AMD Reveals Radeon Sky Series For Cloud Gaming, Previews Radeon HD 7990 and More at GDC 2013

AMD made a number of interesting announcements today at the Game Developers Conference, currently taking place in San Francisco, CA. In addition to talking about a new strategy centered on gaming, AMD revealed some new products and previewed another that we’ve been hearing about for quite some time.

During their press conference, AMD revealed new Radeon Sky Series graphics products targeted at cloud gaming / computing applications, showed off the dual-GPU powered AMD Radeon HD 7990, and extended the “Never Settle: Reloaded” gaming bundle program to include “BioShock Infinite” and showed off a 30-second clip of the next Ruby tech demo, which is currently in the works.

We’ve got the full press release below, but wanted to show you a couple of pictures of the Radeon Sky Series and Radeon HD 7990.

AMD revealed three Radeon Sky Series cards, two based on the Tahiti GPU and another based on Pitcairn.  The top of the line Radeon Sky 900 is powered by two Tahiti GPUs linked to 6GB of memory (3GB per GPU). The Sky 700 is powered by a single Tahiti GPU and the Sky 500 is based on Pitcairn.  All of the cards are passively cooled and designed for cloud gaming / computing servers.

The upcoming Radeon HD 7990 was also previewed, but few concrete details were given. AMD’s Devon Nekechuk, Product Manager – AMD Graphics, did say the triple-fan setup was whisper quiet, but not much else was mentioned.  We think it’s safe to assume the card features 6GB of memory and clocks are in-line with current Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition cards. The pictures in the slide reveal that the card requires dual 8-pin power connectors and that its outputs consist of a single DVI and four mini-DP outputs. You can also see a massive heatsink behind the fans, which extends the entire length of the PCB.

We hope to have more details on the AMD Radeon HD 7990 soon.  For now, here’s the official press release with more details from the event.

AMD Delivers Unified Gaming Strategy at GDC 2013

— AMD launches powerful cloud gaming platform AMD Radeon Sky Series graphics, extends “Never Settle: Reloaded” program with “BioShock Infinite” and showcases sneak peek of new “Ruby” demo —

SAN FRANCISCO — Mar. 26, 2013 — Today at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) AMD (NYSE: AMD) unveiled its leadership strategy for the worldwide gaming market. AMD’s Unified Gaming Strategy comprehensively addresses how AMD will drive the gaming market across consoles, cloud platforms, tablets and PCs. By working with the world’s leading hardware and game developers, and by continuing to be a leader in the market by providing the most innovative graphics technologies, AMD is effectively positioned to drive the next revolution in gaming.

Gaming Evolved, launched three years ago at GDC, is at the core of the AMD Unified Gaming Strategy, and has been the driving force behind the revolutionary “Never Settle” gaming bundles and a major factor behind the adoption of powerful AMD engines in the latest next- generation gaming consoles. Building on this momentum, AMD today introduced AMD Radeon Sky Graphics, the cornerstone of AMD’s industry-leading cloud gaming platform.

“Real-time gaming through the cloud represents a significant opportunity and AMD is poised to lead in this vertical thanks to our extensive graphics hardware and software capabilities,” said David Cummings, senior director, AMD Professional Graphics. “AMD is working closely with CiiNow,G-Cluster, Otoy and Ubitus to deliver exceptional AMD Radeon gaming experiences to the cloud.”

Built from the ground up on the AMD Graphics Core Next architecture, this best-in-class graphics technology will lead the way in performance and define cloud gaming experiences for gamers. By working with industry-leaders like CiiNow, G-Cluster, Otoy and Ubitus, AMD has developed flexible cloud gaming technology and designed a solution that enables game developers and service providers to deliver a world-class content experience to millions of gamers whether it’s through PCs, tablets, Smart TVs or mobile devices. Powering this seamless experience is AMD RapidFire technology, enabling highly efficient and responsive game streaming.

Continued Momentum in Discrete Graphics Lineup
With the arrival of the  AMD Radeon HD 7790 graphics card last week, AMD continues to deliver outstanding graphics products. Based on the award-winning Graphics Core Next architecture, the AMD Radeon HD 7790 GPU was made for gamers looking to play the latest games, including Gaming Evolved titles such as Crysis 3 and Tomb Raider, at the right price point.

“We continue to innovate and push the boundaries of our discrete graphics products,” said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager, AMD Graphics. “Gamers demand the best experience across all of our products and with the AMD Radeon HD 7790 GPU, they receive the latest AMD Radeon technology at a competitive price point.” Packing in AMD Eyefinity technology and the award-winning Graphics Core Next architecture, the AMD Radeon HD 7790 GPU also features an enhanced version of AMD PowerTune technology, which enables higher performance and immersive gameplay to gaming rigs. This latest addition to the AMD Radeon HD 7000 series of graphics products is the ultimate choice for gamers looking to maximize their gaming experience in the USD$150 MSRP range. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 GPU is expected to be available from all AMD add-in-board partners during the first week of April.

Ruby: Rebooted, Reborn, Reloaded
GDC also marked the 10th anniversary of the launch of the original iconic AMD “Ruby” demo. To celebrate this milestone, AMD unveiled a sneak peek of its remodeled and reinvented Ruby, which was designed and developed by IllFonic, and harnesses the power of Crytek’s CryEngine 3 development engine. The latest AMD “Ruby” demo is still under production and is designed to highlight real-world gaming possibilities of AMD Radeon graphics technology. It will be unveiled to the world in the coming weeks.

BioShock Infinite: The Best of DirectX 11
As part of the “Never Settle: Reloaded”  bundle, AMD is proud to announce the arrival of “BioShock: Infinite.” With DirectX 11 PC-exclusive features such as anti-aliasing, texture detail, texture filtering, dynamic shadows and more, AMD is empowering gamers to unleash the most realistic gaming experience. Each of these features were developed in close collaboration with Irrational Games and the AMD Gaming Evolved team, ensuring the best experience for PC gamers choosing AMD Radeon graphics cards. “Fifteen years ago, Irrational Games got its start making PC games, and the PC gaming experience has always been near and dear to our hearts. Working with AMD allowed us to make the most of the DirectX 11-powered graphics,” said, Chris Kline, technical director, Irrational Games.