The rumors about the product schedule are false -- AMD

[dagamer34]

It also depends when TSMC actually get 20nm.

Plus we know Apple will outbid as well. Might be early 2015 for GPUs.

Nvidia and AMD are more likely to use 20nm before Apple is. Apple needs a high, consistent supply of chips in the millions, where as Nvidia and AMD sell $500 GPUs that can withstand supply shortages for a while. Also, looking at release schedules, a 20nm Apple SoC probably wouldn't ship until mid-2014.

 

[Ryan Smith]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6751/amd-reiterates-2013-gpu-plans-sea-islands-beyond

 

[zebrax2]

So a lower end desktop and a mobile refresh in H1 and a new architecture in the end of the year sound a lot more promising no new GPUs this year. Thanks Ryan for the article

 

[BallaTheFeared]

AMD will be introducing new retail desktop 7000 series products in the first half of 2013.

I'm confused

AMD already has 7xxx pretty much sowed up for desktops, don't they?


Edit: Ok so I kept reading, lolz.. So "confirmed" new "slower than 7750" chips.,



Actually the more I read the more confused I get, I think I'm going to have to turn my music off so I can wrap my head around this.


Edit: Ok so basically AMD believes they live in a vacuum, Titan doesn't exist, and they're going to ride out 7xxx series for the rest of the year?

Did I get that correct?

 

[f1sherman]

My head hurts :| , but I get it.

I think...

@BallaTheFeared

TL;DR Nothing new for ya from AMD in 2013. Perhaps(!) come Xmass and they launch something interesting(HSA, GCN2, HD9000).

 

[RussianSensation]

I'm confused

AMD already has 7xxx pretty much sowed up for desktops, don't they?


Edit: Ok so I kept reading, lolz.. So "confirmed" new "slower than 7750" .

Ya, it looks like they want to go after the sub $100 desktop market segment afterall. It's telling that 7900 series will remain their key focus on the high end for most of 2013, suggesting that 20nm is really where it is at for a real increase in performance at a reasonable price on the AMD side. I wonder if we get more clarification on what NV is doing with the 680's refresh. That means all of those rumours last Fall about HD8970 being finished and just waiting to be approved for launch were dead wrong and just pure guessing/fabrication to drive traffic.

At the same time since prices of 7950/7970 are much lower than launch MSRP, even if they did launch 15-20% faster versions, the price/performance would have probably been much worse ($399-449 for HD8950, $549 for HD8970). Looking forward to 20nm Volcanic Islands/Maxwell. Hopefully those GPUs arrive in the 1st half of 2014.

 

[notty22]

I'm confused

AMD already has 7xxx pretty much sowed up for desktops, don't they?


Edit: Ok so I kept reading, lolz.. So "confirmed" new "slower than 7750" chips.,



Actually the more I read the more confused I get, I think I'm going to have to turn my music off so I can wrap my head around this.


Edit: Ok so basically AMD believes they live in a vacuum, Titan doesn't exist, and they're going to ride out 7xxx series for the rest of the year?

Did I get that correct?

As I understood it.

AMD has been very careful with their words here, but the gist of matters is that the 7900 series will remain the mainstay of AMD’s enthusiast product line until the end of 2013.
..............
As for enthusiasts, the implication that they’re not going to see anything faster than Tahiti until the next generation products at the end of this year is unfortunately unlikely to go over well. Enthusiasts have become used to annual GPU refreshes, and while they’re still somewhat here as we’re seeing with Sea Islands, that era appears to be coming to a close as microarchitectures improve, development costs go up, and the rate of introduction for new fabrication processes slows.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

@notty Yeah after reading past the first half things become crystal clear. The first half had my head going round and round as I tired to figure out which sea solar black hole was wut. Which turned out to be pointless, as the concerning information appeared after I read further down >.<

Yeah so any hope of AMD putting pressure on Nvidia's Titan is gone...

That also means if Nvidia so chooses, they could release a $500, and $370 GK110 GPU as well as Titan that could easily dethrone AMD in those price brackets.

