Anand Strikes Again(This Time About NV31)

[StealthHawk]

Ok, i don't know if anyone else noticed this, but i thought i'd point it out. Anand once again pulls out information from his hat that no one else seems to be privy to.

What's interesting is that the NV31 actually has a superior memory controller to the NV30, akin to what we saw with the Radeon 9600 vs. Radeon 9800 where the 9600 had a more efficient memory controller. You can consider the memory controller in the NV31 to be midway between the NV30 (GeForce FX) and the NV35, with the NV35 having a significantly improved memory controller. There's no worry at NVIDIA about NV31 outperforming GeForce FX however, remember that fill rate and actual clock speeds also matter, both areas where the NV30 has the NV31 beat.

NVIDIA's Color & Z Compression algorithms have also been improved on the NV31, once again, not as improved as what we'll see with NV35 but definitely superior to NV30.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=1797&p=2

i actually noticed this the day the review came out, but i didn't think it was very important. but, since no one else mentioned it, and i'm sure some people are interested, here it is.

[gstanford]

Actually there was a rumor going round that NV31 used NV35 tech (on beyond3d I think) shortly before the launch.

Also if you watched the nVidia launch presentation Tony Tamasi made mention of how NV31 "borrowed forward" from "future products".

[GlowStick]

Yeah, Anand usually dose hint at things in the reviews. He keeps saying nv35, if he knows something i wish he'd just spill the beans :O

[Paul]

To be fair, whilst they likely do have contacts, a lot of what is said is a combination of logical guessing and little tidbits of information around the web. It seems fairly obvious that future NV products will have improved memory controllers, amongst other improvements.

[GlowStick]

He could tell me, i wont tell another sole!

[borntosoul]

anand gets a lot of info hehe and he does sneak in a few hints :)and aslo has good insight most of the times .
this is from anand back in august 02

"If NV30 is pushed back too far, the first half of NVIDIA's strategy for 2003 would have to be seriously altered, which is why NVIDIA is adamant about a 2002 launch for NV30. Because of very low initial yields, NV30 will most likely be a very short lived part before it is replaced with a much more mature 0.13-micron part in the Spring of next year."

see he does have some insight :)
hehe how true !

[GlowStick]

Whoa! If anand knew about it, Nvidia must of known about also.

I think they have the situation all planned out.

[Nutty]

Of course. They dont take each day as it comes. They plan ahead for years. Before nvidia gave us the GF3's at one of their events, they told us that nv30 was already feature frozen at that point. And this was months before the gf3 hit the shelves.

It does look like they're gonna get nv35 in retail ASAP. Perhaps NV30 has broken silicon? That they cant fix with any degree of original intended speed with drivers.

[Paul]

I don't believe the NV30 was designed to be a short lived product - It's just (probably) going to turn out like that due to circumstances beyond their control.

[GlowStick]

Originally posted by Paul
I don't believe the NV30 was designed to be a short lived product - It's just (probably) going to turn out like that due to circumstances beyond their control.

The High end products never are long lived, but their value ones almost live on forever. OEM's still use Vanta TNT's i mean wtf. they also like to use Gf2Mx's and so forth.

Since the high end market allways wants something faster they never live that long. If you look at the Geforce256,GTS and gf3 they all stop makeing the *high* end card right before the next one comes along. But they continue to make the low end's foralmost ever heh.

[Paul]

NV30s are only now starting to become available to the average consumer. With the NV35 scheduled for June/July, that would give them a market window of 2 clear months.

High end cards are meant to be short lived, yes, but not THAT short lived :)

[GlowStick]

Originally posted by Paul
NV30s are only now starting to become available to the average consumer. With the NV35 scheduled for June/July, that would give them a market window of 2 clear months.

High end cards are meant to be short lived, yes, but not THAT short lived :)

Agreed, but i think Nvidia has decided they will sacrafise the nv30 if they have to. When the 5800's non-ultras hit the shelfs and they sell like hotcakes, they may hold back, but if they dont sell well they will push nv35 out the door imho.


btw, how do hot cakes sell : O

[Paul]

Absolutely. My point was only that nVidia didn't originally intend for the NV30 to be a short lived product.

Hot Cakes? They sell loudly, by the sounds of the fan on the FX Ultra :)

[StealthHawk]

Originally posted by GlowStick
When the 5800's non-ultras hit the shelfs and they sell like hotcakes, they may hold back, but if they dont sell well they will push nv35 out the door imho.
don't you mean "if"

[GlowStick]

Originally posted by StealthHawk
don't you mean "if"

No, before the end of april there will be a nvida blitz of marketing that will result of 1.5 various Gf FX family chips being avalible,

of course the ovious distrbution will cater to the areas that buy the most (duh)

I checked my best buy (no gffx) but i was talking to the manager if they were getting any in. and i asked him why the best card this one stocked was a Ti4200.

he told me that this stores location dosent get enough sales. (you should see the game section, its bare) and they cant sell anything over 150$.

sucks for me i guess the only things they have is Radeon 9000's and Ti4200's. kinda made me mad.

[StealthHawk]

what i meant is that i don't think the gfFX5800 will sell well. it's not that fast, and it has the same IQ problems that all NV3x cards will suffer from. it will also be expensive($300 at least?). not exactly a winning combination.

i would think the gfFX5600 series or gfFX5200 series might sell like hotcakes if anything does.