Nvidia 40nm is taped out

[josiahsuarez]

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11632&Itemid=1
Nvidia 40nm is taped out
Written by Fuad Abazovic
Friday, 23 January 2009 05:36

Aiming for Q2 2009 launch


According to our well informed sources, Nvidia's next generation 40nm chip has been taped out and is getting ready for its launch.

There will be at least two new 40nm SKUs and Nvidia is aiming for a launch in early Q2 2009. Some sources indicate that Nvidia might even make it to March, which is the last month of Q1 but this will be a tough thing to achieve.

ATI has also taped out its RV740 40nm mainstream chip and it looks that Nvidia plans to launch entry level and mainstream before it goes to 40nm with high end. Currently it looks it will be at least summer time, roughly early Q3, before we see new high end cards, at least from ATI.

[walterman]

Entry & mainstream chips. Not the high end parts. And still no DX11 support -> GT300.

[jcrox]

Entry & mainstream chips. Not the high end parts. And still no DX11 support -> GT300.

No DX11 Support? ROFL, games aren't even taking full advantage of DX10 yet....

[Muppet]

Well it looks like I did the right thing by holding out this time. I was going to get 2 295's.

[I♥GFX]

Umm if they're only mainstream cards than the 295s will still beat them...

[Muppet]

Umm if they're only mainstream cards than the 295s will still beat them...

The highend parts are never to far behind. Usually they are first out the gate though.

[slaWter]

Entry & mainstream chips. Not the high end parts. And still no DX11 support -> GT300.

Yep GT300 is the card to get this year. But nothing against 2 highend 40nm cards this summer ;)

[josiahsuarez]

The highend parts are never to far behind. Usually they are first out the gate though.

well with the 8 series the 8800 was first, then the rest. with the 9 series the mainstream parts were first (9600). then with the GT200 series the high end/performance parts were first again of course, and there's still no mainstream/entry-level parts, which is what these are apparently. so I guess the 9 series was just the exception to the rule. it will still be interesting to see how GT200 mainstream compares to the 9600 imo.

[walterman]

GT300 & R8xx should arrive on time for Windows 7 & DirectX 11, if not before.

I dunno if we will see a 40nm high end part before GT300, because, it could have a very short life span. Shorter than the 7800GTX512.

[josiahsuarez]

GTX285 is going to have a very short lifespan too. besides, it won't necessarily get killed, just get "downgraded" from an enthusiast part to a performance part probably.

[rage10]

well with the 8 series the 8800 was first, then the rest. with the 9 series the mainstream parts were first (9600). then with the GT200 series the high end/performance parts were first again of course, and there's still no mainstream/entry-level parts, which is what these are apparently. so I guess the 9 series was just the exception to the rule. it will still be interesting to see how GT200 mainstream compares to the 9600 imo.

there is no mainstream gt200 they use g92 for that. its all 65 nm process.

[I♥GFX]

How much better will 40nm or GT300 or whatever be than a typical GTX 285?

I just bought 2 of these, hope they don't become old that quick...

[Muppet]

How much better will 40nm or GT300 or whatever be than a typical GTX 285?

I just bought 2 of these, hope they don't become old that quick...

The die shrink alone should make for some interesting clocks, that's for sure. 55mm down to 40mm is a very big jump. That means cooler GPU and higher clock speeds.

[slaWter]

The die shrink alone should make for some interesting clocks, that's for sure. 55mm down to 40mm is a very big jump. That means cooler GPU and higher clock speeds.

Plus the 40nm cards aren't just a die shrink. Rumor has it that the GT212 will have 384 SPs!
Hopefully more VRAM as well.

[911medic]

well with the 8 series the 8800 was first, then the rest. with the 9 series the mainstream parts were first (9600). then with the GT200 series the high end/performance parts were first again of course, and there's still no mainstream/entry-level parts, which is what these are apparently. so I guess the 9 series was just the exception to the rule. it will still be interesting to see how GT200 mainstream compares to the 9600 imo.The "rule" for nVidia ever since the FX series has been to introduce die shrinks only on entry/mainstream parts, then carry it to the high-end as the process matures. From that perspective, all of the series you mention fall in line. These new 40nm products will likely be the mainstream GT200-series products, then the 40nm next-gen chips will follow.
If you're seeing a first run die-shrink product coming from nVidia, you can bet it's not the enthusiast part.

[jlippo]

GT300 should also be a new architecture, going by old naming it should be NV60. ;)
This means changes in ROPs, ALUs and everything else, basically similar change than it was from NV30 to NV40 and from NV40 to G80 (NV50)...

[walterman]

GT300 is Nvidia's DirectX 11
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11666&Itemid=1

Q4 2009

Nvidia is working on what looks to be its first DirectX 11 card and as it was the case before, Nvidia will start with DirectX 11 in the ultra high-end and it will pass it on to slower cards at a later date. The codename that we've heard is a quite logical one, GT300, and this card will help Nvidia to fight and eventually take the performance crown in ultra high-end market.

