[nelg]

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=14373

US sources close to Nvidia have confirmed that their next generation GPU will feature a full sixteen pipelines – not as previously speculated an 8x2 arrangement - and this is reflected in the increased transistor count of circa 205-210 million, up from a previously speculated 175 million.

[Sxotty]

Well it is always fun to root for the underdog ... we shall see.


If it is true though how hot would it be man I need to move to alaska so I can heat my house with the computer or something.

[lost]

My guess is that unless the Inq is incorrect, nVidia missed their target clocks on the second to last stepping of nv40 and decided to strap on another 4x1/2x2 unit to make up for the clock difference. Lets say they lose 50 more mHz from the added die size so they can still maintain some of their margins. Most likely, the chip will still launch at 450+ mHz core speeds, which means they lost 10% of their clock but gain an addition 33% performance. 90*1.33=120%. So they are left with a product 20% faster in non memory limited operations...which should be all of them except high AA in high res...

Maybe there will be a high end fight with nVidia able to deliver ps2.0 performance and ps3.0 compliance. I certainly hope so!

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Is this the same Nvidia that told us that pipelines are meaningless and that the NV3x was 8x1 when it wasn't? We'll probably find that it's only ever 16x1 when doing stencil-only ops in monochrome.

[d2thez]

If that is indeed true.....then considering a 16-pipeline architecture, a core between 500-600 mhz, and Nvidia's ability to imrpove performance with their unified compiler, I see no way for ATI's R420 to compete.

I am not here to start a flame war, but ATI's "extreme pipelines" that were touted in another artcile had better be something......

[digitalwanderer]

I'm sorry, but I just don't believe a damned thing out of nVidia anymore until they can lay it on the table and prove it to me.

[jimbob0i0]

Originally Posted by digitalwanderer

I'm sorry, but I just don't believe a damned thing out of nVidia anymore until they can lay it on the table and prove it to me.

I'm with you mate on this one..... I find this very suspicious - esp given die sizes...

[elroy]

Can anyone confirm this? I think this is the first time that this has been stated.

[Florin]

My feeling that NV40 is gonna rawk is getting stronger. I want one.

[anaqer]

If true ( and that's quite a gargantuan IF ) I can't help but wonder how they're going to run those 200+ million transistors at anything even close to 500MHz.
DustBuster Extreme, anyone? :?

[Unknown Soldier]

This comes from theinq.. can you really trust anything this site puts up after the DX9.1 mess. Lol next we'll hear Nvidia will release the NV50 by August.

US

[MuFu]

Ahhh.... what sweet, sweet news.

[PaulS]

I'd be suprised if these were 16 genuine, full pipelines. If it turns out to be true, it looks like nVidia have been playing ATi at their own misinformation game 8)

[Mariner]

Well, if it is truly a 16 pipeline chip (which I doubt), it wouldn't need to run at such a high clock speed.

A 16-pipeline 400 MHz chip would have a third more fillrate than a 600 MHz 8-pipeline chip.

Personally, I reckon this rumour is a load of tosh. 8)

[digitalwanderer]

Originally Posted by MuFu

Ahhh.... what sweet, sweet news.

Don't tell me you think it might be real MuFu? If that's the case I might just revise my opinion!

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Originally Posted by Florin

My feeling that NV40 is gonna rawk is getting stronger. I want one.

Yeah, yeah. We've heard it all before - a couple of months before NV30, and then NV35. It was bullshit then, it's probably BS now.

[MuFu]

Originally Posted by digitalwanderer

Don't tell me you think it might be real MuFu? If that's the case I might just revise my opinion!

Who cares? Just nice that there's something new to talk about - that R420 thread was getting really pitiful, hehe.

I hope it is true.

The people I've talked to about it say the figures they've seen tally with an 8-pipe design though.

[Tim]

Originally Posted by MuFu

Who cares? Just nice that something's happened - that R420 thread is getting really pitiful now. I hope it is true.

The people I've talked to about it say the figures they've seen tally with an 8-pipe design though.

How about a a NV31/NV36 like design where a 2x2 chip can work in a 4x1 mode. (in this case 8x2 chip with a 16x1 mode).

[digitalwanderer]

Originally Posted by MuFu

Who cares? Just nice that there's something new to talk about - that R420 thread was getting really pitiful, hehe.

What, you got something against Vikings?

I hope it is true.

The people I've talked to about it say the figures they've seen tally with an 8-pipe design though.

Thanks MuFu, that fits more with what I've been hearing too. If nVidia had this to pull out of their hat I just got this feeling we would have heard about it before somehow.

I kind of hope it's true too though, I really would prefer to see it be an actual contest of the hardware this time as opposed to seeing how "creative" one IHV can get with their "optimizations".

[MuFu]

Originally Posted by Tim

How about a a NV31/NV36 like design where a 2x2 chip can work in a 4x1 mode. (in this case 8x2 chip with a 16x1 mode).

Hinges on that transistor count figure I reckon - the main line of speculation has been 8x2/16x0 (or whatever you like to call it) but that was with the 160-175mill figure in mind.

210 million transistors is approximately a whole NV36's worth over NV35.

[THe_KELRaTH]

It's probably 16 Virtual.. if you squint enough

Must be nearly time for the Doom 3 whiteboards - something this high, competitor near the floor.....

[PaulS]

Here's a thought:

Given that the NV45 was originally targeted at 0.11, and that the NV40 is now effectively what the refresh would have been, is it possible they've moved it onto 0.11 as well? It would surely make those kind of transistor figures more attainable, especially in the absence of LowK.

Coupled with the TSMC/nVidia/0.11 announcement just a few days ago...

[Ailuros]

Originally Posted by MuFu

Who cares? Just nice that there's something new to talk about - that R420 thread was getting really pitiful, hehe.

Does that mean that we have to get back to being serious again? Awwwww that's not fun anymore....

The people I've talked to about it say the figures they've seen tally with an 8-pipe design though.

I've also read about a rumour that it's 3 FPUs per SIMD; 24FPUs in total. If that should be true, then I'd love to know how on God's green earth that would make sense with any power of "16" heh.....

[MuFu]

Edit - Argh.

[fbg1]

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

This comes from theinq.. can you really trust anything this site puts up after the DX9.1 mess. Lol next we'll hear Nvidia will release the NV50 by August.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't they the first to break the Yamhill story six months ago? You talk as though they're always wrong, but I don't know if that's the case...