R520 - or "Fudo", as it is codenamed - is the new chip to arrive from ATI in 2005. It has now been confirmed to have Shader Model 3.0, an important new graphics technology which allows more much more eye candy than we have previously seen in desktop graphics. We can expect much more complex shading, lighting, and procedural materials. Shader Model 3.0 also gives developers full and precise control over specular and fog computations, previously fixed-function, as well as many other enhacements.
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