NVIDIA has canned NV50

[OnEMoReTrY]

The chip to be competing against the R520 next year has apparently been canned. I guess they figured they couldn't compete against ATI's next flagship card? I guess we won't be seeing a new NVIDIA card til end of 2005 at the earliest seeing how they have also canned the NV48 to compete against the X850 XT PE
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20034

 

[Lonyo]

Errr.
Errr.
WTF?

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: OnEMoReTrY
The chip to be competing against the R520 next year has apparently been canned. I guess they figured they couldn't compete against ATI's next flagship card? I guess we won't be seeing a new NVIDIA card til end of 2005 at the earliest seeing how they have also canned the NV48 to compete against the X850 XT PE
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20034

I'm going to start collecting your posts dude and create a website out of them.
I'm going to call it, "stickyourfootinyourmouth.com".

I have every confidence that NV is just taking its time, dedicating it's resources on a next gen chip. So canning the NV48 and NV50 just tells me that they have a better idea.

 

[nRollo]

It is "The Inquirer" so the truth is probably somewhere between what we'll eventually hear and this. Did they scrap because they have another chip in R&D that showed more promise? Are they lengthening release cycles?

Who knows?

In any case, next year should have more affordable SLI for nVidia, possibly SLI for ATI, and R520 for ATI, so it will be a good year to be a gamer and probably not dull.

 

[Lonyo]

ATi scrapped the R400 and made the R420 instead.
Maybe nVidia will reuse their current tech in some way to make something involving SLI or multiple chips.
Or they will introduce the NV60 sooner.
Or the NV50 isn't really canned.

 

[TheAudit]

Originally posted by: Rollo
It is "The Inquirer".

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
ATi scrapped the R400 and made the R420 instead.
Maybe nVidia will reuse their current tech in some way to make something involving SLI or multiple chips.
Or they will introduce the NV60 sooner.
Or the NV50 isn't really canned.

They have heard my pleas and are introducing a quad GPU 5800 Ultra with it's own air conditioning unit and Honda generator.

 

[James3shin]

infreakingquirer...

 

[Dean]

The only reason I could see Nvidia canning(postponing) the NV50 would be because current or near future wafer production technology may not be advanced enough. I bet they will place it on hold until fabrication tech is ready for it and release something else to fill the gap.

 

[LocutusX]

Obviously, it would be dissapointing if NV's "R5xx competitor" is canned since, as consumers, it is in our best interest to have the widest variety of video parts to choose from....

 

[Avalon]

I wonder if they're working on a brand new chip.

 

[GreatDaleness]

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: Lonyo
ATi scrapped the R400 and made the R420 instead.
Maybe nVidia will reuse their current tech in some way to make something involving SLI or multiple chips.
Or they will introduce the NV60 sooner.
Or the NV50 isn't really canned.

They have heard my pleas and are introducing a quad GPU 5800 Ultra with it's own air conditioning unit and Honda generator.

brilliant

 

[ronnn]

Maybe it means the 520 is not coming soon or is just a sm 3.0 upgrade without speed gains. So the pressure on Nvidia to produce a next gen part is reduced. Seems to be the law of diminishing returns right now, huge developement costs, production difficulties and smaller gains. Or the inquirer is wrong.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
ATi scrapped the R400 and made the R420 instead.
Maybe nVidia will reuse their current tech in some way to make something involving SLI or multiple chips.
Or they will introduce the NV60 sooner.
Or the NV50 isn't really canned.

First thing that came to my mind as well. It's The Inq. so everything needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but outlandish predictions such as R4xx being cancelled turned out to be accurate as well.

All this means (if true) is that NV's next part will most probably be a derivative of current-gen technology (ie evolutionary rather than revolutionary), but could very well have more pipes, etc. Maybe they'll start selling two GPU's in one box with an SLI kit to compete .

 

[ElFenix]

wow you're like Hardware for nvidia...

where is the ***OFFICIAL*** ***CONFIRMED***?

 

[Stoneburner]

You guys exaggerate the inquirer's tendency to be wrong. The last thing they were wrong about was maybe the nv30 and that was because they were reciting what nvidia people told them. And I dont know why people get so defensive about NVIDIA. Are you people stockholders?

 

[VIAN]

If they cancelled it, I'd die.... no.. aaaaaaaaaaah!


No, in all seriousness, they have nothing to fear. With SLI in the picture, people can get twice the performance they want while still having great features. Nvidia isn't worried, this way they spend less money and can direct all their efforts to a new type of chip. I think a new name is in question. What could it be? They must be preparing for an ultimate launch of DX10 goodness.

 

[RussianSensation]

I am sure just like ATI, Nvidia has multiple teams working on next generation GPUs. Besides, it's probably better to cancel an inferior gpu design and start from scratch rather than have other 5800 or 5900 failures.

I am sure Nvidia will just take one of their other team's chips and call it NV50. Just because the "original" NV50 has been cancelled, doesn't mean there wont be NV50. Besides, with the rate ATI is going, Nvidia can take 12 months to redesign the graphics card and X850XT PE still wont be in retail.

Perhaps the "old" NV50 was good enough to compete with R500, but what if they just aren't satisfied with competing, but want to become the leader again?

If car companies can take a concept car and turn it into a production model in 10-12 months, a videocard company can certainly design a full gpu from scratch in less than 6 months.

