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AMD despatched us phrase that tomorrow they are going to be internet hosting a Livecast celebrating 30 years of graphics and gaming innovation. Thirty years is a very long time, and positively we’ve got a whole lot of readers that weren’t even round when AMD had its beginnings. Besides we’re not likely speaking concerning the basis of AMD; that they had their begin in 1969. It seems that is extra a celebration of their graphics division, previously ATI, which was based in… August, 1985.

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AMD is seemingly taking a look at a yr-lengthy celebration of the corporate previously referred to as ATI, Radeon graphics, and gaming. Whereas they’re being a bit coy concerning the actual contents of the Livecast, we do know that there might be three recreation builders collaborating together with a reside overclocking occasion. If we’re fortunate, perhaps AMD even has a secret product announcement, but when in order that they have not offered any particulars. And whereas we will now look ahead to a yr of celebrating AMD graphics and most probably a remaining finish-of-the-yr celebration come subsequent August, why not begin out with a quick take a look at the place AMD/ATI began and the place they’re now?

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I am sufficiently old that I’ll have been an proprietor of considered one of ATI’s first merchandise, as I started my habit profession as a know-how fanatic means again within the hoary days of the Commodore sixty four. Whereas the C64 initially began delivery a number of years earlier, Commodore was considered one of ATI’s first clients they usually have been largely chargeable for an infusion of cash that stored ATI going within the early days.

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By 1987, ATI started shifting into the world of PC graphics with their “Marvel” model of chips and playing cards, beginning with eight-bit PC/XT-based mostly board supporting monochrome or four-shade CGA. Over the subsequent a number of years ATI would transfer to EGA (640×350 and offered an astounding sixteen colours) and VGA (sixteen-bit ISA and 256 colours). Should you needed a state-of-the-artwork video card just like the ATI VGA Marvel in 1988, you have been taking a look at $500 for the 256K mannequin or $seven hundred for the 512K version. However all of that is actually previous stuff; the place issues begin to grow to be fascinating is within the early 90s with the launch and rising reputation of Home windows three.zero.

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ATI’s Mach eight was their first true graphics processor from the corporate. It was capable of offload 2D graphics features from the CPU and render them independently, and on the time it was one of many few video playing cards that would do that. Sporting 512K-1MB of reminiscence, it was nonetheless an ISA card (or it was obtainable in MCA for those who occurred to personal an IBM PS/2).

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Two years later the Mach 32 got here out, the primary 32-bit succesful chip with help for ISA, EISA, MCA, VLB, and PCI slots. Mach 32 shipped with both 1MB or 2MB DRAM/VRAM and added excessive-colour (15-bit/sixteen-bit) and later True Colour (the 24-bit shade that we’re nonetheless principally utilizing immediately) to the combination, together with a sixty four-bit reminiscence interface. And two years after got here the Mach sixty four, which introduced help for as much as 8MB of DRAM, VRAM, or the brand new SGRAM. Later variants of the Mach sixty four additionally began together with 3D capabilities (and have been rebranded as Rage, see under), and we’re nonetheless not even within the “trendy” period of graphics chips but!

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Subsequent in line was the Rage collection of graphics chips, and this was the primary line of graphics chips constructed with 3D acceleration as one of many key options. We might speak about competing merchandise from 3dfx, NVIDIA, Virge, S3, and so on. right here, however let’s simply persist with ATI. The Rage line appropriately started with the 3D Rage I in 1996, and it was principally an enhancement of the Mach64 design with added on 3D help. The 3D Rage II was one other Mach64 derived design, with as much as twice the efficiency of the 3D Rage. The Rage II additionally discovered its method into some Macintosh techniques, and whereas it was initially a PCI half, the Rage IIc later added AGP help.

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That half was adopted by the Rage Professional, which is when graphics chips first began dealing with geometry processing (circa 1998 with DirectX 6.zero in case you’re preserving monitor), and you would get the Professional playing cards with as much as 16MB of reminiscence. There have been additionally low-value variations of the Rage Professional within the Rage LT, LT Professional, and XL fashions, and the Rage XL might maintain the excellence of being one of many longest-used graphics chips in historical past, as I do know even in 2005 or thereabouts there have been many servers nonetheless delivery with that chip on the motherboard offering graphics output. In 1998 ATI launched the Rage 128 with AGP 2X help (the improved Rage 128 Professional added AGP 4X help amongst different issues a yr later), and as much as 32MB RAM. The Rage 128 Extremely even supported 64MB in its prime configuration, however that wasn’t the crowning achievement of the Rage collection. No, the most important achievement for Rage was with the Rage Fury MAXX, ATI’s first GPU to help alternate body rendering to offer as much as twice the efficiency.

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And final however not least we lastly enter the fashionable period of ATI/AMD video playing cards with the Radeon line. Issues begin to get fairly dense when it comes to releases at this level, so we’ll principally gloss over issues and simply hit the highlights. The primary iteration Radeon introduced help for DirectX 7 options, the most important being hardware help for rework and lighting calculations – principally a method of offloading further geometry calculations. The second era Radeon chips (bought underneath the Radeon 8000 and decrease quantity 9000 fashions) added DirectX eight help, the primary look of programmable pixel and vertex shaders in GPUs.

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Maybe the most effective of the Radeon breed goes to the R300 line, with the Radeon 9600/9700/9800 collection playing cards delivering DirectX 9.zero help and, extra importantly, holding onto a transparent efficiency lead over their chief competitor NVIDIA for almost two strong years! It’s kind of loopy to understand that we’re now into our tenth (or eleventh, relying on the way you need to rely) era of Radeon GPUs, and whereas the general efficiency crown is usually hotly debated, one factor is obvious: video games and graphics hardware would not be the place it’s at this time with out the enter of AMD’s graphics division!

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That is a good way to complete issues off, and tomorrow I think AMD may have far more to say with reference to the altering panorama of pc graphics over the previous 30 years. It has been a wild journey, and once I assume again to the early days of pc video games after which take a look at trendy titles, it is fairly superb. It is also fascinating to notice that folks typically complain about spending $200 or $300 on a fairly excessive efficiency GPU, when the truth is that the highest performing video playing cards have typically value a number of hundred dollars – I keep in mind shopping for an early 1MB True Shade card for $200 again within the day, and that was nowhere close to the highest of the road providing. The quantity of compute efficiency we will now purchase for underneath $500 is superior, and I can solely think about what the advances of one other 30 years will deliver us. So, congratulations to AMD on 30 years of graphics innovation, and this is to 30 extra years!

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