AMD has played their GPU cards close to the chest since the 4870 days, which has caught Nvidia off guard almost every time. They won't show off any 20nm press stuff until its so close to launching that the only thing Nvidia could do to respond would be price cuts.
AMD (ATI precisely) is the creator of GDDR3, GDDR4 and GDDR5 standards so would not be surprise that they came first with the stack dram.1H 2014: AMD possibly tapes out 20nm GPU / SK Hynix gives HBM samples to partners *cough*AMDisone*cough*.
2H 2014: AMD starts 20nm GPU production / SK Hynix starts HBM production.
Coincidence?! I think not! Let the conversation BEGIN!
AMD (ATI precisely) is the creator of GDDR3, GDDR4 and GDDR5 standards so would not be surprise that they came first with the stack dram.
Not sole but a important part. I always like to reference this article that is a good read about the topic: http://theovalich.wordpress.com/200...r5-analysis-or-why-gddr5-will-rule-the-world/There are multiple versions of stacked DRAM. And no, AMD will not be first. Knights Landing will using Microns version. And by the looks of it, nVidia will be next.
You make it sound like AMD was the sole creator of GDDR3/4/5, that is wrong as well.
Not sole but a important part. I always like to reference this article that is a good read about the topic: http://theovalich.wordpress.com/200...r5-analysis-or-why-gddr5-will-rule-the-world/
-16nm process(FinFet):-Xmas 2015 launches 1st card.
I doubt AMD and nVidia can afford to skip the 20nm non finfet node. Because that would mean 5 year+ with 28nm. Their business model simply cant handle that.
Their own cashflows.
These 2 points are unlikely to match.
Also its not 16nm, but 20nm with Finfets. And 2015 is _very_ optimistic for that. If you mean the real 16nm, then its even further away.
I doubt AMD and nVidia can afford to skip the 20nm non finfet node. Because that would mean 5 year+ with 28nm. Their business model simply cant handle that.
In fact, Dr Liu claims TSMC has the better performance. "We took the approach of using the FinFET transistor to improve the performance on top of the similar back end technology in our 20nm process. This transistor performance, and innovative layout methodology, can improve the chip size by about 15%. Because transistor drive is much stronger, you don't need such a big area to deliver the same driving circuitry."
Why not? Who is competing with them?
Surely it would be cheaper to stay on this node, and design more chips in it.
The "16nm" node does see some chip size improvements, but obviously not as much as a traditional node shrinks:
http://www.newelectronics.co.uk/ele...ransistor-density/59122/#sthash.yzUx2Fvk.dpuf
And the FinFET node is meant to be coming very rapidly after the 20nm node, as in within a year. Given that NVidia is rolling out a whole new line of 28nm Maxwell GPUs, I suspect that they are digging in to wait out the period until FinFETs are available. The roadmap says Pascal in 2016; that says to me that they are waiting for FinFETs.
Don't forget that the 20nm node is "SoC", i.e. low power- the high performance process got canned a while back. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that a shrink of a 28nm GPU to 20nm would give worse performance. If NVidia was going to use 20nm anywhere, it would use it on its low power mobile chips- but we just saw them bringing out a brand new GM107 on 28nm. If they want to recoup the design costs then they're going to have to not replace it for quite a while yet.
And Broadwell with expanded GT3e models on 14nm is also eating its share. Mobile is already a lost cause fo dGPUs.
By whole line of 28nm Maxwell GPUs. You mean GM107 and GM108? The model numbers for the others are GM204, GM206 and GM200 and verified by drivers.
And that SOC process isnt as bad as its portrait. My i5 4670 is essentially build on the same.
TSMC and statements are something that doesnt go hand in hand. So lets see when they actually delivers. We all know how incorrect TSMCs own roadmaps are.
Late 2014 seems be a battle between 20nm Maxwell and 20nm GCN 1.1.
Also its not 16nm, but 20nm with Finfets. And 2015 is _very_ optimistic for that.
If you mean the real 16nm, then its even further away.
I know its not real 16nm. It was scheduled to tape-out in 2014.