ATI Technologies has launched the Radeon X1000 series, a new family of graphics processors. The company maintains that the top-to-bottom family built using 90-nanometer semiconductor fabrication technology, delivers better performance and image quality as compared to previous GPUs.

The Radeon X1000 has a GPU that targets a wide range of people and hopes to suit the needs of those just getting into the gaming mode, or those who are interested in editing photos and videos.

ATI maintains that customers who want all of the features and capabilities of the Radeon X1800 and Radeon X1600 but who are on a budget, would do well to go in for the Radeon X1300 which is priced at $79.

The GPUs feature ultra-threaded shader architecture to run today's shader-intense games, and a new memory architecture that makes the GPUs efficient. Graphics cards powered by Radeon X1000-series GPUs, will be available from ATI and its board partners.

Radeon X1800 and Radeon X1300 cards are shipping immediately, and Radeon X1600 cards will be shipped in October and November.

Rich Heye, vice president and general manager - desktop discrete products, ATI Technologies, said, "The Radeon X1000 family of GPUs was designed to be the best and it is the best. In terms of gaming performance, it is the fastest; in terms of image quality, it is the best looking; in terms of features, it is the richest."