r520 specs?

[***CENSORED***]

http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23600&start=180

http://www.ati-news.de/cgi-bin/News/viewnews.cgi?category=1&id=1117138247

Radeon X900 XT-PE
• 32 Pixel-Pipelines
• 10 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 90nm low-k bei TSMC
• 500 Mhz Chiptakt
• 700 MHz (1,4 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 512 MB GDDR-3

Radeon X900 XT
• 32 Pixel-Pipelines
• 10 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 90nm low-k bei TSMC
• 450 Mhz Chiptakt
• 600 MHz (1,2 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 512 MB GDDR-3

Radeon X900 Pro
• 24 Pixel-Pipelines
• 10 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 90nm low-k bei TSMC
• 450 Mhz Chiptakt
• 600 MHz (1,2 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 256/512 MB GDDR-3

Radeon X900
• 16 Pixel-Pipelines
• 8 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 110nm low-k bei TSMC
• 500 Mhz Chiptakt
• 500 MHz (1,0 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 256/512 MB GDDR-3

Looks about right in an case.

[Dr@Home]

the XT-PE is going to cost alot for sure, but that looks like one heck of a line up! :)

[MUYA]

Did you read rest of the thread?

There arepeople questioning that because, there seems to be no low k on 110nm process available from TSMC. So take those rumours with a pinch of salt

[GlowStick]

mmm sounds like fanboi specs to me honestly :\

[shabby]

For a low low price of $999.95(monthly payments available) you can get your own x900 xt-pe too!

[Vagrant Zero]

Damn what would win, 24 pipes 700 mhz, 32 pipes 500 mhz [assuming this isn't faudo]

[Subtestube]

24 at 700, hypothetically (assuming all other things are equal) (24 * 700 = 16800 vs 32 * 500 = 16000).

Of course, that means nothing at all - we already know from the 6800U vs X800 XTPE that various other factors come into play, not least of which is how efficient each pipe actually is. Being that we know stuff all about how efficient per clock cycle the R520 is (and we can't base it off R420 stuff, as it's actually a new architecture), we simply can't know which of the X900 XT PE and 7800 GTX will be faster.

[Vagrant Zero]

The R500 is the new architecture, not the R520. R520 is the R420 is SM3 supported and a few more pipes.

[MUYA]

apparently r520 is new ground up .....that was implied a few months ago by various sources

[Subtestube]

Mmm... R520 is a new architecture - can't recall the sources, but they were reputable. Apparently ATi couldn't slap SM 3.0 into the ol' R420, due to the inclusion of dynamic branching (primarily), and therefore needed something totally new. Although I'm well aware that the R500 is 'more new', the R520 is supposed to be new also.

[Morrow]

Mmm... R520 is a new architecture - can't recall the sources, but they were reputable. Apparently ATi couldn't slap SM 3.0 into the ol' R420, due to the inclusion of dynamic branching (primarily), and therefore needed something totally new. Although I'm well aware that the R500 is 'more new', the R520 is supposed to be new also.

No, Vagrant 0 is right. The R500 is the new architecture (unified shaders) but the R520 which will be available for the PC is just an "enhanced" R420 architecture with SM3 and FP32 support.

The R620 will the first real new architecture from ATI for the PC since the R300. It will also support unified shaders because it's based on the R500 and have full support for WGF2.0 (DirectX Next).

[Subtestube]

*Sigh* I guess it's possible that XBitlabs is wrong, but I've always known them to be fairly reliable. Quoting:

"ATI code-named R520 VPU is projected to support Shader Model 3.0 and other innovations, which requires a totally new graphics architecture from ATI."

From this (http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/video/display/20050609093014.html) article.

I can't be bothered digging up any other sources that this time of night, but I'm pretty sure I've seen this elsewhere as well. Again, I'm well aware that the R500 and the R520 are different, and that the R500 has a 48 unit unified archicture, where (all rumours currently suggest) that the R520 is a standard kind of architecture. Do bear in mind that the NV40 was a 'new architecture', and not just a souped up NV30 with SM 3.0 and FP32 blending, even though those were the features that it had over the NV30, so just because the shader conceptual model (segregated vs unified) isn't changing, doesn't preclude the R520 from being a new architecture.

[Morrow]

yeah ok, in that case every new card has a new architecture because it didn't exist before. Let's redefine words :)

[Subtestube]

Hehe.. no, I see what you're saying - I think it actually depends on what XBIT means here - bear in mind that the R420 was not strictly speaking a new architecture - it was based very very heavily on the R3xx series (AFAIK). The thing that I'm getting from XBit here, is that the R520 wasn't based on the R420 at all bar some conceptual similarities in shader topology. My point regarding the NV40 and the NV30 was that though conceptually the chips are similar, the NV40 was designed from the ground up - it's a totally new architecture. It's my understanding that the same is true of the R520 in this case. Of course, none of us are actually ATi engineers, so none of us actually knows for sure.

Meh... it doesn't really matter in the long term anyhow - I'm quite willing to admit that I'm wrong here, as I could be misremembering, and I've found only one 'solid' source. I just haven't found anyone who's refuted it. ;)

[Red_Shift]

R520 is a new architecture for sure, it won't support unified shader though. The problem is people name xbox360 gpu as R500 and that's not true cause xbox360 gpu and R520 are different, but as Subtestube already said it doesn't preclude R520 from being a new architecture.

[Morrow]

As I said before, my definition of "a new architecture" is an architecture which basically has been started from scratch which the R500 design is (well at least almost because the most basic graphiccard design concepts are always reused but the whole philosophie of how shaders are allocated, pixel pipelines organized and how the final image is rendered will be changed). This is what the R500 design is and not an enhanced, built on top of the R420 design.

