NV38?

[DSC]

Been lurking at the bjorn3d channel after the chat was finished and noticed there was talk on NV38.

There seems to be a new NV38 GPU coming soon, basically a NV35 with a number of fixes and speed bumped, possibly to counter the R360. Uttar, any concrete info on it? :o

[Uttar]

Lol, how come things leak so darn quick nowadays? Amazing, amazing... :)

Yes, it's a high-end part. Only info I got right now is that it's scheduled for September.
I've got a few ideas too, and heard a few things, but it's too early to say anything reliable but that.


Uttar

[Deimos]

This is getting silly.. between ATI and NVIDIA there will soon be a new high-end part each month..

/Deimos

[Uttar]

Well, it's practically a darn respin. Costs them money to make, but no where near as much as a new ASIC.


Uttar

[Deimos]

So what can we expect apart from higher clock-frequencies?

/Deimos

[Dazz]

I would say pixle shader peformance will be improved as well as AF & AA.

[ClyssaN]

Originally posted by DSC
Been lurking at the bjorn3d channel after the chat was finished and noticed there was talk on NV38.

There seems to be a new NV38 GPU coming soon, basically a NV35 with a number of fixes and speed bumped, possibly to counter the R360. Uttar, any concrete info on it? :o

If i remember correctly, MuFu was the one who mention it, what else is new :)

[volt]

Originally posted by Dazz
I would say pixle shader peformance will be improved as well as AF & AA.

I highly doubt it. NV35 was supposed to have doubled PS performance, and that came out to be PR BS.

A different pipeline configuration will most likely contribute to improved pixel shader performance.

NV38 + Det 50 in Fall ? :)

[MuFu]

NV38 is just a respun NV35 with tweaks/fixes, AFAIK. 500-550/1000MHz clock projection. Called 6000/Ultra or 6900/Ultra.

MuFu.

[ClyssaN]

Very nice clock speeds. To bad AA probably will be the same.

[BigFish7]

they might even use GDDR-2 (it's supported by the board as you all know)
yet i dobut it...
i'm sure they won't change the p.s performance by that much (10%-15% +- using same clocks as NV35) due to the fact that they will need to redesign the FPU...(they won't untill NV40 which should fix the P.S "problem").
however i expect nice 35%-25% boost under High IQ (AA+AF)...
we might see some kind of "tweak" as we know the NV3X lineup is extremely programmable meaning that they (nv) can still add more transistors(some kind of new tech) which would boost P.S performance (yet once again i doubt it :(

lets hope and see ;)

[Uttar]

Well, new MSAA techniques are unlikely - but some higher MSAA OG possibilities are not out of the question, you know...


Uttar

[Paul]

Looking increasingly likely that the NV40 isn't going to debut this year, if only because the R420 has slipped to Spring 2004. There is no real rush for nVidia anymore, so perhaps they're content with a respun NV35 to stay competitive with the R360. Can't see them being too happy replacing the NV38 after 2 months (the previously expected launchdate was November/December)

It will be interesting to see if they get centroid sampling support into the NV38 though.

[SurfMonkey]

Originally posted by Paul
It will be interesting to see if they get centroid sampling support into the NV38 though.

I don't think they'll bother with centroid support. It isn't in the DX9 specs which is why ATI would have to hack around to get it exposed.

[incurable]

Originally posted by SurfMonkey
I don't think they'll bother with centroid support. It isn't in the DX9 specs which is why ATI would have to hack around to get it exposed.
If I understood the conversations correctly, Centroid Sampling is part of the PS3.0 specs which itself is part of DX9. I don't expect any NV3x to support it, though.

cu

incurable

[The Baron]

is PS3.0 actually a part of DX9? I thought it was a part of the "List of Stuff That We Should Probably Do For DX10" :p

[Hellbinder]

Interesting...

Although 550mhz ram seems a little unrealistic.

Edit: never mind i see that the 550 was talking about core not ram.

[SurfMonkey]

Hmm, yeah it's in in the PS3.0 spec as an instruction modifier supported on dcl usage and texture lookup instructions. So I was wrong about it not being the DX9 spec but what I actually menat to say is that we won't see it int the current generation of cards unless ATI or NV decide to suprise us all.

[The Baron]

Originally posted by SurfMonkey
Hmm, yeah it's in in the PS3.0 spec as an instruction modifier supported on dcl usage and texture lookup instructions. So I was wrong about it not being the DX9 spec but what I actually menat to say is that we won't see it int the current generation of cards unless ATI or NV decide to suprise us all.
Maybe it could be emulated in software?

[DarkOneX]

Do you all know for sure that there even is an improved 5900 coming out in Sept? IF this is true I'm selling my FX 5900U now as to get the most $$$ back out of it before this happens and will just buy that Chaintek 5600 Ultra to use in the meantime.

[volt]

NVIDIA follows a 6 month cycle, that should tell you something :p

[mikechai]

The NV38 plan should give you an idea when the NV40 is going to come out....

[Uttar]

Well, nothing is a given yet for the NV40. Heck, the NV38 ( codename-less then ) was in development 3 months ago already, and the plan clearly was to release the NV40 at Comdex.
Although yes, that is, and always has been, a best-case scenario :)


Uttar

[Hellbinder]

NVIDIA follows a 6 month cycle, that should tell you something

Your making a funny right???

fx5900U in June, fx6000 in september, Nv40 introduced in november...

Thats a total of 7 months from start to finish for 3 high end cards. Whats happening here is that Nvidia is worried about what the R360 (not to mention the r350) performance numbers in HL2 will do to public opinion. Thus they decided to release yet another new card in just a 4 month window. Personally i dont think that a 50mhz core increase on the 5900U is going to save them. But well see.

Wonder if it will end up another virtual tie depending on the situation between the two. OF course the increase in core/ram wont likely give them any kind of a leg up in HL2. Personally, i think its going to just make it worse for then. Because they are going to have to then deal with message boards filled with *look the 9800pro is still faster than even Nvidias new fx6xxx in HL2*

Well, at least its going to be interesting to see how it all pans out.

[Paul]

Actually, the NV40 launch would be 6-7 months after the NV35, so it would fit perfectly with their traditional release timetable. The NV38 potentially threw a spanner in the works there though... although it could well end up not even being officially announced per se, just slipped onto the shelves. The quieter the release, the more likely the NV40 is close(r).