Efficient use of multithreading with DirectX 11. During AMD’s DirectX 11 training sessions last week, the company brought out its upcoming flagship HD 5800 series card under the Hemlock codename, the card which will also be the top model in its entire 40nm Evergreen series.

This multi-GPU beast more appropriately known as Radeon HD 5870 X2 was shown in a meeting room running CryTek’s latest CryEngine 3 development build at very smooth framerates. More specifically, the engine was running at 1920x1200 with AA turned off (as CryEngine has never needed manual AA) and the Screen Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO) rendering technique was significantly more pronounced than in Crysis and Crysis Warhead. According to several AIB partner sources, the Radeon HD 5870 X2 is expected to launch at less than $500. We are somewhat skeptical about this pricing strategy because it would assume that AMD would be selling two 40nm chips from TSMC at a significant marginal loss. In comparison, the HD 4870 launched last summer at $299 while the HD 4870 X2 launched at $549. If AMD is going to make any profit, we presume that this card should sell for at least $599. As the release date approaches, we will be able to confirm pricing details on both of the Hemlock cards including the HD 5850 X2.