We do know that ATI should have its high end DirectX 11 at a similar date, and in the meantime both companies will focus more on cheaper cards in 2009, as the year of the Ox will probably be a good year for selling cheaper and more affordable stuff. All of the cards to launch in next three quarters in mainstream and entry-level will stick with DirectX 10 or 10.1, depending who are you talking about.

Many of you know that high-end helps selling entry level and mainstream, and it is rather important who wins this round, but it is still way too early to tell.

End of year.


Windows 7 OEM aims for Q4 2009
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11667&Itemid=1

HP and other OEMs want it

A few sources have confirmed that big OEMs such as HP, Dell and Acer, are pushing Microsoft to give them an OEM version of Windows 7 by Q4 2009. They all think that Windows 7 will push sales of new machines up, and they will desperately need such a push before Xmas season of 2009.

The reason.

[walterman]

Nvidia's 40nm enthusiast card is GT212

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11696&Itemid=1

In Q3

We got some limited information about GT200b generation replacement, and as it was rumoured before, we can confirm GT212 as the next codename. This is a 40nm card with a TDP of over 100W, and it should come before GT300, the ultra high-end DirectX 11 card.

This card won’t be DirectX 11, Nvidia will stick with DirectX 10 for the time being, but you can expect smaller transistors and probably more clusters then in current 55nm GT200b. There are two sets of incompatible information that we are getting, first is that this is simply a smaller version of GT200b chip developed in 40nm, while the second is that you can expect a few more transistors and more pipelines and clusters. We believe that option number two makes much more sense.

We expect that this card will come roughly in Q3 2009, and it is possible that ATI will roll out its next generation 40nm enthusiast card at the same time.

We don’t believe Nvidia can make it with this card to Q2 2009 and the last possible chance to fit this schedule would be June time. When you say Q3 2009, most people tend to think September, but this could very well be July. At this time, we don’t have a conclusive schedule, and we are sure that neither does Nvidia, as when you develop a chip, things tend to slip.

[Siskods9]

GT212 in Q3 & GT300 in Q4 ??? Would be nice but sounds very optimistic :p

[josiahsuarez]

GT212 in Q3 & GT300 in Q4 ??? Would be nice but sounds very optimistic :p

agreed. Windows 7 + DX11 + GT300 would be a killer xmas present, but the chances of those three release dates converging with no delays is a tall order. still, knock on wood, I hope it will happen :canadian:

[walterman]

TSMC’s 40nm delays explained
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11939&Itemid=1

Following up on their previous article concerned with the reason of TSMC's delays for the 40nm process, The Inquirer is now saying that the delays are a direct result of major leakages within chips. Their sources even went as far as to describe the problem being as serious as a “screen door on a submarine”.

Apparently, the Taiwanese have some solutions in store, but the report claims that we shouldn’t expect much of the 40nm shrink, as the results would be minor gains.

Be it as it may, we’re still anxious to test them and check for ourselves, but we’re quite sure that graphics card companies are even keener on this getting to this process, as it would at least slash production costs, minor gains or not.

TSMC's 40nm problem revealed
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/878/1050878/tsmc-40nm-revealed

WE'VE BEEN wondering about the seemingly endless delays to TSMC's 40ish nm process, and finally found someone to spill the beans as to why. The culprit is leakage.

People close to the foundry tell us that the TSMC 40nm process is something akin to a screen door on a submarine when it comes to electrons.

The Taiwanese elves have been badgering away at the problem for a long time, and while they do have a cunning plan, we are told it doesn't really work.

This means that the power savings from the 55 -> 40 shrink are going to be minimal to negative, best case results are minor gains.

If there is an optical shrink or a minor tweak to the parts, you will basically end up in the same place speed and capability wise. If you are looking for better GPUs from ATI or Nvidia this spring and summer, don't hold your breath.

It will result in cost savings for the manufacturers though, so cheaper may be in order, but faster is extremely unlikely. µ

[Ninja Prime]

TSMC’s 40nm delays explained
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11939&Itemid=1



TSMC's 40nm problem revealed
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/878/1050878/tsmc-40nm-revealed

Sucky news. That probably means clock speeds are likely to remain the same, the only improvements are going to be more transistors.

[Galvin]

With that and on top of losing money on their last quarter. Its not looking good.

[XMAN52373]

With that and on top of losing money on their last quarter. Its not looking good.

Got news for ya, even tho last quarter was a down quarter, they still made a profit of $481M for the quarter.

ATI/AMD on the other hand were more like ATI +$271M, AMD -$1.0B(Rough)

[Ninja Prime]

Got news for ya, even tho last quarter was a down quarter, they still made a profit of $481M for the quarter.

ATI/AMD on the other hand were more like ATI +$271M, AMD -$1.0B(Rough)

Revenue does not equal profit.