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
I am sure just like ATI, Nvidia has multiple teams working on next generation GPUs. Besides, it's probably better to cancel an inferior gpu design and start from scratch rather than have other 5800 or 5900 failures.

I am sure Nvidia will just take one of their other team's chips and call it NV50. Just because the "original" NV50 has been cancelled, doesn't mean there wont be NV50. Besides, with the rate ATI is going, Nvidia can take 12 months to redesign the graphics card and X850XT PE still wont be in retail.

Perhaps the "old" NV50 was good enough to compete with R500, but what if they just aren't satisfied with competing, but want to become the leader again?

If car companies can take a concept car and turn it into a production model in 10-12 months, a videocard company can certainly design a full gpu from scratch in less than 6 months.

I call BS on that last statement.
Can't think where to find info, but I don't think it takes 6mo to produce a GPU.
Hell, ATi were working on the R5xx before the R4xx was released, so that's 12mo of a cycle already, if not more.

 

[LocutusX]

Originally posted by: VIAN
They must be preparing for an ultimate launch of DX10 goodness.

no DX10 until Longhorn materializes, i think. and probably wait until at least the first Longhorn "Beta 1" or "Public Preview" I guess? Considering Microsoft, I'd say that's not until mid-2006!

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Lonyo

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
I am sure just like ATI, Nvidia has multiple teams working on next generation GPUs. Besides, it's probably better to cancel an inferior gpu design and start from scratch rather than have other 5800 or 5900 failures.

I am sure Nvidia will just take one of their other team's chips and call it NV50. Just because the "original" NV50 has been cancelled, doesn't mean there wont be NV50. Besides, with the rate ATI is going, Nvidia can take 12 months to redesign the graphics card and X850XT PE still wont be in retail.

Perhaps the "old" NV50 was good enough to compete with R500, but what if they just aren't satisfied with competing, but want to become the leader again?

If car companies can take a concept car and turn it into a production model in 10-12 months, a videocard company can certainly design a full gpu from scratch in less than 6 months.

I call BS on that last statement.
Can't think where to find info, but I don't think it takes 6mo to produce a GPU.
Hell, ATi were working on the R5xx before the R4xx was released, so that's 12mo of a cycle already, if not more.

Definitely more time. It takes several months just to go from a finished design to chip (and that's assuming you don't have to respin it because of bugs!), and you're talking at least 12 months of work to develop something as complex as a modern DX9 GPU. Even that's assuming you already have some idea of what you're doing and a basic design to work off of; designing a completely new GPU from the ground up would take even longer. And if you're doing something that pushes the envelope in terms of manufacturing processes, then you have to deal with yield issues; it could take even more time until you can produce them cheaply enough to sell in volume. Something like ATI's R420, where they stuck with the same manufacturing process and essentially just bulked up the RV360 core (though they still made a number of improvements), might be doable in less than a year -- but that's not typical of designing a new GPU. They've been working on R500 -- which was going to be R400 before it was pushed back -- at least since the release of the 9700Pro.

As for the car analogy: even a "concept car" generally borrows a lot of parts and internal design work from other cars in the company's lineup. Plus, a huge amount of effort goes into just making it to the point of a "concept car" (quite possibly 6-12 months of work, if not more); they don't just appear out of nowhere. Designs that have no chance of becoming production models are generally weeded out long before you see them.

 

[SithSolo1]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
ATi scrapped the R400 and made the R420 instead.
Maybe nVidia will reuse their current tech in some way to make something involving SLI or multiple chips.
Or they will introduce the NV60 sooner.
Or the NV50 isn't really canned.

Err I don't think they scrapped the R400. As far as I am aware it was too ambitious for its time so they pushed it back and it will now be the R600.

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: SithSolo1

Originally posted by: Lonyo
ATi scrapped the R400 and made the R420 instead.
Maybe nVidia will reuse their current tech in some way to make something involving SLI or multiple chips.
Or they will introduce the NV60 sooner.
Or the NV50 isn't really canned.

Err I don't think they scrapped the R400. As far as I am aware it was too ambitious for its time so they pushed it back and it will now be the R600.

Effectively scrapped
Maybe nVidia is doing the same?

And as said above, a concept car isn't like a GPU.
Imagine making a new engine design + chassis + etc and turning it into a car.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: Stoneburner
You guys exaggerate the inquirer's tendency to be wrong. The last thing they were wrong about was maybe the nv30 and that was because they were reciting what nvidia people told them. And I dont know why people get so defensive about NVIDIA. Are you people stockholders?

I'm fairly sure the last thing they were wrong about (that I know of) was the Nforce4/SoundStorm2 reports that turned out to be incorrect...and I'm pretty sure that was less than two months ago.

The point is, it's just rumors and nothing more.

 

[Irrational]

I kinda hope they're right. the 6 series have proved to be a great leap forward for them. It's been a while since I could say that about a new GPU. If they can stay competitve without the obligligatory refresh, then I see no reason to bother. ATI's refresh looks like a 50/50 deal with half the cards not really fitting well into their price points(at least from the reviews they seem that way). I for one am glad Nvidia and ATI are so cutthroat. Now if only the ATI had an AGP version of the X700. Woo PCI-E first! Good call guys(both of them).