What new GPUs are coming, when, and how much better?

[BCinSC]

Buy now or wait (up to 3 months)?

 

[Pete]

Both ATi's and nV's next generation will be revealed in (or by) March, with availability probably following in four weeks.

Early and unconfirmed NV40 numbers (there are definitely boards making the round, but these numbers are sourceless) show it performing 30-100% faster. Besides being faster, the new cards will also support pixel and vertex shaders 3.0, a step up from the current 2.0 "standard."

I expect greatly improved DX9 shader performance, with AA+AF speed improvements limited mainly to speed increases. Current rumors put the NV40 as double an NV35 (8x2) and R420 as still eight pipes but with more shader units, so the two cards may end up being very similar in specs (moreso than in this generation).

 

[BCinSC]

What about ATI? Matrox?

 

[Matthias99]

From two inches above:

Both ATi's and nV's next generation will be revealed in (or by) March, with availability probably following in four weeks.

Matrox hasn't said anything about when (or if) their next generation of cards will be out. At least that I've heard.

 

[BCinSC]

Thank you, Matthias. I meant some detail, since nVidia was described and ATi wasn't.

 

[Matthias99]

Sorry. Honestly, that's about the most solid information anyone has been able to find. Anything on either NV40 or R420 is highly speculative. :frown:

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: Matthias99
Sorry. Honestly, that's about the most solid information anyone has been able to find. Anything on either NV40 or R420 is highly speculative. :frown:

This is true, pretty much everything out there now is speculation. You wont hear any real specs or numbers until very close to release.

 

[Pete]

I described both nVidia (NV40) and ATi (R420) speculation: NV40 as double an NV35, R420 as an R350 but with beefed up shaders. Really, current rumors are very thin on specifics, as both companies appear to be very tight-lipped about the new cards (probably because of their unusually intense current competition). Matrox is not and will probably never again be a high-end or even price competitive gaming solution, so it's not really worth considering.

Anyway, there's another thread above yours (posted by videoclone) discussing nV's and ATi's future chips. Check there for more info, what little there is.