X-bit labs

April 2004 Hardware News Overview (page 7)

Category: Editorial

by Andy Yaschenko

[ 04/21/2004 | 09:34 AM ]

The NV40 will have the time-tested AGP 8x interface, although there will be versions for the PCI Express implemented with the help of the AGP-PCI Express bridge that we already know. To avoid misbalance in the bandwidth of the two busses, NVIDIA decided to overclock the AGP interface to 4GB/s bandwidth, only twice less than that of the PCI Express. However, manufacturers of graphics cards already complained about this approach: the external bridge makes the PCB more complex and costlier by about 5 US dollars. ATI has no such problem with its integrated bridge, buy the way.

On the other hand, there’s less info about the R420 than about the NV40. The number of pipelines is uncertain even. Some say 12, others 16. In the equivalent of the existing architecture. 16 pipelines seem more probable and ATI’s product will have a somewhat higher performance – at least, that’s my opinion.

XGI and S3 didn’t sparkle at CeBIT, too. The former brought a standard collection of cards on its V8 and V5 GPUs in different versions. The Volari V3(V5?)XT is the most interesting device, which seems to be a cut-down version of the V5. In other words, a solution of the same level with the GeForce FX 5200 – not bad for XGI, if the chip hadn’t been promised to come out in the second half of the year only.

S3 showcased long-promised, but never selling DeltaChrome cards and their development with an integrated PCI Express interface. The product may appear in the market under the name of GammaChrome. They also mentioned the OmniChrome family, which is something like an All-In-Wonder on the same graphics cores. Everything sounds true to life, with snapshots of the cards and all, but it looks very much alike to what they’ve been feeding us all these years.

So, only NVIDIA and ATI have real products now. In March, card manufacturers were mastering the latest product from NVIDIA, the GeForce FX 5700 Ultra chip with GDDR3. Few really offered something, while the performance remained the same. Only the self cost and the heat generation of the cards went down.

In fact, it seems like the GeForce FX 5700 (Ultra) is the most popular among graphics card makers today – mainstream is always selling best of all. This time the graphics mainstream embraces all cards on processors from 5200 to 5700 (even with “Ultra”). Thus, they offered several models on the “pure” GeForce FX 5700, including on the fresh GeForce FX 5700LE and GeForce FX 5500. The last of them could become a hit as it is exactly in the middle of the sector, priced somewhat lower than the meaningful barrier of $100.

Other cards launched in March adjoin this segment. On the one side there’s the MX4000 and the 5900XT is on the other. Well, there’s nothing else to release new products upon. In the intermediary season like now, passions subside and the users’ demand focuses on the golden mean. The manufacturers are trying to expand their assortment anyway and NVIDIA showed two new Quadro chips: FX 600 PCI and FX700, value graphics cards for workstations.

Yes, I’m not mentioning ATI. The Canadians didn’t show up in March, but promised to answer to NVIDIA’s attempts in the low-end sector by releasing the RADEON 9550 (a slowed-down RADEON 9600). Notwithstanding the delay, ATI’s offer will probably look better: with a lower price than the GeForce FX 5500, but with a higher performance.

So ATI has another bright quarter ahead. Through excellent work in the last quarter, the company increased its sales volume by a half and also enlarged its market share. Since the rumors about MSI’s going to release graphics cards on ATI’s chips are coming true, the future of the company looks cloudless. Of course, if they don’t fail with the R420.