It doesn't make sense to me, they have a decent product why sit on it?

 

[RussianSensation]

Yeah so any hope of AMD putting pressure on Nvidia's Titan is gone...

What's the cost break-even analysis of designing a 500mm2 28nm HD8970 card to go against 10,000 units of the Titan? For NV it is a <$9 million marketing expense from a product line that already exists. Brilliant brand equity builder too! For AMD it means spending hundreds of millions on a card that less than 1% of PC gamers will buy.

That also means if Nvidia so chooses, they could release a $500, and $370 GK110 GPU as well as Titan that could easily dethrone AMD in those price brackets.

Sounds nice but it sounds like the Titan is a limited edition run. Are these failed K20X parts or simply a marketing exercise? Will NV be willing to sell a 7billion GK110 at the lower price levels you described if consumers are buying GTX670/680s at $350-500?

It doesn't make sense to me, they have a decent product why sit on it?

Who says 28nm HD8970 even exists? Every single story online about GK114 or HD8970 was always rumour mill.

Edit: So now the real question.. Why did we need clarity? The slide told us the same thing, no new products until at least Q4.

Because certain tech websites decided to make up AMD's own roadmap as if they had insider info. Most of them just ran with the story without even understanding what the code names "Sea Islands / Solar" were even referring to. Anandtech was one of the few professional sites that actually waited for real facts. That's why AT is awesome! :awe:

 

[Ryan Smith]

Ya, it looks like they want to go after the sub $100 desktop market segment afterall.

Keep in mind that there are multiple Sea Islands GPUs. AMD is replacing large chunks of the enthusiast mobile sector with something in Q2, and it's almost certainly Sea Islands based. And anything in mobile you should expect to see on the desktop eventually...

 

[RussianSensation]

Keep in mind that there are multiple Sea Islands GPUs. AMD is replacing large chunks of the enthusiast mobile sector with something in Q2, and it's almost certainly Sea Islands based. And anything in mobile you should expect to see on the desktop eventually...

Thanks for The clarification Ryan. So it is possible we could see HD7960 and HD7980 refreshes ala HD4870 >>>>> HD4890. Maybe?

Good work on getting the details out so fast behind the roadmap!

 

[Ryan Smith]

Thanks for The clarification Ryan. So it is possible we could see HD7960 and HD7980 refreshes ala HD4870 >>>>> HD4890. Maybe?

Good work on getting the details out so fast behind the roadmap!

Preface: This is entirely speculation. AMD does not comment on future products

No. AMD has made it quite clear they are happy with Tahiti/7900 as it stands.

But take a look at AMD's mobile roadmap. There is at least one new GPU in there.

AMD will be replacing their enthusiast-level Pitcairn and Cape Verde mobile products with something new. That should tell you what to expect out of Sea Islands.

 

[RussianSensation]

Thanks! Looking forward to your 2013 GPU Bench.

 

[HurleyBird]

That's almost as disappointing as the original rumour

 

[tviceman]

TL;DR HD7970GE will be AMD's flagship product from July 2012 till December 2013. That is a long time in the video card world.

 

[f1sherman]

Because certain tech websites decided to make up AMD's own roadmap as if they had insider info. Most of them just ran with the story without even understanding what the code names "Sea Islands / Solar" were even referring to.

Lets see what exactly "Sea Islands" stands for. It doesn't get any more clearer than this:
AMD's Darren McPhee began the call by asserting that the Sea Islands code name refers to products for "desktop and notebook, with focus especially on the notebook" and that it's primarily aimed at OEM customers, or big PC makers.


The main source of all this conundrum is pretty damn obvious - AMD does not want to call spade a spade.
Hence everything is going according to plan. 2 years between GPU iterations, but Hey, no DELAYS... god forbid

PS
And LOL at all those "all AMD needs to do..." arguing how easy is to release 400mm^2+ chip.
Pufff! 130% of 7970GHz performance - there you go folks, here in AMD we just with it out.

