Speed matters, for consumers and the market as a whole
In many industries, the battle to deliver the fastest, cheapest, biggest or best product can mean vendors and manufacturers become too focused on the prestige of the title, and less concerned with the benefits the products bring to their customers. All too often, the products released are, in effect, trophy cards or titles used to claim superiority over competitors and bear little relation to the needs of users or the demands of the industry.
But in the graphics card space, it’s not just about the race to the top; speed really does matter and having access to the world’s fastest card can have a significant impact on an end user’s visual computing experience by improving the performance of the graphics and quality of the images.
Earlier this year, AMD unveiled the AMD Radeon(tm) HD 6990, quite simply the fastest graphics card money can buy as outlined in numerous reviews across EMEA and globally*. While this is certainly a coveted claim to fame, the HD 6990 is far more than just a halo product. With the introduction of the HD 6990, AMD is responding to consumer demands for better, faster and richer gaming and PC experiences. In today’s digitised world of high-octane gaming, downloaded movies, video streaming and rich online media, consumers want their PCs to deliver great graphics, and the GPU is the essential component for providing this.
Introduced in February, the HD 6990 includes AMD’s second-generation, Microsoft DirectX® 11-capable architecture, advanced image quality features for the best looking games, and AMD PowerTune technology to enable higher clock speeds and faster gaming. The HD 6990 therefore offers the ultimate in immersive HD gaming and computing with native support for up to five display screens using AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology.
Perhaps most appropriate for the ‘power gamer’, the AMD Radeon HD 6990 graphics cards also feature a dual-BIOS toggle switch, allowing experienced enthusiast gamers to rev up the clocks and voltages for even more performance.** Finally, AMD HD3D technology enablees a cutting-edge stereoscopic 3D gaming and movie experience.
For me though, the introduction of this new card doesn’t just benefit the end users; the most significant impact is actually on the wider graphics market and all those who operate within it. Creating and introducing innovative products is critical to industry progression in that it increases performance and standards and prompts further cycles of invention and evolution in the computing sector. Enhancements to one product also have a knock-on effect to the other surrounding technologies, while the products at the value end of the market can ultimately draw on the improvements made to those at the very top.
But innovation is also vital for realising and increasing sales opportunities within the channel. Providing products ready for today and tomorrow is key to the future success and health of our sector and having a ‘king of the hill’ product within your offerings undoubtedly bolsters the strength of your portfolio overall. In my opinion, the introduction of industry-leading, halo products open up new channels of opportunity, creating new relationships, and delivering a roadmap of excellence to drive wider success.
Cy Brown is Vice-President of Sales, XFX Europe. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites, and references to third party trademarks, are provided for convenience and illustrative purposes only. Unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such links, and no third party endorsement of AMD or any of its products is implied.
* Reviews available including:
http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/asus-gtx590-and-hd6990-review/
http://www.in4.pl/recenzje.htm?rec_id=694
** AMD’s product warranty does not cover damages caused by overclocking even when overclocking is enabled via the dual bios toggle switch.
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