IBM to produce Nvidia chips

[Adul]

http://news.com.com/2100-1006-994072.html?tag=fd_top


vidia has signed a pact with IBM Microelectronics to help it avoid putting all of its graphics chips in one basket.

The chipmaker on Wednesday will announce an agreement in which IBM will serve as an additional manufacturer for the GeForce family of graphics chips. Nvidia's current manufacturer is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).

Nvidia wanted more manufacturing capacity and was looking to avoid the pitfalls of working with just one producer, said Nvidia spokesman Derek Perez.

 

[First]

This is good to hear, especially considering how much TSMC has hurt NVIDIA's enthusiast reputation in the last few months with .13-micron problems. I wonder if Intel is interested in putting aside fab space for foundry-dependent companies like NVIDIA. If Intel had been handling GeForceFX capacity, we probably would have seen .13-micron GeForceFX cards shipping late last summer.

 

[Sid59]

whoa .. i was just reading news.com and then thought, how long before this is being posted on the forums. BAM! its here.

 

[Adul]

Originally posted by: Sid59
whoa .. i was just reading news.com and then thought, how long before this is being posted on the forums. BAM! its here.

not only on the forums but the front page has well

 

[GTaudiophile]

Good strategy on NVDA's part.

I've wondered it ATi would get some help from partner Intel in that respect...

 

[Gstanfor]

Thank god. This hasn't come a moment to soon.

I guess if one positive thing has come out of the whole NV30 affair it is the (belated) realisation by nVidia that they need more than one foundry fro advanced manufacturing, especially since TSMC has a history of not performing well at the introduction of a new process.

 

[ViRGE]

The question is now "will ATI follow suit?" Nvidia sort of bit the bullet on .13 for ATI, but ATI is just as vulnerable come the next transistion. I wouldn't be suprised to see ATI ink a deal with another company in the near future in order to get the same safeguard in place.

 

[Soulkeeper]

i like this move
.13u was one of the main reasons for the FX being delayed so much

problem solved? hehe

 

[chizow]

Looks like NV35 from IBM fabs this summer. :Q

TSMC may get early runs of NV35, but if I had my choice, I'd go with one fab'ed by IBM (for OC'ability ). This could get complicated if both TSMC and IBM are fab'ing the same chips, as it could lead to performance differences based on chip/fab/stepping.

Chiz

 

[Xentropy]

Originally posted by: Evan Lieb
This is good to hear, especially considering how much TSMC has hurt NVIDIA's enthusiast reputation in the last few months with .13-micron problems. I wonder if Intel is interested in putting aside fab space for foundry-dependent companies like NVIDIA. If Intel had been handling GeForceFX capacity, we probably would have seen .13-micron GeForceFX cards shipping late last summer.

Intel considers itself a competitor of nVidia thanks to integrated graphics chipsets, even though everyone knows integrated graphics are no competition for add-on cards. So, anyway, for that reason, Intel won't be fabbing for ATi *or* nVidia anytime soon.

Though it is a shame. Hell, if Intel were fabbing for nVidia then NV40 would probably be 90nm

 

[Agent004]

I take IBM's

 

[ultimatebob]

Good choice. IBM has fabs that can produce complex chips as small as 0.09 micron, so Nvidia's .13 micron GPU's shouldn't cause a problem.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

I'm pretty confident IBM will do nothing but help Nvidia. I don't expect IBM to create any major problems, if any, in producing those chips. They have some pretty good management on thier side.

 

[AtomicDude512]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Good strategy on NVDA's part.

I've wondered it ATi would get some help from partner Intel in that respect...

Man, ATI would slaughter with Intel as their partner.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: chizow
Looks like NV35 from IBM fabs this summer. :Q

TSMC may get early runs of NV35, but if I had my choice, I'd go with one fab'ed by IBM (for OC'ability ). This could get complicated if both TSMC and IBM are fab'ing the same chips, as it could lead to performance differences based on chip/fab/stepping.

Chiz

As long as the actual core designs are the same, there shouldn't be any difference in performance. One may be able to clock higher than the other(in which case, you'll get a case like AMD and its move to copper: the low end stuff is made at TSMC, and the high end at IBM), but the cores should otherwise be the same.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: ViRGE

Originally posted by: chizow
Looks like NV35 from IBM fabs this summer. :Q

TSMC may get early runs of NV35, but if I had my choice, I'd go with one fab'ed by IBM (for OC'ability ). This could get complicated if both TSMC and IBM are fab'ing the same chips, as it could lead to performance differences based on chip/fab/stepping.

Chiz

As long as the actual core designs are the same, there shouldn't be any difference in performance. One may be able to clock higher than the other(in which case, you'll get a case like AMD and its move to copper: the low end stuff is made at TSMC, and the high end at IBM), but the cores should otherwise be the same.

Yep, that's what I was getting at; free performance is always a good thing If nVidia does fab NV35's at both TSMC and IBM, and IBM yields are better (which I expect them to be given NV30's problems), I'm hoping they segregate them accordingly (Ultra and non-Ultra) as stepping/fab hunting could get ugly. :Q The AMD example came to mind as I wrote it, as Dresden fab'd T-birds were much more desirable for some time until AMD updated all of its fabs.

Chiz

 

[Ferocious]

No one can do it better than IBM.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: Ferocious
No one can do it better than IBM.

maybe not, but I bet they can do it cheaper.

 

[thorin]

Ya everyone is covering this story, go over here for a huge list of articles.

Thorin

 

[DAPUNISHER]

IBM in business ventures with AMD and now Nvidia, hmmmmm..... This bodes well me thinks.

 

[Goose77]

NOT TO BE A FLAMER...


IMHO... IBM seems pissed at intel, they are helping all of intel's competition (i know this is business venture and has nothing to do with intel). You got AMD and processor, and now Nvidia and graphic chips! Whats next???? helping motherboard manufacturers produce better performing, more stable, and cheaper boards then INTEL???????