 

[f1sherman]

http://techreport.com/review/24368/fate-of-amd-sea-islands-obscured-in-the-fog

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/graphi...lays_New_Product_Launches_Till_Late_2013.html

 

[BallaTheFeared]

What's the cost break-even analysis of designing a 500mm2 28nm HD8970 card to go against 10,000 units of the Titan? For NV it is a <$9 million marketing expense from a product line that already exists. Brilliant brand equity builder too! For AMD it means spending hundreds of millions on a card that less than 1% of PC gamers will buy.

And yet it's a dual role card, what kind of penetration did AMD make with workstations? Couldn't have been too deep.

Yet still Nvidia made great profits selling a 520mm2 40nm die for $370. I think you greatly over estimate the cost to fab these chips. R&D is costly, wafers were costly, the chips themselves in bulk amount to a fraction of the price you pay at best buy. Nvidia isn't throwing up record profits because chips are costly, even the difference between GF114 and GF110 was trivial compared to their retail prices.

Sounds nice but it sounds like the Titan is a limited edition run. Are these failed K20X parts or simply a marketing exercise? Will NV be willing to sell a 7billion GK110 at the lower price levels you described if consumers are buying GTX670/680s at $350-500?

Nvidia just hit over 60% market share, but their product is inferior. How long do you think Nvidia is going ride this train? Seems like the engine is running out of steam, and you can't make a faster 680. I'm positive Nvidia isn't interested in selling "Flagship" moniker cards for sub $350, which is where they need to be to stem "this tide"

sold more 7900 cards in January 2013 than in any month prior

I think Nvidia will move in with a refresh, why not? They can, they have money they don't need to sit around twiddling their thumbs playing a close race when they can simply walk away with it. AMD has made it quite clear their only method to counter now is price reduction and expensive game bundles. If I had to guess their new plan is to move bulk at reduced prices, because they've lost so much market share.

Who says 28nm HD8970 even exists? Every single story online about GK114 or HD8970 was always rumour mill.

Never said it did, or didn't, only that not having it and waiting reminds me of their FX days (before the bad FX days). Sitting around on a design in this industry get's you smoked, FX vs Conroe smoked. Instead of "being predators" and going after the market (which admittedly they tried, to wit they lost tons of market share) they've regressed into "sheep" mode at the first sign of adversity.

 

[zebrax2]

The problem with AMD though is that their market in the workstation market is so low in comparison with Nvidia that even if they dual purpose a larger GPU they might not generate enough sales to cover for the R&D

 

[paul878]

For 9 months? This makes no sense, not to mention the Never Settle Bundle was in effect last Fall. That implies AMD has built up nearly a year of inventory? That's hard to believe. It also contradicts reasoning why would companies like XfX redesign all new versions of the 7970? If they had 9 months to 1 year of 7970 inventory, why would they buy even more 7970 kits from AMD?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150665

Well if they saying anything otherwise people would hold out and wait.

 

[Jaydip]

Scott's take http://techreport.com/discussion/24368/fate-of-amd-sea-islands-obscured-in-the-fog#metal

 

[Final8ty]

The performance of the 8000 series according to many who know in the industry is truly amazing. We are assured too of not just a paper launch with the chips being well into production. While the 7900 series continues to dominate and stock in the channel is still good.

AMD can keep this true ace up there sleeves and will do so.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=23769727#post23769727

 

[OCGuy]

^ That is the very definition of FUD.

Is AMD going to give up for a while? Sure reads like it.

 

[3DVagabond]

The problem with AMD though is that their market in the workstation market is so low in comparison with Nvidia that even if they dual purpose a larger GPU they might not generate enough sales to cover for the R&D

This^

 

[Ancalagon44]

Huh? Did you read the first sentence?

AMD finally breaks its silence and puts the rumours to rest when it said that they will be releasing the next generation graphic card during 2013.

Unless you're referring to a different rumor...

So.... was I wrong?