AMD confirms R680 is two chips on one board

[nicolasb]

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=10033

...the R680 consists of two 55nm processor cores.

Representatives from AMD would not confirm that the R680 is essentially two RV670 GPU cores on the same board, though the company did confirm that each core has the same specifications of an RV670 processor.

So, anyone who is clinging onto the idea that R680 is a new, single-chip solution should abandon that hope and join the rest of us in the real world.

 

[vertex_shader]

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=10033

So, anyone who is clinging onto the idea that R680 is a new, single-chip solution should abandon that hope and join the rest of us in the real world.

Deep in my mind i hope that too r680 is a single core monster, but not surprise me its not.
The latest roadmap flooding around show that r7xx based cards coming in 2009 only, 2008 can be a very looooooooong year for ATi with this architecture, dual GPU cards won't change anything on the current situation.

 

[CJ]

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=10033

So, anyone who is clinging onto the idea that R680 is a new, single-chip solution should abandon that hope and join the rest of us in the real world.

Anyone who actually believed that R680 was a new single chip solution after a picture like this was leaked.... was living in a cave for the last couple of weeks:

 

[nicolasb]

Anyone who actually believed that R680 was a new single chip solution after a picture like this was leaked.... was living in a cave for the last couple of weeks

We've known for a while that there would be an "RV670 X2" card, but I think there were still some people hoping that R680 and RV670 X2 were two different things.

 

[AlNom]

AlStrong wants "Rage Fury Maxx" name to come back.

 

[MrGaribaldi]

The latest roadmap flooding around show that r7xx based cards coming in 2009 only, 2008 can be a very looooooooong year for ATi with this architecture, dual GPU cards won't change anything on the current situation.

But what if they don't stop with dual cards?
We know ATI/AMD will be going for multiple chips solutions, and if they can use RV670 (or a further derivative of Rx6xx) for this, it would make some sense for R7xx not arriving until 2009.

The 4 chip configuration being discussed in the R700 thread sometimes mention a 5th controller chip, but what if that controller chip can be used with the RV670 as well? It could allow ATI/AMD to stay (somewhat) competitive as well as tweak and troubleshoot the drivers for multichip configurations with the controller chip before launching the R7xx.

Pure speculation from me, but it doesn't sound too far fetched... Or?

 

[ShaidarHaran]

But what if they don't stop with dual cards?
We know ATI/AMD will be going for multiple chips solutions, and if they can use RV670 (or a further derivative of Rx6xx) for this, it would make some sense for R7xx not arriving until 2009.

The 4 chip configuration being discussed in the R700 thread sometimes mention a 5th controller chip, but what if that controller chip can be used with the RV670 as well? It could allow ATI/AMD to stay (somewhat) competitive as well as tweak and troubleshoot the drivers for multichip configurations with the controller chip before launching the R7xx.

Pure speculation from me, but it doesn't sound too far fetched... Or?

The aforementioned controller chip being mentioned in that thread is purely speculation. There's no solid evidence such a chip exists. Some (myself included) have posited that such a chip would be necessary for optimal flow control on such a multi-chip device.

 

[MrGaribaldi]

Ah, yes. I forgot that. But that doesn't really change the question whether ATI/AMD could use such a chip with RV670 for a 4 chip solution which could stay competitive with the higher end solutions coming out from Nvidia in 2008...

 

[ShaidarHaran]

Ah, yes. I forgot that. But that doesn't really change the question whether ATI/AMD could use such a chip with RV670 for a 4 chip solution which could stay competitive with the higher end solutions coming out from Nvidia in 2008...

They already have such a solution. It's dubbed Crossfire X and involves 2x R680 boards working in Crossfire. You can't put 4 RV670s on a single PCB. The PCB would be upwards of 18 inches long.

 

[MrGaribaldi]

Ok. So unless they come out with yet another chip in the Rx6xx series, they can not make a 4 chip on one card?
Thanks for explaining it to me ShaidarHaran.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

Ok. So unless they come out with yet another chip in the Rx6xx series, they can not make a 4 chip on one card?

Exactly. And it would need to be a dual-die multi-chip-module (MCM) in order to pull of such a feat. I think this is doable with the existing 55nm manufacturing process, the question is one of demand and cost to produce such a beast.

Thanks for explaining it to me ShaidarHaran.

You're very welcome.

 

[Geeforcer]

I for one am surprised. Not in the fact that AMD has 2xRV670 product, but the fact that it is named R680, since I held on to the notion that Rxxx codenames were reserved for the chips as opposed to boards. You learn something new every day.

 

[PsychoZA]

AlStrong wants "Rage Fury Maxx" name to come back.

Radeon Fury Maxx?

 

[Geo]

AlStrong wants "Rage Fury Maxx" name to come back.

Umm, wouldn't that mean it wouldn't work in Vista?

/me goes way back for some old skool MAXX trivia.

 

[zealotonous]

Umm, wouldn't that mean it wouldn't work in Vista?

/me goes way back for some old skool MAXX trivia.

That means it wouldn't work in alot of things.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

Umm, wouldn't that mean it wouldn't work in Vista?

/me goes way back for some old skool MAXX trivia.

I'll take lack of Windows 2000 support FTW, Alex (Trebeck)

 

[L233]

That thing won't fit into most of the more compact midi-towers (just like the 8800 GTX) and there are a lot of these out there. I'm really beginning to get late 3Dfx vibes from ATI - try to remain competitive by tacking more GPUs on one PCB. And if there's any truth to this then that's all they'll have to offer throughout 2008.

 

[Shtal]

Radeon Fury Maxx?

No, it's Radeon HD Fury Maxx 3870

 

[Fu3lFr3nzy]

Cant wait for some benchmarks (yeah, im prepared to be disappointed but I just wanna see how its doing :smile: )

 

[ShaidarHaran]

That thing won't fit into most of the more compact midi-towers (just like the 8800 GTX) and there are a lot of these out there.

meh, not exactly a concern, this isn't a mid-range card afterall.

I'm really beginning to get late 3Dfx vibes from ATI - try to remain competitive by tacking more GPUs on one PCB.

/shudder
Don't say that. I'll have nightmares.