Advanced Micro Devices has introduced the ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series of graphics processing units. As the world's first series of graphics processors to deliver Microsoft's DirectX 10.1 support, 55nm process technology and tri- and quad-GPU support with ATI CrossFireX, AMD says the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series ushers in a new era of enthusiast gaming performance at mainstream price points.

The series has been introduced in two variants at launch: from US $180, the HD 3850 with 256MB of GDDR3 memory and from $220, the HD 3870 with 512MB GDDR4 memory. This new series of graphics products also represent the first step in the launch of AMD's upcoming enthusiast platform, codenamed Spider.

"With the introduction of the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series we are redefining the market for enthusiast graphics with a new class of price, performance and features that have never been seen before in this industry," said Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Graphics Product Group, AMD. "Through a flawless transition to 55nm and Microsoft DirectX 10.1, we can deliver an unprecedented level of scalable performance, image quality enhancements and power efficiency at the sub-$200 segment that rivals today's most expensive graphics processors and opens up enthusiast gaming to more end users than ever before."

At launch, the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series will support dual-GPU CrossFire with tri-and quad-GPU support scheduled for January 2008.

Graphics bandwidth is also greatly enhanced with the introduction of PCI Express 2.0. Delivering over 16 gigabytes per second of bi-directional bandwidth, PCIe 2.0 doubles the bus data rate over the previous generation. The combination of PCIe 2.0 and HyperTransport 3 on next-generation AMD platforms provides a dramatic increase in the amount of system bandwidth for high definition, multi-GPU PC gaming.

The transition to 55nm has allowed for a double in performance-per-watt over the previous generation with a significant reduction in die size.

In addition to 55nm, AMD has also added its patented ATI PowerPlay technology to the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series to provide increased control over the graphics processor in multiple power states. With PowerPlay technology users can benefit from dynamic adjustment of clocks and voltages depending on their usage scenario, which allows for a cool and quiet user experience.

AMD has also answered the call of HD video enthusiasts with top-to-bottom support for the Unified Video Decoder. The addition of UVD ensures exceptional platform efficiency and image quality in HD-DVD and Blu-ray decoding for both H.264 and VC-1 specifications. Enhanced HDMI functionality also continues on this series of products with integrated HDCP and audio for HDMI video.

The ATI Radeon HD 3800 series launches with broad availability and eco-system support from AMD's Add-in-Board (AIB) and Systems Integrators (SI) partners. AIB partners building boards based on the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series include Asus, Club 3D, Diamond Multimedia, Gigabyte, HIS, Info-Tek, MSI, Palit, Sapphire, Tul and Visiontek. Systems integrators launching ATI Radeon HD 3800 series include ABS, Alienware, Amax, Canada Computers, CyberPower, Extreme PC Corporation, Falcon-Northwest, IBuyPower, Maingear, Systemax, Ultra Gaming and Velocity Micro.