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AMD has announced that a number of technology partners soon plan to release an inexpensive Single Link DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter. The addition of the adapter to the burgeoning ATI Eyefinity ecosystem comes on the heels of the recently announced increase in AMD-powered discrete graphics options for the Apple iMac and Mac Pro, as well as AMD’s return to market share leadership in discrete graphics.

The industry’s only complete, top-to-bottom line of graphics products offering Microsoft DirectX 11 support helped drive the company’s strong discrete graphics sales in the second quarter. In fact, in just nine months AMD had shipped more than 16 million DirectX 11-capable GPUs.

“AMD executed our DirectX 11 transition incredibly well, rolling out a top-to-bottom DirectX 11 product line before our competitor launched their first DirectX 11 part,” said Matt Skynner, corporate vice-president and general manager, GPU division, AMD. “In just six months, we delivered to customers an entire DirectX 11 product stack, with industry-leading image quality and technologies such as ATI Eyefinity and ATI Stream. In turn, customers shifted discrete GPU market share to AMD.”

The availability of the inexpensive Single Link DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter, with a suggested retail price of $30 US, expands the ATI Eyefinity ecosystem to include the massive number of LCD monitors with DVI connectors and resolutions up to 1920 x1200. This encompasses the vast majority of monitors sold today, with many models available for well under $200 each. Now, ATI Eyefinity multi-monitor solutions are within reach of virtually everyone, from die-hard gaming enthusiasts to individuals wanting more screen real estate to improve workflow.

The second quarter market share numbers recently released by Mercury Research show that AMD regained the unit volume lead in discrete graphics, with 51.1 percent of the market share, up 10.5 share points from Q2 2009. In the desktop discrete graphics market, AMD gained 10.9 points in the year, standing at 44.5 percent market share. Additionally, quarter over quarter AMD gained 6.6 share points in the mobile discrete graphics market, finishing the quarter at 56.3 percent market share.

With OEM design wins continuing to roll in, including the recently announced refresh of Apple’s iMac and Mac Pro lines, an even greater number of consumers can enjoy the benefits of AMD consumer and professional graphics solutions. Multi-monitor set ups are more accessible than ever as monitors become available at a range of price points, and manufacturers release ultra-thin bezel displays.