resolutions the former is overall better which is quite clear.
_At higher resolutions mostly the gap is always in the favor of hd7970GHz._
Far cry 3 is an example,here at 1080p hd7970GHz edition was losing about 20% and tables are turned as soon as we go to 1440p or higher.
So yes higher memory specs definitely help hd7970GHz edition at higher resolutions but how efficiently,is a different question as the question how would gk104 with identical specs to gtx680 with 384bit wide bus,3GB VRAM would fair(definitely better than gtx680 but how much better?) is also a different question.At the end memory bandwidth is just one part of the equation there are other things as well.
And it is not like as if it is just gtx680 is just "couple of fps" lower than hd7970GHz.In many cases it is just much more substantial than that at 1440p or higher,sometimes like 15-20% and sometimes even more than that(dirt3,skyrim,sleeping dogs).Gtx680 can't _keep up_ with hd7970GHz edition here at higher resolutions.
For sure at 1440p,4k and higher resolutions most would prefer a mutli-GPU set up but that doesn't change the thing that hd7970GHz is better at 1440p or higher,a step ahead of gtx680.


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## Cilus (May 10, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*

In GCN architecture, AMD has designed their memory modules not for just higher bandwidth but for superior computing power too. They are designed in such a manner that programmers will find it easy to program with GPU computing based languages. In fact wider memory bus does have higher performance impact when coupled with wider memory bus. In GCN, AMD actually brought best of the both world, not just gaming performance or Compute performance.If you look at it closely, you will find it is more like a CPU buss of a many core CPU architecture where multiple cluster of memory bus can access Video Ram simultaneously and assign threads more efficiently to the different compute engines fo better efficiency and resource utilization. Also the design is suitable for X86 type memory management techniques which helps the programmers greatly to optimize the code blocks.
In Kepler design, nVidia almost completely omits the GPU computing part and focused on pre gaming performance. Their memory bus is more like fetching as much data as possible in every clock cycle to feed the CUDA cores. Now in gaming, the design is the best case as here GPU needs to perform very limited number of operations over millions of pixels and coordinates. But in case of general programming, not all the time, you have a huge chunk of data available for a single operation. Here the data needs be divided into smaller groups based on the type of instructions which are needed to be operated over them. in that case, more number of memory bus clusters (384 bit bus is divided into 6 chunks of memory controller of 64 bit width, each handling 512 MB of memory Block), can independently fetch data from their respective memory locations simultaneously and assign them to different memory compute engines. It also makes Thread scheduling more easier.


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## heidi2521 (Jul 3, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*

*videocardz.com/43446/amd-radeon-hd-9000-series-launching-october

Possibly coming this october?

AMD synkar nya Radeon med Battlefield*4 - Grafikkort - SweClockers.com

Coincidence?


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## varun004 (Jul 3, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*

this will bring down titan and 780s price for sure if amd matches their performance for less.


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## heidi2521 (Aug 8, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*

AMD Hawaii GPU Performance Exposed in 3DMark - Faster Than GTX Titan



> The folks at Chiphell forum seem to have performance results of an Hawaii GPU which is a qualification sample. It is not know or told what the codename is or what kind of specifications does the card boasts so we would advise our readers to take this with a pinch of salt (just incase). Nevertheless, if this is truly AMD’s next generation beast than its a good one as seen in the 3DMark Firestrike results. The Hawaii GPU which falls in AMD’s Radeon HD line of graphic cards scores 4816 Points in Extreme preset. A quick Google on the intent reveals that the GeForce GTX Titan ends up with a score of 4500-4700 Points on Extreme preset while the GeForce GTX 780 scores a bit lower around 4400-4500 Points.
> Its no doubt that the Hawaii GPU would tackle the one and only GK110 core from NVIDIA. GK110 stands strong against its competitors from AMD in the HD 7000 series. Both the GeForce GTX Titan and GeForce GTX 780 do well in performance although they do cost alot too. The end point would be what GPU offers more value to consumers. If AMD is going all out to tackle the GK110 with their Hawaii GPU, then they also have to keep the prices under control.
> 
> *cdn3.wccftech.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/AMD-Hawaii-GPU-Performance.jpg
> ...



Europa Universalis III at 120 FPS. Into my veins.


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## Arnab (Aug 8, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*

what would be the approx anticipated released date?

i am still waiting to buy card, if its close i may get into the queue


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## heidi2521 (Aug 9, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*

Heavily rumoured to be October.


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## Arnab (Aug 9, 2013)

*Re: AMD Radeon HD 9970 Hawaii Detailed, Volcanic Islands GPUs Set for Late 2013 (chip hell leak/rumo*



dead5 said:


> Heavily rumoured to be October.



But Price will be Peak High??


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