ATI has teamed up with laptop-maker Asus to introduce a series of ‘Ready for Vista’ notebook graphics processors.
There are three processors in the Mobility Radeon X1K family: the X1700, X1450 and X1350. Each of the processors has been designed to cope with high-definition (HD) video and Microsoft’s next operating system Vista, which will require a significant amount of processing power to run properly.
ATI’s deal with Asus follows a similar deal with nVidia in recent weeks to use the GeForce Go 7700 chips in its ultra-portable AJ8 notebook series. Asus will use the ATI chips in its forthcoming Mobile TV, Mobility, Multimedia and Entertainment laptops.
Phil Eisler, senior vice-president and general manager, integrated and mobile business unit at ATI Technologies, said: “With the Mobility Radeon X1K family, we are continuing our commitment to offer mobile users unrivaled dedicated graphics performance without sacrificing long battery life. We’re driving innovation that allows notebook manufacturers and consumers to realise the true potential of HD.”
Longer battery life is a key component of the new processors, despite running faster than previous graphics processors. They will use the Powerplay 6.0 power management technology, which allows the chips to automatically adjust the balance between performance and power consumption based on the workload.
Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research, said: “With the imminent arrival of Vista and consumers buzzing about HD video, the demands on graphics processors are enormous and no lightweight card can handle it.
“ATI’s new Mobility Radeon graphics processors are Windows Vista-ready and up to the task of handling today’s power-intensive HD and multimedia applications.”
The X1K family will also incorporate ATI’s Avivo video and display technology and support both of the rival high-definition formats, HD-DVD/H.264 and Blu-ray.
Tony Chen, general manager of Asus’s notebook business, said: “Today’s mobile notebook users demand desktop-class processing performance with exceptional digital multimedia capability. The Mobility Radeon X1700, with its powerful 3D, video and power saving technologies, is an ideal solution for our Vista-capable notebooks to deliver a true-to-life digital entertainment experience.”
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