NVIDIA GF100 & Friends speculation

[Tchock]

Shame but atleast better than 1GB VRAM which has been around for to long. Maybe 3GB for future?

1.5 will probably stick for a long, long time even with extended resolutions- we've probably reached a stage where asset creation that leverages such capabilities for the PC is pretty costly, coupled with the fact that the current gen consoles won't benefit much from those refinements (most devs aren't even doing it right before they start aiming for a brute force pure by the numbers solution to texturing and assets)

And I'll stick to the wager that 1GB is seriously all a gamer needs for HD. Enthusiasts, that's a different deal altogether So you'll be seeing quite some inertia from IHVs and board partners, particularly if the tradeoff of size vs bandwidth rears its head again.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Did we discuss this other ShaneB bit? About only a 1 year warranty from nVidia on Fermi?

Well the issue seems that you combine the fact that the model in itself is going to be a shortage and that partners offer a two year warranty instead of the one NV offer them and you quickly see the problem.

With the model no doubt being expensive partners don’t want to order too many; if a product dies 1 year after warranty and the company offers 2 it comes directly out of their pocket.

Also I just have to add this beautiful example of modesty:

Working for a Tier 1 website has its benefits, and working for one for 7 years is even better. All I need to do is drop the TweakTown name and my own and these companies know who they’re dealing with.

 

[Sontin]

And what do the companies which have a llife-long-warranty?

Wait: He spoke to "some of the NV only partners" and they don't want new cards? They need some armchair MBAs!

 

[neliz]

And what do the companies which have a llife-long-warranty?

What they wrote, Charge Extra.

 

[MfA]

That bit about "tier 1 website" reminds me of the tier X publication SNAFU with AMD a couple year back (ie. where AMD said they never required vetting of articles before release from tier 1 publications, suggesting they did of others). I always wonder how explicit these deals are in the wonderful world of the web, is it just like with Charlie (simple threats not to bite the hand that feeds you or you don't get to be at the trough) or do they actually require editorial rights by contract for the smaller sites if they participate in media events?

 

[Sontin]

What they wrote, Charge Extra.

But he said that there will be a shortage. And the reason is because nobody wants to sell GF100 cards with a 1-year warranty?

Well the issue seems that you combine the fact that the model in itself is going to be a shortage and that partners offer a two year warranty instead of the one NV offer them and you quickly see the problem. With the model no doubt being expensive partners don’t want to order too many; if a product dies 1 year after warranty and the company offers 2 it comes directly out of their pocket. Instead companies want to wait for their own design of the model before going too hard with the model.

And what have the warranty to do with a press sample?

So when a company says we can’t send a sample due to shortage they know that this isn’t going to cut it as an excuse.

 

[Rys]

Why is this discussion about warranty even happening? Nothing's changed in that respect, and I don't remember us ever discussing it before. It's just dumb noise, so let's nip that in the bud.

 

[eastmen]

A bit pricey but say around 600$ seems good for GTX480 2GB VRAM. Anything less than 2GB VRAM is a crime nowdays.

So the 480 is now priced higher than the msrp of the 5970 ?

I don't really have a good feeling about this. If the 5970 is faster nvidia is in alot of trouble. A cheaper dual card with faster performance.

ALso it seems charlie is right that the 5970 is cheaper for ati to make than the gtx480.

 

[Sxotty]

It is being discussed b/c that post made it all sound very confusing. A bunch of strange connections that don't really seem to make much logical sense.

Eastmen why in the world is a dual card good? There are still problems with dual/sli/crossfire that a single GPU doesn't have to deal with.

 

[Silus]

So the 480 is now priced higher than the msrp of the 5970 ?

Really ? Can you buy one now ?

Did you ever hear about price inflation/gouging of a soon to be released product ?

ALso it seems charlie is right that the 5970 is cheaper for ati to make than the gtx480.

Proof ?
And do me a favor when (if) you do provide proof: Don't just quote "Charlie". Actual sources are required.

 

[Psycho]

So the "major announcement" was nothing but the (already more or less known) launch date: http://www.nvidia.com/object/paxeast.html (from http://twitter.com/NVIDIAGeForce )

 

[Psikotiko]

Friday 3/26

Test drive our highly-anticipated, next-generation GPU…you may even
be able to buy one before anyone else

oh well.....

 

[Silus]

So the "major announcement" was nothing but the (already more or less known) launch date: http://www.nvidia.com/object/paxeast.html (from http://twitter.com/NVIDIAGeForce )

What were you expecting ?!...

Seriously, it's only official when the actual companies announce them, so it IS a major announcement.

On another note, they'll be having a custom built PC raffle in honor of ChrisRay. All winnings go to his mother. Nicely done!

 

[CarstenS]

Nice one to pull off! The few people at Cebit will surely enjoy looking at rebranded stuff for the n-th time. Some might even like what Ati has to offer

 

[compres]

Okay, this line of reasoning is really, really bad, so I'm going to have to step back up again.

Look, there is no possible way that nVidia (or any company, for that matter) can produce consumer cards that perform as well as professional ones in professional apps. Here's the basic issue:

1. It takes time and money on nVidia's part to develop and validate drivers for use on professional software.
2. This money must be recuperated through the sales of professional graphics hardware (i.e. Quadro/Tesla).
3. If the sales of the professional hardware is not sufficient to pay for the development (hardware and software) of said professional hardware, then nVidia will make more money by stopping production.

What this all boils down to, then, is that nVidia has lower economies of scale on professional hardware, which means higher per-unit costs, which means they must necessarily sell those units for more. If they don't, then they're better off selling no units at all. So for nVidia to have any professional hardware units at all, they cannot allow GeForces to be used for those purposes (at least not easily).

You can whine about it all you like, but business realities guarantee that nVidia simply can't ever freely support professional applications on GeForce hardware. Getting annoyed that the two cards are just a BIOS flash apart won't change the business realities.

This post makes the most sense in regards to this matter.

 

[Alexko]

And I'm betting that on Monday, they'll announce the launch date for Fermi. So this might well be an announcement of an announcement of an announcement

So, do I get a cookie?

 

[digitalwanderer]

NVIDIA wanted to honor the memory of our friend and forum moderator Chris “ChrisRay” Arthington, who passed away earlier this year. ChrisRay helped countless gamers by sharing his knowledge of graphics and SLI on the forums.

To recognize ChrisRay’s passion and selfless support of the community, we worked with renowned modder Richard “Darth Beavis” Surroz to create a customized PC with NVIDIA artwork. The ChrisRay Special Edition PC features dual GeForce GTX 480 GPUs in SLI (of course!), and we’re going to raffle it off at PAX. All of the proceeds from the raffle will benefit ChrisRay’s mom, who could use a helping hand. Help us honor Chris by buying some tickets, and maybe you’ll win a truly kickass SLI PC!

Way cool! Anyone going? I gotta mail ya some cash to buy me a ticket...

 

[NathansFortune]

So the 480 is now priced higher than the msrp of the 5970 ?

I don't really have a good feeling about this. If the 5970 is faster nvidia is in alot of trouble. A cheaper dual card with faster performance.

ALso it seems charlie is right that the 5970 is cheaper for ati to make than the gtx480.

Please, lets wait for proper benchmarks and actual pricing before making judgements...

If release is ~ 4 weeks away tier 1 websites should be getting PE cards soon for testing and then we can make a more reasoned argument over how buggered Nvidia may or may not be.

 

[ferro]

So, do I get a cookie?

I don't know. Is a "launch" the same as an "unveiling"?

Last Friday's tweet was an announcement of an announcement of an unveiling.

 

[compres]

Also I just have to add this beautiful example of modesty: