When is the 40nm parts from Nvidia or ATI come in?

[nyker96]

Anyone has any info on that?

 

[chizow]

Latest leaked roadmaps show Q2 for GT212, 214, 216, 218. Its looking like June or so probably and Nvidia is planning a full range of 40nm from the outset from high-end, mid-range and mainstream. It looks like Nvidia is sending a message that its simply no longer willing to lose the "process war" and is going to push its product lines to new processes sooner than before.

 

[DarkZeratul]

He, he... nVidia has not pushed his entire GPU line from the 65 nm process to the 55 nm process already and, all of sudden, they are going straight to the 40 nm process?? How is it going to happen? Maybe with the help of the folks at IBM, who developed that process less than a year ago, with the unabashed intention of LEASING that technology to both nVidia and AMD and make some money in the process? Neither nVidia nor AMD has developed thier own manufacturing technology for anything less than 55 nm, unless the past year has been reading upside down on all these forums... Incidentally, who has the copyright of the 55 nm manufacturing technology AMD has using since 2007 for their GPUs? Somebody knows that?

 

[chizow]

Nvidia has transitioned their entire product line, including high-end, to 55nm. They have access to the same process technology as AMD for GPUs, as both companies rely mainly on TSMC for their chips. In the past, Nvidia has been reluctant to move to a new process with a new architecture (similar to Intel's tick-tock strategy), however, they've recently made it clear they're no longer willing to lose the process war against AMD, especially when they place more orders with TSMC. There were a few news bits about this causing friction with TSMC, as I'm sure TSMC was glad to have their older processes heavily utilized by chip orders placed by Nvidia.

 

[edplayer]

Originally posted by: DarkZeratul
He, he... nVidia has not pushed his entire GPU line from the 65 nm process to the 55 nm process already and, all of sudden, they are going straight to the 40 nm process??

No, they are not doing it "all of a sudden". My guess is that they have been working on it since at least the second half of 2008. They just don't come to Anandtech forums to make posts about it...

Originally posted by: DarkZeratul
How is it going to happen? Maybe with the help of the folks at IBM, who developed that process less than a year ago, with the unabashed intention of LEASING that technology to both nVidia and AMD and make some money in the process? Neither nVidia nor AMD has developed thier own manufacturing technology for anything less than 55 nm, unless the past year has been reading upside down on all these forums... Incidentally, who has the copyright of the 55 nm manufacturing technology AMD has using since 2007 for their GPUs? Somebody knows that?

what are you talking about?

Nvidia isn't making their gpus. From my understanding, TSMC is

 

[akugami]

Originally posted by: DarkZeratul
Incidentally, who has the copyright of the 55 nm manufacturing technology AMD has using since 2007 for their GPUs? Somebody knows that?

I think you're mistaken in thinking any one company has a lock on manufacturing stuff at the 55nm level. While they may have to license certain patents (depending on the actual manufacturing process) any company can develop a process to manufacture at those sizes. Each may take a different route but so long as you get it done without infringing any patents then you're fine.

You're also free to license processes used by other companies that makes chips at those levels such as IBM or Intel.

Think of it this way. I can make a wooden wheel by carving off excess wood with a knife or I can make it by using some sort of sanding/filing tool to remove excess wood until I get a wheel. Both methods will allow me to make a wheel out of block of wood. One might be better, faster, or cheaper than the other. More likely, each will have pros and cons associated with it. What matters is that the end product I get is a wooden wheel. Making CPU's and other electronics at the 55nm level is much the same, it doesn't matter how you get there so long as you do. There is also no one set way to get there.

 

[Grinja]

Originally posted by: nyker96
Anyone has any info on that?

My guess would be around June/July ... around a year from the launch of the latest gen cards.