AMD Radeon R9 280 and 280X will be replaced by Tonga in August

During the year, a lot of new graphics cards were released, but mainly with older graphics processors in a new form. The explanation for this is the greatly delayed transition to nanometer technology, where the semiconductor giant TSMC is not yet in the process of volume production of the type of circuits used for high-performance graphics processors.

In August, however, a real newcomer arrives. AMD plans to release successors to the Radeon R9 280 and 280X with the new graphics processor Tonga, which in practice replaces the aging Tahiti. The latter was introduced as early as the beginning of 2012 with the 7900 series and thus has over 2.5 years on its neck.

According to the English edition of VR-Zone, Tonga will also be the first in a generation of 20 nanometers, but this is all the more uncertain information. According to SweClocker’s sources, the new graphics processor will be manufactured with the same 28 nanometer technology as its predecessors.

The original source on the Chinese VR-Zone (via Google Translate) also seems to use a negation in the text piece about the new manufacturing technology, which points to the fact that typographical errors have been present and addressed.

So far, not much is known about the new Tonga, other than that the first graphics cards are equipped with at least 2 GB of GDDR5 memory and will probably end up at a slightly higher price point than today’s discounted Radeon R9 280 and 280X. The latter cost SEK 2,795 including VAT at the introduction in January 2013.