How soon will we see ATI's new single chip top-dog?

[dug777]

GTX 350 is listed as: GT300-GPU 55nm PCI-E2.0 2GB GDDR5 512-bit

Yowza! In the current environment I'm not keen on the mortgage I'd need to afford it, methinks

Back to ATI's next single chip top-dog, I'm not interested in a dual chip solution, and I think I've decided that since I tend to go a very long time between upgrades I may as well get something pretty beefcake

So what have we heard around the traps? Will it be as fast as the GTX 280?

Just one ground rule for this thread, I don't currently give a tinker's cuss about PhysX, so please keep it out of the thread I'll follow developments elsewhere, but it is not something I wish to discuss in this thread

 

[Bateluer]

ATI's Little Dragon or R870 will be seen between March and July 2009.

 

[MarcVenice]

Sigh, I hope they are on schedule for march then, by then I'll really need a new videocard I haven't heard any rumors about its possible speed though. Hopefully they'll pull another rabbit out of that fancy hat of theirs. But I think Nvidia will be back next round as well, which is only for the better for us.

 

[imported_Scoop]

If it's that late, then I'll be sure to buy a 4850 for christmas Unless Nvidia comes up with a better single-PEG card by then.

 

[yusux]

Originally posted by: dug777

GTX 350 is listed as: GT300-GPU 55nm PCI-E2.0 2GB GDDR5 512-bit

Yowza! In the current environment I'm not keen on the mortgage I'd need to afford it, methinks

Back to ATI's next single chip top-dog, I'm not interested in a dual chip solution, and I think I've decided that since I tend to go a very long time between upgrades I may as well get something pretty beefcake

So what have we heard around the traps? Will it be as fast as the GTX 280?

Just one ground rule for this thread, I don't currently give a tinker's cuss about PhysX, so please keep it out of the thread I'll follow developments elsewhere, but it is not something I wish to discuss in this thread

LOL I doubt we'll really need or see a single 2gb card

 

[betasub]

2GB GDDR5 512-bit

GDDR5 and 512-bit? Some will call shens, others will call it dual-channel (for two cores?): (1GB GDDR5 256-bit)x2.

 

[Avalon]

Rumors I've heard are late Q1 2009 for a 1000 shader card. No tidbits on possible TMU/ROP count, or clocks. Card should be on the 45nm process, though.

My guess is a 25% faster, significantly cooler card. That would probably put it at or a smidge above the GT280.

 

[tcsenter]

4850/4870 was launched in June. How often do you think ATI launches a new chip?

R700 refresh should arrive December-ish, maybe in time for Christmas, maybe not.

R800 won't be here until May/June 2009, unless ATI really feels pressure to step it up (and is able to do so technically).

 

[Tempered81]

i hear next summer or early as spring there will be rv870xt aka HD5870, and R800 aka 5870x2. codename is little dragon, as stated above and it's 40nm. Supposedly has gone from 800 to 960 or 1000 shaders per core, memory should be faster by then too, along with IPC improvements on the die. I see it as 3870 -> 4870 -> 5870. Probably as fast as an OC'd GTX280.

 

[SolMiester]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
ATI's Little Dragon or R870 will be seen between March and July 2009.

However, wont that be a mid range chip to be paired into the next x2....ATI dont build high end 1st anymore....?

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: SolMiester

Originally posted by: Bateluer
ATI's Little Dragon or R870 will be seen between March and July 2009.

However, wont that be a mid range chip to be paired into the next x2....ATI dont build high end 1st anymore....?

Aye, AMD's new strategy is to dominate the midrange. Midrange cards in the 150 to 350 price range sell more than the 600+ range, so they make more money.

The R870 will likely be a mid range card with similar pricing to the 4870, with the R800 being two R870s on a single PCB.

The pressure is on ATI/AMD to deliver again though. Given the stellar performance and aggressive pricing of the 4800 series, it will be card for ATI/AMD to remain inconspicuous again. Nvidia isn't naive, and they won't just lay down and die without a fight, this is the company that brought 3Dfx to ruin, after all.

 

[SolMiester]

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Originally posted by: SolMiester

Originally posted by: Bateluer
ATI's Little Dragon or R870 will be seen between March and July 2009.

However, wont that be a mid range chip to be paired into the next x2....ATI dont build high end 1st anymore....?

Aye, AMD's new strategy is to dominate the midrange. Midrange cards in the 150 to 350 price range sell more than the 600+ range, so they make more money.

The R870 will likely be a mid range card with similar pricing to the 4870, with the R800 being two R870s on a single PCB.

The pressure is on ATI/AMD to deliver again though. Given the stellar performance and aggressive pricing of the 4800 series, it will be card for ATI/AMD to remain inconspicuous again. Nvidia isn't naive, and they won't just lay down and die without a fight, this is the company that brought 3Dfx to ruin, after all.

True, I hated them for that.....my mate had the TNT32?, I had the voodoo2 SLI, we had some great verbal battles over the beauty and limitations of Glide!

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: SolMiester
However, wont that be a mid range chip to be paired into the next x2....ATI dont build high end 1st anymore....?

It will be AMD's highest-end R800 chip, until R800 undergoes the half-generation update, just like 29xx > 38xx > 48xx. AMD doesn't build high-end single chip GPUs at all, anymore, in the same fashion as NVIDIA.

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: tcsenter
It will be AMD's highest-end R800 chip, until R800 undergoes the half-generation update, just like 29xx > 38xx > 48xx. AMD doesn't build high-end single chip GPUs at all, anymore, in the same fashion as NVIDIA.

There's been some change in ATI's methodology: R600 (HD2900) received a die shrink as part of its update to RV670 (HD38xx), before ATI could release a high-end X2 card.

This time round HD4870X2 was designated R700 from the start, despite still being released after its single card version (RV770). How these card will be "updated" remains to be seen.

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: betasub
There's been some change in ATI's methodology: R600 (HD2900) received a die shrink as part of its update to RV670 (HD38xx), before ATI could release a high-end X2 card.

This time round HD4870X2 was designated R700 from the start, despite still being released after its single card version (RV770). How these card will be "updated" remains to be seen.

There's been no change. ATI releases the single chip before the dual chip. It would be illogical to try otherwise, since a dual chip card is more complex and would naturally take longer to ready, from both board design and driver aspects.

The reason ATI did not launch a 2900 X2 has to do with short-comings of the 2900 (onerous power requirements and thermal dissipation), not any 'change' in its product launch and revision cycle plans, per se. It was an isolated case.

I was referring to the architecture, not to actual part numbers. The R800 architecture will appear as the highest-end single chip first, then the dual chip several weeks later. What part numbers ATI decides to use is irrelevant.