AMD Radeon HD 7990 Spotted at GDC 2013

As the rumor mill has been hard at work, we can now safely conclude that it is a badly kept secret that AMD was working on an official version of the Radeon HD 7990. The GPU will be based on two Tahiti GPUs and carry 6 GB (3 GB per GPU) of GDDR5 memory that runs over a dual 384-bit memory interface. The codename for the graphics card would be "Malta." The GPUs' core speeds are predicted to lie between 1 GHz and 1.1 GHz.

If the specifications are correct, and if the card will end up performing similar to or better than the current custom HD 7990 solutions, AMD's official Radeon HD 7990 will definitely be giving Nvidia's GTX 690 and GTX Titan a run for their money, particularly in single card configurations. Previously, we had heard rumors that AMD was aiming to outperform Asus' ARES II card with its own official HD 7990 graphics card. Just to show off the performance, it is rumored that AMD is preparing a CryEngine 3 demo that will be showcased with the launch of this beast.

The Malta GPU will also carry a cooler that will pack three fans, just like we've seen on a number of custom HD 7990 cards, among which are PowerColor and Club3D's solutions. According to AMD, the card should be rather quiet as a result of its three fans.

There is n-o word on connectivity, but the pictures that we've seen from Hardware.fr show four mini-DisplayPort ports as well as a single DVI port, which we can safely assume will be a dual-link DVI port.

So far, there has been no specific word on pricing or availability, but we can expect the card to launch in Q2 2013 at a price that will approach $1,000.

Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

  • Roland Of Gilead
    Couldn't AMD have used a pretty girl to hold it instead!!??? C'mon make an effort at least :)
    Reply
  • imsurgical
    I typically buy Nvidia cards, but I have to say, nice job AMD! Always good to see new hardware.
    Reply
  • Memnarchon
    I thought this was the FirePro s10000... :O
    edit: my bad. After examine it a bit, there is difference on the bottom near the PCI Express connection
    Reply
  • dragonsqrrl
    It looks like the card might only require 2 8-pin connectors, which would be impressive if the rumored specs are accurate. Still not indicative of load power consumption, which could still go over 300W. Actually I would be surprised if it didn't.

    I also really like that AMD is trying something different with the design of their cooler. It's definitely going to limit the types of enclosures it can reliably occupy, but it should at least address one of the problems AMD had with the 6990, noise in relation to thermals.
    Reply
  • ilysaml
    AMD promised more HD 7X series, and they did...
    Reply
  • ibjeepr
    Well this seems anti-climatic after other news....
    Reply
  • dragonsqrrl
    dragonsqrrlIt looks like the card might only require 2 8-pin connectors, which would be impressive if the rumored specs are accurate. Still not indicative of load power consumption, which could still go over 300W. Actually I would be surprised if it didn't. I also really like that AMD is trying something different with the design of their cooler. It's definitely going to limit the types of enclosures it can reliably occupy, but it should at least address one of the problems AMD had with the 6990, noise in relation to thermals.hmm, was the "read comments on forum" button removed? I any case, 375W not 300.
    Reply
  • kennai
    I don't know what I like more, the card or the dude holding it.
    Reply
  • mafisometal
    that graphic card will be REALLY LOUD with 3 fans like that.
    Reply
  • Memnarchon
    10571655 said:
    hmm, was the "read comments on forum" button removed? I any case, 375W not 300.
    You have to do it manually :P
    Reply