i guess most folks looking for more info on the upcoming GPUs from AMD are really overlooking this:<br><a class="bbcode_url" href="http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/AMD-Exposes-Mantle" target="_blank">AMD Exposes Mantle</a>

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>

<div class="quote-block">This is what Mantle does. It bypasses DirectX (and possibly the hardware abstraction layer) and developers can program very close to the metal with very little overhead from software. This lowers memory and CPU usage, it decreases latency, and because there are fewer “moving parts” AMD claims that they can do 9x the draw calls with Mantle as compared to DirectX. This is a significant boost in overall efficiency. Before everyone gets too excited, we will not see a 9x improvement in overall performance with every application. A single HD 7790 running in Mantle is not going to power 3 x 1080P monitors in Eyefinity faster than a HD 7790 or GTX 780 running in DirectX. Mantle shifts the bottleneck elsewhere.</div>

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<a class="bbcode_url" href="http://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-mantle-api-gcn-battlefield-4,24418.html" target="_blank">AMD's Mantle API Gives Devs Direct Hardware Control</a>

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>

<div class="quote-block">With Mantle, games like DICE’s 'Battlefield 4' will be empowered with the ability to speak the native language of the Graphics Core Next architecture, presenting a deeper level of hardware optimization no other graphics card manufacturer can match," the company said on Wednesday. "Mantle also assists game developers in bringing games to life on multiple platforms by leveraging the commonalities between GCN-powered PCs and consoles for a simple game development process.</div>

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<a class="bbcode_url" href="http://www.techspot.com/news/54134-amd-unveils-revolutionary-mantle-api-to-optimize-gpu-performance.html" target="_blank">AMD unveils revolutionary 'Mantle' API to optimize GPU performance</a>

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>

<div class="quote-block">Battlefield 4 will be the first title to use Mantle, with the technology coming through a free update in December. Mantle brings greater control of the GPU and CPU to game developers, especially in the memory department, which will allow games to harness the full potential of graphics cards. This model will be more similar to what is found on consoles, where developers have huge control over what hardware they use in their games.</div>

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<a class="bbcode_url" href="http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/tech-news-amd-introduces-mantle-api-initiative-unleash-amd-gpus-full-potential" target="_blank">AMD Introduces "Mantle" API Initiative to Unleash AMD GPU's Full Potential</a>

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>

<div class="quote-block">This new low-level programming interface is the crux to tapping the true performance of the AMD GCN GPUs which the Frostbite 3 game engine from EA Games is working to support. In fact, Frostite 3 will render natively with Mantle in Windows without needing to use DirectX 11 when used with compatible AMD Radeon GPUs. A lightweight Mantle driver will allow direct access to the GCN GPU's hardware while developers concerned with hopping aboard this new API can take solace that its compatible with DirectX HLSL (high level shading language) for simplified porting. At the end of the day, Mantle seeks to bridge the differences in developing for PC gaming and console gaming and bring to consumers all sorts of games at a quicker pace</div>

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<a class="bbcode_url" href="http://www.hardcoreware.net/amd-mantle/" target="_blank">AMD’s Mantle API, and What it Means for PC Gaming and Steam Machines</a>

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>

<div class="quote-block">As for Steam Machines, if you already thought they could lead to the end of console gaming as we know it, this makes it even moreso. If Valve sets a minimum specification for Steam Machines to be around the level of an Xbox One, and is able to provide low level programming, they could easily undercut the Xbox One and PS4 with standard PC hardware that performs close to what the dedicated consoles are capable of. And from there, they could offer upgrades for those who want even better performance and quality.</div>

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<a class="bbcode_url" href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/7371/understanding-amds-mantle-a-lowlevel-graphics-api-for-gcn" target="_blank">Understanding AMD’s Mantle: A Low-Level Graphics API For GCN</a>

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>

<div class="quote-block">With that said, the potential for Mantle is not the same as the actual execution for Mantle, and even if we’re correct about Mantle’s Xbox One origins, Mantle’s success is far from guaranteed. Mantle right now is merely the toolset to realize the possibility of bringing over existing low level code to the PC. To be successful, AMD at a minimum needs to convince multiplatform developers that it’s worth their time to do Mantle enabled versions of their rendering engines, as despite the easy porting it’s still more work than just doing the typical Direct3D port. Even then, that only captures multiplatform ports; native PC games are another matter entirely. Mantle does not necessary need native PC games to be successful for AMD, but certainly it would strongly validate the existence and capabilities of Mantle if AMD was able to get native PC games developed against it too. After all, the draw call benefits of Mantle are still very real, regardless of which platform is the lead platform for a game.</div>

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there are a few others but most those were just slides such as these:<br><a class="H-lightbox-open" href="http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1674385/"><img alt="" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="1674385" data-type="61" src="http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1674385/width/1500/height/1000/flags/LL" style="; width: 315px; height: 169px"></a><a class="H-lightbox-open" href="http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1674386/"><img alt="" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="1674386" data-type="61" src="http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1674386/width/1500/height/1000/flags/LL" style="; width: 315px; height: 169px"></a><a class="H-lightbox-open" href="http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1674387/"><img alt="" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="1674387" data-type="61" src="http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1674387/width/1500/height/1000/flags/LL" style="; width: 315px; height: 169px"></a><a class="H-lightbox-open" href="http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1674388/"><img alt="" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="1674388" data-type="61" src="http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1674388/width/1500/height/1000/flags/LL" style="; width: 315px; height: 169px"></a><a class="H-lightbox-open" href="http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1674389/"><img alt="" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="1674389" data-type="61" src="http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1674389/width/1500/height/1000/flags/LL" style="; width: 315px; height: 169px"></a><a class="H-lightbox-open" href="http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1674391/"><img alt="" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="1674391" data-type="61" src="http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1674391/width/1500/height/1000/flags/LL" style="; width: 315px; height: 169px"></a><br><br>

btw, supposedly being open source most any gpu (meaning not AMD proprietary) ought to be able to use it . .<br><div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>

<div class="quote-block">There's talk that Mantle is open-source, meaning Nvidia could add support to GeForce GPUs. But given the company's recent collaboration with Valve and Linux, Nvidia may be more inclined to focus on better supporting OpenGL (just a guess). Regardless, additional information regarding Mantle will be released at the AMD Developer Summit, APU13, taking place Nov. 11-13 in San Jose, California, and we will likely be there, but without the hula skirts.</div>

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cheers