X-bit labs

UMC Lands Orders to Produce Nvidia’s New Performance-Mainstream Chip.

Category: Video

by Anton Shilov

[ 10/10/2007 | 02:23 PM ]

United Microelectronics Corp. has reportedly landed orders to produce Nvidia Corp.’s new performance-mainstream code-named G92 graphics processing units (GPUs). With the order fulfilled, Nvidia will get over a million of additional chips, meaning that availability of graphics cards based on G92 GPU will be fairly high.

Nvidia has placed orders with UMC to produce 5 – 6 thousand wafers with Nvidia G92 graphics cores at Fab 12A, reports DigiTimes web-site citing anonymous industry sources. It unknown when the orders were placed, when they are planned to be fulfilled and whether this was a one time order, or UMC plans to deliver 5 – 6 thousand wafers every month within the next quarter.

Nvidia’s primary fabrication partner is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), however, both ATI, graphics product group of Advanced Micro Devices, and Nvidia, outsource part of production of performance mainstream, mainstream and entry-level graphics processors to UMC as well in a bid to get more chips and ensure favourable manufacturing prices.

Given that UMC’s Fab 12A processes 300mm wafers and that die size of G92 is rumoured to be 289mm² (17mm x 17mm), Nvidia will get additional 1.06 – 1.27 million G92 die candidates thanks to its order to UMC. Considering that the vast majority of the G92 chips are likely to be made at TSMC, then Nvidia will have a plenty of its new performance-mainstream processors for a new market assault.

Nvidia did not comment on the news-story.