Your definition of "a new architecture" is any change to an existing architecture which goes beyond clock speed increases. This makes any new card (R520, G70 and even the nv40) a "new architecture" using your meaning of the term.

I guess it all depends on the point of view but generally a "new architecture" is more than just one or two added quads to an existing design with extended FP precision and SM support... and because we can argue about that for hours and I don't have the time for that, I will stop right here :)

[vX]

:sigh: I honestly don't care if it's new architecture or not, higher clocked speeds and 32 pipes, if true, means the G70 has good competition on it's hands. I know I'm on a nvidia fan site, so no one wants to admit it, but come on, sm3.0, 32-pipes, higher clocks...and the only fault you can fnd is " it's old architecture"...who cares? If it runs 30fps faster in everything, does it really matter? I'll kick back and wait a few extra months for the real meat and potatoes in the R520 while everyone else runs around paying $800 for a G70 =) (If these specs are true)

Don't get me wrong, i'm sure nvidia has a great card on their hands, but if I'm paying $500, i'll wait it out and get 32-pipes. I loved my old 6800 gt agp, and nvidia won back alot of respect I lost for them with the fx series (yes I was a 5800 Ultra owner at a time) but it seems if these specs are right, they've been outdone this round. I'm really not biased, just a cautious buyer, and if the 7800GTX has 24 pipes for $500, I'd sooner wait it out for the 32 pipes of the r520 for $500. I've been quite impressed with it, it was running the Prey demo @ e3 with no lag, and ran just about every xbox360 demo on the show floor as well.

I may be wrong, G70 may pwn the r520...I'll wait and see what review sites say...i'm open to the possibility of owning a G70, I don;t favor either company...I just want the most performance for the amount of $$ I plan to pay, and these r520 specs looks really good on paper....we'll have to see if they are as well in the real world.

[Red_Shift]

Morrow it seems your definition of a new architecture is different from everyone's. One thing is a revolutionary architecture which xbox360 gpu is, another thing is a new architecture and that's what both are. The "macroarchitecture" of R520 might be about the same as R420, you know, vertex pipelines then pixel ones, then AA and AF, etc, I'll assume you saw and know the R420 and R300 architecure, but the core of the vertex and pixel pipelines is different on the R520 and that is more than enough to be a new architecure. R520 has been started from scratch, at least under most ppls definition,if we go with your definition even xbox360 gpu was not started from scratch, it has similarities to desktop gpu's, this is all part of an evolutionary process.
I know I'm on a nvidia fan site, so no one wants to admit it, but come on, sm3.0, 32-pipes, higher clocks...and the only fault you can fnd is " it's old architecture"...who cares?
Who said R520 is an old architecture? It's a very new one actually.

[JoKeRr]

who cares about architecture as long as it's fast?? Heck NV30 was a supposingly a totally new architecture but it sucked so everyone hated it, R350&360 is not new but heck it was fassttt at the time, so ATI was winning.

[Morrow]

R520 has been started from scratch

That was my point, the R520 was NOT started from scratch. Far from it.

Just go ahead and say what you believe on the beyond3d forum and the friendly folk over there will tell you how "new" the R520 design really is in contrast to the R500, whose architecture has nothing to do with the R520, eventhough they share the same codename --> R5xx.

[Vagrant Zero]

:sigh: I honestly don't care if it's new architecture or not, higher clocked speeds and 32 pipes, if true, means the G70 has good competition on it's hands. I know I'm on a nvidia fan site, so no one wants to admit it, but come on, sm3.0, 32-pipes, higher clocks...and the only fault you can fnd is " it's old architecture"...who cares?

Eh, I'm not sure who you're talking too but I never said who cares. Actually I'm thinking of picking up ATI next round though 3 things are holding me back right now, 1 don't know if ATI will support AGP, 2 don't know when ATI will launch the product, I'm an impatient man if the G70 luanches 2 months before the R520 I won't be able to hold off, and 3, I don't know if ATI will have the problems it has last gen [ie, non-existent cards, super price gouged, etc].

[Brick_Top]

The guys over at beyond3d keep saying don't expect a lot of pipes but expect efficiency

[rohit]

When the hell are the Damned thingy's gonna launch.?

[Vishruth]

When the hell are the Damned thingy's gonna launch.?
On the 26th of July, apparently.

[vX]

Eh, I'm not sure who you're talking too but I never said who cares. Actually I'm thinking of picking up ATI next round though 3 things are holding me back right now, 1 don't know if ATI will support AGP, 2 don't know when ATI will launch the product, I'm an impatient man if the G70 luanches 2 months before the R520 I won't be able to hold off, and 3, I don't know if ATI will have the problems it has last gen [ie, non-existent cards, super price gouged, etc].

1.) I think Ati already stated they will support agp, I havent read this for myself, but everyone keeps saying they will support it while nvidia might not. Not really sure about this issue. But I understand your need for an agp card, I got really lucky scoring this 939 pci-e mobo.

2.) I believe the launch date for the r520 is set for July 26th, which would be roughly one short month after the G70 =)

3.) I understand your concerns here, this is why I'm not 100% on the r520 myself. If availability is an issue I'll most likely go G70 as well, unless I walk ass backwards into one of these cards by some luck. :D ( Also price gouging is pretty much a sure thing for either card when their first available. Damn online companies always do this, this is why I refuse to buy online...I'm not supporting a company ignorant enough to cash in on a product like that. And also if the card goes bad, the whole rma process is for the birds, I like to walk into a store, say "give me a new card or my money" and BOOM, be done with it.

I heard the r520 is really only 16 or 24 pipes with emulated 32 pipes, if this is the case, I might go G70, that seems like a driver headache to me. I'll take 24 real pipes. Wish ati would just release the specs already, instead of waiting till after G70 debuts....it's not like nvidia can turn back at this point, so just show ur cards already.