Exclusive: AMD Caymen Islands cards definitely delayed

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/AMD%20logos/AMD%20logo-200-200.jpg"><br /><P>Top industry-insiders tell TechRadar.com there will be no <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6000-what-to-expect-902180">Caymen GPU</A> launch in November.</P><br /><P>When we first got our hands on AMD's new <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6870-902549/review">Radeon HD 6870</A> and <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6850-902866/review">HD 6850</A> we were pretty nonplussed, but there was always the spectre of the radically re-designed Caymen GPU-powered cards coming straight on their heels.</P><br /><P>But according to a top source from within the graphics card industry, AMD looks to be cooling those heels.</P><br /><P>We have been told that the delayed AMD boards will be arriving "sometime" in December, not this month after all.</P><br /><P>Rumours have been floating around from sources in Taiwan, but this is the first we've heard from industry bods in the know in this country.</P><br /><P>We know that none of the board manufacturers have had their allocation of cards shipped yet. And with an end of November deadline, it looked tight as to whether they would turn up at all.</P><br /><P>Indeed, it looks like we wont be seeing them until Santa's revving up his reindeers next month.</P><br /><P>This is all looking very much like the AMD version of <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/nvidia-geforce-gtx-480-679629/review">Nvidia's GTX 480</A> yield-based delays, as another industry bod said yesterday.</P><br /><P>And if it does match Nvidia's problems last year are we then looking at a 2011 release instead?</P><br /><P>With yesterday's release of the GeForce GTX 580, is AMD holding onto its top-end card to squeeze every last drop of performance out of it? Or is there something drastically wrong with the chip or manufacturing process?</P><br /><P>Only time will tell...</P><br /><UL><br /><LI><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6870-902549/review">Read our Radeon HD 6870 review</A></LI><br /><LI><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/nvidia-geforce-gtx-580-906690/review">Read our GeForce GTX 580 review</A></LI></UL>

Exclusive: AMD Caymen Islands cards definitely delayed

Top industry-insiders tell TechRadar.com there will be no Caymen GPU launch in November. When we first got our hands on AMD's new Radeo...

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Nvidia talks up GTX 580 vs AMD Caymen Islands

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/GTX%20580%203qtr-200-200.jpg"><br /><P>Nvidia has just launched it's newest, second generation DirectX 11 graphics card, the <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/nvidia-geforce-gtx-580-906690/review?artc_pg=1">GeForce GTX 580</A> and it thinks it's got an outright winner on its hands over AMD.</P><br /><P>Competitor AMD is rumoured to be launching its top-end GPUs at the end of this month after letting its uninspiring <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6870-902549/review">Radeon HD 6870</A> and <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6850-902866/review">HD 6850</A> into the wild in October.</P><br /><P>So who will win in this latest graphics deathmatch?</P><br /><P>According to Tom Petersen, Director of Technical Marketing at Nvidia, there's only going to be one winner.</P><br /><P>TechRadar asked him if the GeForce GTX 580 was still going to be the fastest card. "When Caymen comes out? Oh, I don't think it's going to be close."</P><br /><P><img alt="GF 110" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/GeForce_GTX_580_3qtr-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>"I have as much information as we have at Nvidia, but I think we're going to win," he continues. "If you believe their information that's become available so far we should win."</P><br /><P>That's confident stuff considering just how secretive AMD has been about its latest top-end graphics cards.</P><br /><P>The <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6000-what-to-expect-902180">Radeon HD 6970 and HD 6950</A>will include radically different architecture compared with its recent below-par releases.</P><br /><P>That's important because the rumours are that we're looking at twice the geometry performance of the previous generation of AMD GPUs.</P><br /><P>But as Petersen says, "ATI's been spectacularly secretive with Caymen Islands, so I can only guess."</P><br /><P>We shouldn't be guessing for too much longer though, and we'll have the full in-depth for you as soon as it hits our test benches.</P><br /><UL><br /><LI><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/nvidia-geforce-gtx-580-906690/review?artc_pg=1">Read our Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 review</A></LI><br /><LI><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6870-902549/review">Read our Radeon HD 6870 review</A></LI></UL>

Nvidia talks up GTX 580 vs AMD Caymen Islands

Nvidia has just launched it's newest, second generation DirectX 11 graphics card, the GeForce GTX 580 and it thinks it's got an out...

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