NVIDIA Refresh this Fall?

[TechMasterChen]

Does anyone have any opinions whether NVIDIA will just do a refresh on the GeForce4 (Ultra Version?) or offer a new altogether different product? The reason I'm asking is that I feel the Geforce 4 isn't that much different that the GeForce 3 with the exception of offering better performance at high resolutions and FSAA 2x. It sounds like the R300 from ATI will be a lot different from the 8500 series of Video cards.

I'm also trying to decide when to upgrade my 733 PIII and GeForce II Pro as well, right now I'm leaning toward waiting for the NVIDIA refresh this fall as well as allowing me to review the R300.

 

[AmdInside]

It should be an entire new core. For one thing, this is the first product which introduces technology acquired from 3dfx acquisition. Second, DX9 should become available sometime this fall and so NVIDIA will need a video card that supports DX9 features in hardware. I don't think it will simply be an NV25ultra. Beside, if you look at the chip itself (under the heatsink) on the Geforce 4 ti 4600, it says NV25Ultra.

 

[TechMasterChen]

Thanks for the info, didn't know that about the GeForce 4 chip name under the heatsink.

 

[Elvis2]

I read somewhere that the GF4 ( NV25 chip) will be the last of the Geforce series. The next chip, NV30, will be code named "Omen". Some of the rumors are that it will carry two GPU's and have Glide support ( along with d3D and OPGL) ala 3dfx voodoo5, eight memory pipelines and have 256 mgs. of superfast ddr ram. Whens the next product cycle...?

 

[Rand]

NV30 is going to be an entirely new product, they are reportedly even dropping the GeForce name with it.
The NV25 core is as you've already said little more then a refresh of the core used within the GF3/GF3 Ti products.

 

[Swanny]

Yup, NV30 should be pretty darn cool. Unless Unreal 2 (whenever it comes out) really kills my system, I won't be buying anything that would make me upgrade before Omen.

 

[hans007]

i don tthink they'll make the fall refresh. first off they dont really need to that much, and well they missed it on the gf3 also, so its possible they can miss a refresh. then again this 3dfx tech has been in development for a long time maybe its already done.

 

[Auric]

Elvis2, those are some funny rumors. Glide support. Ha ha ha. Stop, my belly hurts from laughing. Ha ha ha. If there's one thing that NVIDIA needs to dominate in 2003 it is 16bit color & low resolution textures.

 

[Blurry]

Ahh..not again. Two cores. After view the past history of graphics card I can't really say that any dual gpu cards were very sucessful. The Voodoo 5 and Rage Fury MaXX both really sucked.

 

[richleader]

If they had been released on time, they would have really been good products. Last year, I would have said that dual GPU's were a thing of the past but memory architecture has improved immensely since then. That said, I doubt these rumors are true. As for glide support, they could release a new wrapper for it any time, and there's very few titles (save for a select few unreal engine games that didn't use high textures) and the performance hit in those titles would be negligable. There's simply no point in many cases.