AMD ha scelto il palcoscenico del CeBIT di Hannover per annunciare ufficialmente le nuove gpu ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 e ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830, due chip grafici prodotti con l'innovativo processo di fabbricazione a 40nm, capaci di vantare una considerevole riduzione del consumo di potenza rispetto alla precedente generazione, oltreché una diminuzione delle dimensioni fisiche che ne facilitano l'adozione nei sistemi portatili che fanno della compattezza una delle peculiarità più rilevanti.

La ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 e, in buona sostanza, la stessa ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 sono consigliate dal produttore per l'equipaggiamento dei notebook di nuova generazione fortemente orientati al gaming e alla multimedialità in High Definition.

I primi notebook basati sulle nuove gpu saranno disponibili a partire dal secondo trimestre dell'anno corrente; tra i system builder che le utilizzeranno AMD cita ASUS che con la sua serie di notebook "K" offrirà per prima la possibilità di usufruire di tali processori grafici.

Con questo annuncio AMD, e ATI in particolare, conferma la propria leadership dal punto di vista delle transizioni dei processi di fabbricazione: come per i 90nm, gli 80nm, i 65nm e i 55nm, sono infatti firmate ATI anche le prime gpu a 40nm.

Ricordiamo inoltre che se ad AMD/ATI spetta il compito di progettare tali chip grafici, la fase di fabbricazione vera e propria viene eseguita a Taiwan da Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

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Hannover, Germany (CeBIT) -- March 3, 2009 --AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced the world’s first graphics processors to harness 40nm process technology: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830. These feature-rich graphics processors redefine mobile PC entertainment with advanced capabilities including support for the latest Microsoft DirectX 10.1 games, a home theater-quality HD multimedia experience, and energy-efficient features for long battery life at work, at home or at play.

"People now decidedly prefer mobile PCs, and innovations like this 40nm mobile GPU show AMD is uniquely positioned to make the best entertainment experiences of desktop PCs possible in a notebook," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Products Group, AMD. "Depending on the performance of the panel or external monitor, laptops that feature these tiny, powerful but efficient graphics engines can run today’s most demanding game titles at beyond 1080p HD resolution, or playback full 1080p HD video with high energy efficiency thanks to ATI PowerPlay and 40nm process technology."

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 graphics will be featured in the forthcoming Asus K notebook.

"ASUS always strives to be first to deliver the newest and most advanced technology to our customers and launching the Asus K series Notebook with these new graphics processors from AMD demonstrates that," said Henry Yeh, GM of ASUS’ Notebook Business Unit.

The new 40nm production process allows notebook manufacturers to deliver more graphics horsepower in a smaller ASIC die size, giving people access to highly capable discrete graphics ideal for smaller notebooks. This milestone marks the fifth consecutive first-to-market process transition for ATI graphics processors.

"AMD always seeks to deliver the most advanced, yet relevant technology to our customers," continued Bergman. "We were first with DirectX 10.1 support, first to design graphics cards supporting GDDR5 memory technology, first with WHQL certified drivers for Windows Vista, first to launch a unified shader architecture, and for the fifth consecutive time, first to launch GPUs based on a new process node. That’s a meaningful track record of reliable execution for our customers."

"AMD continues to push the envelope of graphics processor performance, energy efficiency, and leading features with the introduction of its 40nm graphics processors," said Mark Liu, senior vice president, Advanced Technology Business, TSMC. "TSMC and AMD have a long history of success bringing the first graphics processors to market on new process technologies, including 90nm, 80nm, 65nm, 55nm and now 40nm."

The GPU for the best mobile HD entertainment
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 graphics processors feature powerful 3D engines derived from the award-winning ATI Radeon HD 4800 desktop series architecture with support for DirectX 10.1. Take crisp, detail-rich images and outstanding visual effects wherever you go for unparalleled levels of 3D gaming realism. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 supports GDDR5 memory technology contributing to stunning improvements in game play and performance with nearly twice the memory bandwidth of GDDR3.

Home theater enthusiasts can enjoy a portable HD experience with full 1080p HD viewing on HD-capable displays and or TVs. People can upscale to nearly twice the display resolution of HD content or watch standard definition video in near-HD quality with enhanced DVD up-scaling*. The second generation AMD Unified Video Decoder (UVD) keeps the CPU free to run social media applications or virus scan while UVD helps process intensive content such as Blu-ray movies. This helps lower power consumption and reduces the need for high fan settings, enabling a quieter and cooler laptop experience.

Leading energy efficiency
Additional power-saving features include ATI PowerPlay, ATI PowerXpress, and