View Full Version : R520 demoed at E3
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2421
n a bit of a surprise, ATI is running working R520 silicon behind closed doors at their booth here at E3.
The R520, not the GPU in the upcoming Xbox 360 but rather the next-generation PC GPU, was running in an Intel PCIe system at ATI's booth.
The system was used to demonstrate Remedy's upcoming title called Alan Wake. The game itself was quite impressive, with an incredibly large and interactive environment, as well as some of the most impressive weather effects we'd ever seen.
Alan Wake is designed for the next-generation consoles (e.g. Xbox 360 and PS3), and thus wasn't running perfectly smoothly on the R520 but performance was quite respectable.
We aren't expecting to see the official R520 launch until later this year and not at Computex, based on information we've been hearing from Taiwan.
The fact that there is working R520 silicon at this point is important, as NVIDIA is sure to be talking quite a bit about their GF70 GPU at the show.
Unfortunately cameras weren't allowed in the Alan Wake demo room, so we couldn't capture the impressive demo or shots of the board running in the system.
We also received word that Prey, another title using the Doom 3 engine, may have also been running on R520 silicon.
Alan Wake is designed for the next-generation consoles (e.g. Xbox 360 and PS3), and thus wasn't running perfectly smoothly on the R520 but performance was quite respectable.
hmm thats what i'm expecting .. though unfortunate , but who knows how PC hardware will advance until Alan Wake & other games make it out.
GlowStick
05-19-05, 04:47 PM
Very intresting, nice info!
Hopefully some specs will come from this!
Dave Baumann posted a pic he took at E3. The dual slot cooler makes me a little nervous. It seems to be the same turbine fan as on the X850 series. Anyway, maybe it's not the final version. :)
http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23087&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=20
http://www.beyond3d.com/news/images/20050519_r520.jpg
ChrisRay
05-20-05, 06:43 AM
I will never understand what people have against Dual Slot coolers. Unless they're running a mini case. :) I uploaded it to website to preserve the sanctity of the image!
I have nothing against the dual slot, it's the type of fan they're using for it. Nasty sound that makes my ears bleed. How hard can it be to come up with a effective and QUIET cooling solution? They should hire some guys from Zalman and AC. :p
hmm thats what i'm expecting .. though unfortunate , but who knows how PC hardware will advance until Alan Wake & other games make it out.
But wasn't the gpu of the xbox360 supposed to be a stripped version of r520? So it's probably just the cpu not being on par with the ones running in the next-gen consoles :) (and it's running on an intel cpu :D)
nutball
05-20-05, 11:34 AM
But wasn't the gpu of the xbox360 supposed to be a stripped version of r520?
Other way round, the XBox GPU is more powerful than the next-gen ATI GPU for PCs.
Zelda_fan
05-20-05, 11:39 AM
Other way round, the XBox GPU is more powerful than the next-gen ATI GPU for PCs.
that would be kind of dumb for them to hold back technology like that. I mean if they have the ability to make a card that fast, then why not do it? It's gonna be tought for them to compete with nVidia if nV decides to roll out the same GPU that's on the PS3.
nutball
05-20-05, 01:12 PM
that would be kind of dumb for them to hold back technology like that. I mean if they have the ability to make a card that fast, then why not do it?
Well someone else is picking up the bill for starters (for selling the hardware below cost price).
It's gonna be tought for them to compete with nVidia if nV decides to roll out the same GPU that's on the PS3.
*if* ... that's questionable for the same reason, is it not?
Anyway, it's just the feeling I've gotten from reading stuff at other places, that the next-gen ATI & NVIDIA parts for PC won't be quite up to the power of the next-gen consoles.
Zelda_fan
05-20-05, 04:37 PM
Well someone else is picking up the bill for starters (for selling the hardware below cost price).
*if* ... that's questionable for the same reason, is it not?
Anyway, it's just the feeling I've gotten from reading stuff at other places, that the next-gen ATI & NVIDIA parts for PC won't be quite up to the power of the next-gen consoles.
so MS is *still* losing money off consoles? Why are they even entering the market?
SigmaOrionis
05-20-05, 06:26 PM
so MS is *still* losing money off consoles? Why are they even entering the market?
This is my question to. If these consoles are selling for under $500 U.S. How much money is Microsoft going to lose per unit. It seems like it would be around a couple hundred bucks.
I told myself that I wasnt going to upgrade my videocard this round but the more I read about these rumours the more I'm wanting a G70 or R520. :)
Riptide
05-20-05, 06:45 PM
They probably have some sort of deal worked out with the game developers to recoup some of their loss on the hardware. That is the logical assumption anyway.
Tim Sweeney interview...
Says the G70 is a better card than the R520 :D
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=50895
Excellent Interview Jacob you're ready for Primetime:D
So Mike, when does nvn and co debut on g4tv?
:D
nutball
05-21-05, 07:01 AM
so MS is *still* losing money off consoles? Why are they even entering the market?
Because they make money on the licenses to sell games on the platform, or games they develop themselves (Halo 2, for example).
Its the razor-blades model, lose money on the handle, make money on the blades. Inkjet printers work the same (which is why a pack of inks costs half as much as the printer itself).
It works for MS, Sony, whoever, because they're looking at the whole package, hardware + software. The same economics don't work for ATI/NVIDIA, because they *have* to make money from their chips. This time round the graphics boys have licensed IP, rather than actually make any hardware, so they don't care how much money it costs MS/Sony to make their chips. So its not out of the question for them to supply a design that it wouldn't be economically feasible for them to sell in the discrete market at this time.
But wasn't the gpu of the xbox360 supposed to be a stripped version of r520? So it's probably just the cpu not being on par with the ones running in the next-gen consoles :) (and it's running on an intel cpu :D)
Yep first reason might be the CPU & second reason might be the drivers/game optimizations for the R520.
plus The INQ (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=23363) said that Alan Wake was running on SM2.0 code but the developer will switch to SM3.0 later & that should give extra performance for the R520 since its going to be SM3.0 complaint card as rumors & commen sense suggest.
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