Latest NV30 spec rumors

[StealthHawk]

over at B3D, NV30 seems to be what many people were saying. supposedly from a "reliable source."

400+ mhz core clockspeed
0.13 micron
8 pipelines
2 texture blocks per pipe
500mhz DDR2 memory
128 bit memory bus
Physical Bandwidth: 16gb/s
Effective Bandwidth taking into account the various bandwidth saving techniques, according to some rumours, is more than twice higher.
DX9 compatibility on the level of PS/VS3 (note: we all know that nv30 doesn't fully comply to ps/vs3 specifications, but it's somewhere on the same level).
128 & 64bit (calculated twice faster) color over the whole pipeline
Aniso implementation faster than earlier, but the same old alghoritm(?)
FSAA implementation faster than earlier, but the same old alghoritm e.g. MSAA(?)
Family of cards based on the NV30 chipset (>~$400, NV30-high), mid perfomance (~$200, NV31-low), differ only in speed, not in features(?), everything is still foggy here...
Cards based on the NV30 & NV31 chipsets on sale till the end of the year, everywhere else (beginning of next year).

nothing really new, except it seems like NV30 is becoming fixed to a 128bit bus with high speed ddrII memory.

[Uttar]

Hmm, posted by alexsok. Seems very reliable.

Only things i wonder after this is:
1. Is it going to be DDR2 or GDDR2?
2. Is the NV31 going to be on sale at the same time as the NV30?


Uttar

[volt]

My money is on DDR2

[Uttar]

Originally posted by volt
My money is on DDR2

But then, why didn't nVidia announce GGDR2? After all, their specification was ready too. My guess is that they kept it secret because it's an integrant part of the NV30 memory optimization technology.


Uttar

[volt]

They will be going GDDR3 in 2003, thus I think we won't see GDDR-2 from Nvidia in 2002. Just my 2 cents hehehe

[Lezmaka]

Unless nvidia is changing it's naming scheme, I doubt nv31 will just be a downclocked version of nv30. Unless I'm not remembering correctly, didn't they use the same codename for all GF4 Ti4x00's? And since I can't remember, did they use the same codename for the GF3 Ti's?

[thcdru2k]

yeah..they did use the same codename..among all the ti. gf3 and gf4. i don't know why but nv31 makes me think mobile.

[Uttar]

The NV31 sounds a lot like a 4 pipeline architecture with a slower clock & memory speed.

Just like the 9500


Uttar

[Bigus Dickus]

Originally posted by Uttar
Hmm, posted by alexsok. Seems very reliable.

LOL! :D

[Riff]

I might be dreaming, but when I beat the second level of the nvidia shoot-em-up game on the areyouready page on the first night that it went up, the second week's password was "DDR2." I played the game again the next morning (about eight hours later) to make sure I got all 40 chips on the second level (in case it gave out different passwords based on score) and the second week's password had been changed to "Cg."

[DadGT]

Originally posted by Uttar
Hmm, posted by alexsok. Seems very reliable.


Reading the board over at Beyond3D, it turns out that alexsok got the specs off someone who pieced them together from specs on ibxt's forums. For those not aware, ibxt is a Russian hardware site.

Guess our only completely reliable source will happen in two weeks at Comdex.

[StealthHawk]

Originally posted by Uttar
1. Is it going to be DDR2 or GDDR2?


well, it says DDR2...

[volt]

Originally posted by Riff
I might be dreaming, but when I beat the second level of the nvidia shoot-em-up game on the areyouready page on the first night that it went up, the second week's password was "DDR2." I played the game again the next morning (about eight hours later) to make sure I got all 40 chips on the second level (in case it gave out different passwords based on score) and the second week's password had been changed to "Cg."

That's VERY interesting, but they could be doing it on purpose to throw us off hehee :>

[jbirney]

Also if you look back in B3D he started a thread right around the R9700 launch stating more facts from a relaible source on the Nv30 that claimed 256 bit bus. So not sure which reliable source is correct.

[saturnotaku]

Originally posted by Lezmaka
Unless nvidia is changing it's naming scheme, I doubt nv31 will just be a downclocked version of nv30. Unless I'm not remembering correctly, didn't they use the same codename for all GF4 Ti4x00's? And since I can't remember, did they use the same codename for the GF3 Ti's?

From the nv4_disp.inf file in the latest detonator drivers:

NVidia.Nv20 = "NVIDIA GeForce3"
NVidia.Nv20.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce3 Ti 200"
NVidia.Nv20.2 = "NVIDIA GeForce3 Ti 500"

NVidia.Nv25.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600"
NVidia.Nv25.2 = "NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4400"
NVidia.Nv25.3 = "NVIDIA NV25"
NVidia.Nv25.4 = "NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200"

It would make sense to me that NVIDIA would use the NV30 designation for all products based on this chip. The NV31 might have some new/different features or something, but who's to say?