AMD Mobility Radeon HD 6000 Series Is Half HD 5000 Rebrands

[caveman-jim]

AMD have put details of their AMD Radeon HD 6000M range online, a series of products designed for use in mobility products.

The range extends from a single SIMD equipped HD 6300M through 6400M, 6500M, 6600M & 6700M, 6800M and 6900M.

All the GPU's are based on ATI's Terascale 2 technology, and some improved as seen in the 'Barts' architecture used for the Radeon HD 6800 series. All the chips support DirectX 11, OpenGL 4.1 and OpenCL 1.1, with the requisite drivers. UVD 3 support is a mixed bag; some have it, some don't. This is because the 6300M, 6500M and 6800M are rebrands of the Radeon Mobility HD 5400, 5700 and 5800.

The speeds and feeds bounce around a little, with the top of the range 6900M appearing very similar to a Radeon HD 6850 - once again, AMD are using their second tier desktop part as the top mobility part; no Mobility Cayman this time. Hopefully people won't be surprised by Radeon HD 6900M performance being so different from Radeon HD 6970 performance, despite the same numerical marketing number.

• Radeon HD 6000M Parts
• HD 6900M
  • 960 STREAM Processors [12 SIMD] @ 580-680MHz
  • 48 Texture Units / 32 ROP's
  • 900MHz GDDR5 (256-bit mem. interface @ 115.2GB/s)
  • UVD 3 / Stereo3D / BluRay 3D
• HD 6800M (Formerly known as Mobility Radeon HD 5800, based on the Radeon HD 5700)
  • 800 STREAM Processors [10 SIMD] @ 575-675MHz
  • 40 Texture Units / 16 ROP's
  • 900-1000MHz GDDR5 (128-bit mem. interface @ 57.6-64GB/s)
  • UVD 2 / Stereo3D
• HD 6600M & 6700M
  • 480 STREAM Processors [6 SIMD] @ 575-675MHz
  • 24 Texture Units / 8 ROP's
  • 800-900MHz GDDR5 (128-bit mem. interface @ 51.2-57.6/s) or
  • 800-900MHz DDR3 (128-bit mem. interface @ 25.6-28.8 GB/s)
  • UVD 3 / Stereo3D / BluRay 3D
• HD 6500M (Formerly known as Mobility Radeon HD 5700, based on the Radeon HD 5500/5600)
  • 400 STREAM Processors [5 SIMD] @ 500-650MHz
  • 20 Texture Units / 8 ROP's
  • 900MHz GDDR5 (128-bit mem. interface @ 57.6GB/s) or
  • 900MHz DDR3 (128-bit mem. interface @ 28.8GB/s)
  • UVD 2 / Stereo3D
• HD 6400M
  • 160 STREAM Processors [2 SIMD] @ 500-650MHz
  • 8 Texture Units / 4 ROP's
  • 800MHz GDDR5 (64-bit mem. interface @ 25.6GB/s) or
  • 800-900MHz DDR3 (64-bit mem. interface @ 12.8-14.4GB/s)
  • UVD 3 / Stereo3D / BluRay 3D
• HD 6300M (Formerly known as Mobility Radeon HD 5400, based on the Radeon HD 5400)
  • 80 STREAM Processors [1 SIMD] @ 500-750MHz
  • 8 Texture Units / 4 ROP's
  • 800-900MHz DDR3 (64-bit mem. interface @ 12.8-14.4GB/s)
  • UVD 2 / Stereo3D

It doesn't seem likely that BluRay 3D will be much of a sticking point, as not many partners will equip their products with 3D-capable screens for native support. However, if you were hoping to use your laptop as a sometime HTPC and play 3D BluRay's, you'll be out of luck unless you pick the right model with the right in it.

The rebranding appears to be part of AMD's ongoing strategy to fill in the gaps with new products, aligning their older products into more suitable markets and price points. However, this is being done, on the mobility side, at the expense of consistency and clarity.

Modern computer components lack severely in the 'name it what makes sense' classifications of marketing, with made up model numbers bearing no relation to real world aspects of performance, features or other aspect. Defining and maintaining at least some semblance of an relative performance index helps find a starting point for consumers looking at similar products at a particular price point.

AMD seem determined to make it as hard as possible to see what's what, as we've now got three new mobility GPU's with three rebranded ones, mixed in with new APU model numbers (HD 6200, HD 6300 for graphics) all launching at the same time. Add in the rest of the desktop consumer line up, from the Ultra high-end to the mainstream and value performance, we've got a lot of product to differentiate.

Update - The 'rebranded' parts appear to feature a new BIOS firmware, validated for BluRay 3D playback via 'software' - the driver uses the SIMD array for performing the function offered by the UVD 3.0 hardware on the 'real' HD 6000 series.

[Targon]

I do not see a problem with "rebranding", as long as the capability of rebranded parts fits in FULLY with the other parts in the new generation. So, if all of them support DirectX 11 and you do not need to worry about some being DirectX 10, and some being DirectX 11, as long as performance falls in line with all of the cards, there should be no problem.

On the other hand, if some support certain features and others do not, that IS cause for concern. If it is all about how many displays can be supported, for a mobility product, there may also be no reason to be concerned since most mobility products don't have the ability to drive a large number of displays without horrible performance.

[caveman-jim]

The big differentiators here are UVD version, 2.2 vs 3.0 for BluRay 3D support and the improved Anistropic Filtering as seen in the Barts GPU.

[jlpktnst]

It could be a bother BUT, seriously, 3d? I don't see myself adopting a 3d gear while even blueray movies are scarce (and overpriced), also how many true 3d movies are out there, 5? Most are just horrible.

[caveman-jim]

If you were buying a laptop now and thinking you would have it for 2-4 years you might be disappointed when 3D is more common and you're left out because the $50 cheaper laptop can do it but your 'better' one can't. /shrug

Better to be informed and decide for yourself, I think.

[noko]

Originally Posted by caveman-jim

If you were buying a laptop now and thinking you would have it for 2-4 years you might be disappointed when 3D is more common and you're left out because the $50 cheaper laptop can do it but your 'better' one can't. /shrug

Better to be informed and decide for yourself, I think.

The first displayed 3d movie before a paying audience took place at the Astor Theater, New York, on June 10, 1915.

3D is really taken off

[brandongill]

Originally Posted by Targon

I do not see a problem with "rebranding", as long as the capability of rebranded parts fits in FULLY with the other parts in the new [url="http://www.3gcgroup.com/index.php/projects/mobile-unified-communications"]mobility[/ur] generation. So, if all of them support DirectX 11 and you do not need to worry about some being DirectX 10, and some being DirectX 11, as long as performance falls in line with all of the cards, there should be no problem.

On the other hand, if some support certain features and others do not, that IS cause for concern. If it is all about how many displays can be supported, for a mobility product, there may also be no reason to be concerned since most mobility mobile network security products don't have the ability to drive a large number of displays without horrible performance.

o do all of them support Direect X 11? how has the performance been in ur opinion?THANKS

[graphicnoob]

Originally Posted by jlpktnst

It could be a bother BUT, seriously, 3d? I don't see myself adopting a 3d gear while even blueray movies are scarce (and overpriced), also how many true 3d movies are out there, 5? Most are just horrible.

Even though 3D has not gotten to full on adaptation stage, you still need to play the game to be part of the conversation later. It's just how it goes. For instance, I am including 3D images in most of my email marketing campaign even though I know most users cannot yet get the full effect. Because I am doing this now, I am ahead of the game later when technology catches up.