AMD launches the R9 290X graphics card, starting at $549

AMD has launched the Radeon R9 290X graphics card, which is the company’s flagship model in its new R9 series of GPUs. The graphics card uses the Graphics Core Next architecture and can make good use of AMD’s Mantle API. With it, game developers can harness GCN’s capabilities. It is also equipped with the new TrueAudio technology.

“As the pinnacle of our new AMD Radeon R9 Series graphics cards, the AMD Radeon R9 290X GPU embodies AMD’s leadership as the ultimate graphics solution for an exceptional gaming experience, affirming that Radeon is gaming,” said Matt Skynner, general manager and Corporate Vice President, AMD Graphics Business Unit. “The formidable combination of Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture, Mantle and AMD TrueAudio technology raises the bar for breathtaking audio and graphics, and powerful performance, giving enthusiasts an unprecedented gaming experience.”

The AMD R9 209X has an interesting design

Made to perform for UltraHD (4K) and AMD Eyefinity technology, the RadeonR9 290X GPU is essentially one of the best GPUs that one can currently get.

Here are some of the features of the R9 290X GPU:

• 2,816 stream processing units
• Up to 1 GHz engine clock
• 4GB GDDR5 memory
• Up to 5.0Gbps memory clock speed
• 320GB/s memory bandwidth (maximum)
• 5.6 TFLOPS Single Precision compute power 
• API support for DirectX 11.2, OpenGL 4.3 and Mantle

The AMD Radeon R9 290X graphics cards are available from October 24 at a starting price of $549 (Rs 33,790 approx). While AMD won’t be selling the GPU directly, we will be seeing hardware partners start shipping it with their own modifications.