R500 Around the corner?

[ShadeZeRO]

Looks sort of interesting, but it's only a small article

http://www.techspot.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=15845

The R500 will be built using a 90nm process at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and will deliver performance similar to ATI’s next-generation high-end graphics chip, the R520, the sources said.

Supposidly it's going to be used in the XBOX-2 Console...I better chioce than an nvidia Gforce 2

And Q1 of 05? It could come out in March, but not likely in my point of view....R500 for the XBOX-2 and R520 for the PC and R480 for the PCI-E PC...Which i dont have :(

[Someone Stupid]

If you need a card now, then get one. If you can wait, I'd personally wait. I only bought (and waiting for) an X800 VIVO because my 9800 Pro is dead. That negated the option of waiting.

You have to remember, these companies have not recouped their investments on their current card lines, so why would they introduce cards that would (going by conventional wisdom) drive down their price point further. I don't see anything new hitting the shelves anytime this year, though I do expect paper launches and highly limited runs at the most. Taping out doesn't mean much as that can still leave them a ways away from a board they can sell at a profit. If computer sales start climbing again and they can start making money, sure they will release them earlier in next year, but if not, they probably would have no qualms holding back most production. AMD going to .9 nano could be just for increasing core speeds on the R4xx series more than anything, not to mention more GPU's a wafer (fixing alpha blending would be nice).

[Bigjakkstaffa]

The R5xx in Quarter 1 of 2005 does sound feasible to me from what i've seen and read and heard, though it'll be "late in the day" of Q1 if it does turn up IMO. Also from what i've heard, seen and read about product cycles, don't expect another brand spanking generation from NV for some time yet

--Jakk:t

[Someone Stupid]

I'd have to agree. Cards aren't getting any cheaper to design, nor produce. They have to recoup those cost and it has taken awhile for mainstream versions of the cards to really hit the market (and sell being the key point) as the last generation still performs admirably.

[Magua]

I am thinking late spring, early summer 2005

[ShadeZeRO]

MK just posted an article about the shortage of cards...

It said ...over and over...that the X800's and 6800's are already done with 1/3 of there life cycle ...almost 1/2 now... so i imagine that shouldn't be longer then ...4 months? 5 at most...

[PacNW CE]

It amazes me that the x800 and 6800's are almost 40 in human years. I have yet to see a x800 physically at a store, and the only 6800 I have seen was the BFG variety at Best Buy.

I am holding pat with my 9800 pro until something reasonably price/performance comes out.

[Magua]

Dosen't Best Buy stock x800pro?

[ShadeZeRO]

Not instore...online only at bestbuy.com depending on the area you live..

[zybch]

I strongly feel that we'd all be better off if nVidia and ATI slowed things down a bit.
This would do a number of things.
1 - Games would start making use of the features that current cards have and making use of them more efficiently.
2 - Card manufacturers would have more time to incorporate the existing and newly released GPUs into their products, costs would drop a bit.
3 - Every 18 months ATI and nVidia could release REALLY great revolutionary chips, rather than just evolutinary ones and could charge a lot for them. The same 'more money than sense' people would buy them as they do the current top end cards and so there wouldn't me much loss of revenue.

[Magua]

I'm pretty sure Ive seen several x800's instore at bestbuy.

[PacNW CE]

I have seen lots of empty boxes at my Best Buy that have a "Order Online!" sticker on them. Same for Comp USA..

At one time, I was actually saving up for one of the big boys. then the 9800 dropped in price to $200 and I jumped.:D

[Someone Stupid]

I live in New Orleans and there is NOWHERE to buy an X800 or 6800 except online or at small mom and pop shops by special order. Best Buy and CompUSA don't carry them. They may have empty boxes with display purposes only, out of stock - but that is it. Found 6600's and X700s, but that is it - and Best Buy had the ATi side while CompUSA carried the nvidia's newer cards (albeit not the best ones). 9800 Pro's are still commanding a king's ransom around here.

I really think they are going to have to push back the next cards release as they couldn't get many to the market this time around - but that would take both companies getting together and saying let's slow down until X date - that is something I don't see happening, but would like to. As of now developers are having to write code (well until the release of the current cards) for cards that didn't exist with nonexistant drivers. Makes for a lot more bugs you have to go back and get rid of, not to mention a bit of a loss in optimization as even if nvidia or ATi is giving assistance, they sometimes don't know for sure until the core is taped out what they are going to be playing with and even then, there is the issue of drivers.

GPU's are already bottlenecked by the CPU - what is the purpose until we can break that bottleneck of newer cards? It would be nice to see 3Dc, TRUFORM, DTS, etc. implemented in games as companies design these things to improve performance, but if they crank out a card a year, nobody has time to add in the side features, they just have to get it to work to begin with.

We may actually get a break and they hold off, I mean they are shrinking die sizes, so they'll be dealing with heat and low yields just as the CPU boys are.

[Yoshi]

Here in LA our Bestbuy has the 6800 and the GT, and my PC Club had the 6800, the X800 Pro and the 6800 GT instock, and it can get the 6800 Ultra within 1 buissiness day.:cool:

[ShadeZeRO]

Yoshi...do you ever stop trying to showoff?????

...grrr...your my rival lol...

[Yoshi]

Well, thats what you get for living in Los Angeles, everything is 5min away:D

[NDD]

XBOX used modified GF3/NV2A core
;)

[ShadeZeRO]

And a very good card it is indeed...runs Halo at 60fps lol..

Unreal Championship at 30fps...