Speculations On R400

[David G.]

Mainly about it's Mhz rated speed ...

If now they can get 315 Mhz with only 0.15 micron technology how much do you think 0.13 would bring , 450 Mhz ???

More ?

Or , do you think they will settle with faster memory and a "low" 400 Mhz boost while integrating more features ... probably reaching out to the 120 mil transistors mark ....

What do you thinkn that will bre their choice ?

Generaly , Radeon core have been very scalable (think just @ R100 -> 7500 ) but .... would they go back to the Rage way ? ... complex GPU @ lower speeds ?

That would be a dead end as fillrate is an importamt feature today .

How much will 0.13 micron process help ??? Excepting Intel , everybody has a problem with this technology ...
Will ATi benefit over from it's close relations with Intel on this one ? ... as we all know ATi is working with TSMC just as nVIDIA does ...

 

[Dave Baumann]

Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves here...

 

[Bambers]

The R400 or the R300 possible .13u refresh?

R400 is being developed by a seperate team (the r200 team) so is unlikely to be an r300 with bits.

 

[David G.]

Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves here...

Not at all .

I'm only posing the problem of 0.13 micron technology implementation and which chip strategy ATI will follow : complex and slow ( Matrox way ) or simple(modulated in several chips) & fast ( nVIDIA way ) .

I'm not talking about performance or anything like that .

 

[jvd]

well

the r400 is a whole new chp so why don't we just talk about how the r300 will scale on the .13 mircon . i'mt thinking 400 isn't outta the question.

 

[David G.]

The R400 or the R300 possible .13u refresh?

R400 is being developed by a seperate team (the r200 team) so is unlikely to be an r300 with bits.

Hey , hey , hey .... that sliped my mind ....

So the 0.13 mciron version will probably be a R350 ....

 

[David G.]

Re: well

the r400 is a whole new chp so why don't we just talk about how the r300 will scale on the .13 mircon . i'mt thinking 400 isn't outta the question.

Heh ... R200 team ... which is the same team that developed the R100 ...

These CPUs amaize me with their scaling capabilities ...

Think just that 7500 is 58 % faster than Radeon 64 VIVO ... R200 could have the same faith on 0.13 ... like probably 450 Mhz ...

R200 on 0.13 @ 450 Mhz could be a viable option as ATi always uses it's old chips in different variations ... Think that it curently doesn't have a mid range solution for the R300 like 7500 was for the R200 . Probably , when R300 starts getting out to the masses in September ... ATi could intro it's first 0.13 chip : R200 @ >400 Mhz as a mid end solution for the R300 .

It would be very simple that way as the technology switch would not imply any redesigning of the chip ... only if ATi would desire to introduce new features ...

 

[MuFu]

Does anybody know when R300 development actually started? It could be an indication of the approximate time-to-market of R400, which has been in development for about 7-8 months now.

It may be that by the time ATi get fabspace for a 0.13u R300, R400 is just about ready to go anyway.

MuFu.

 

[David G.]

R400 to be ready anyway ???

But 0.13 will eb availble sooner then the next 6 months and I don't think that 1 year is enough to get a complex GPU ready for tape out ...

 

[Ichneumon]

The r400 has been in development for more than 7-8 months.

At the launch party for the R200 last year, ATI was supposedly already in the process of applying for some 50 patents related to R400 tech.

 

[David G.]

The r400 has been in development for more than 7-8 months.

At the launch party for the R200 last year, ATI was supposedly already in the process of applying for some 50 patents related to R400 tech.

You shouldn't put it like this as the AMD K8 was in development since back in 1997 before the K6 launch ....

 

[MuFu]

AFAIK, a team based in Toronto started actually working on the project in December last year; whether they applied for patents prior to that I don't know. ATi don't build the ASIC from the ground up as I initially thought. The work normally begins with a start-up company which they either pay royalties to or buy out (and they agree to shut down).

MuFu.

 

[David G.]

The work normally begins with a start-up company which they either pay royalties to or buy out (and they agree to shut down).

MuFu.

What ? !!! Could you be more specific on this ....

 

[MuFu]

No, sorry.

MuFu.

 

[Geeforcer]

Talon Graphics, obviously... 8)

 

[David G.]

No, sorry.

MuFu.

Hey ... I'm not asking for info about yet to be released GPUs ...

What company did they buy for the R100 for example ?

 

[David G.]

Talon Graphics, obviously... 8)

Which was implied in developing .... ? Which GPU ?

 

[MuFu]

No, sorry.

MuFu.

Hey ... I'm not asking for info about yet to be released GPUs ...

What company did they buy for the R100 for example ?

No, I mean I really don't know, lol.

MuFu.

P.S. Although I believe Enron first started the work on R100... or was it KFC? I can't remember...

 

[Pete]

I'm with Dave here, this speculation is even more absurd than NV30 rumor-mongering.

BTW, MHz isn't everything--pixel pipes, texture units, shaders are more important, I'd think.

 

[LittlePenny]

Although I believe Enron first started the work on R100... or was it KFC? I can't remember...

So if KFC chicken really isn't chicken, then is the R100 not really a graphics chip?