Friday, March 11th 2016
NVIDIA "GP104" Silicon to Feature GDDR5X Memory Interface
It looks like NVIDIA's next GPU architecture launch will play out much like its previous two generations - launching the second biggest chip first, as a well-priced "enthusiast" SKU that outperforms the previous-generation enthusiast product, and launching the biggest chip later, as the high-end enthusiast product. The second-biggest chip based on NVIDIA's upcoming "Pascal" architecture, the "GP104," which could let NVIDIA win crucial $550 and $350 price-points, will be a lean machine. NVIDIA will design the chip to keep manufacturing costs low enough to score big in price-performance, and a potential price-war with AMD.
As part of its efforts to keep GP104 as cost-effective as possible, NVIDIA could give exotic new tech such as HBM2 memory a skip, and go with GDDR5X. Implementing GDDR5X could be straightforward and cost-effective for NVIDIA, given that it's implemented the nearly-identical GDDR5 standard on three previous generations. The new standard will double densities, and one could expect NVIDIA to build its GP104-based products with 8 GB of standard memory amounts. GDDR5X breathed a new lease of life to GDDR5, which had seen its clock speeds plateau around 7 Gbps/pin. The new standard could come in speeds of up to 10 Gbps at first, and eventually 12 Gbps and 14 Gbps. NVIDIA could reserve HBM2 for its biggest "Pascal" chip, on which it could launch its next TITAN product.
The GP104 will be built on the 16 nm FinFET process, by TSMC. NVIDIA is hoping to unveil the first GP104-based products by April, at the Graphics Technology Conference (GTC) event, which it hosts annually; with possible market availability by late-May or early-June, 2016.
Source:
Benchlife.info
As part of its efforts to keep GP104 as cost-effective as possible, NVIDIA could give exotic new tech such as HBM2 memory a skip, and go with GDDR5X. Implementing GDDR5X could be straightforward and cost-effective for NVIDIA, given that it's implemented the nearly-identical GDDR5 standard on three previous generations. The new standard will double densities, and one could expect NVIDIA to build its GP104-based products with 8 GB of standard memory amounts. GDDR5X breathed a new lease of life to GDDR5, which had seen its clock speeds plateau around 7 Gbps/pin. The new standard could come in speeds of up to 10 Gbps at first, and eventually 12 Gbps and 14 Gbps. NVIDIA could reserve HBM2 for its biggest "Pascal" chip, on which it could launch its next TITAN product.
The GP104 will be built on the 16 nm FinFET process, by TSMC. NVIDIA is hoping to unveil the first GP104-based products by April, at the Graphics Technology Conference (GTC) event, which it hosts annually; with possible market availability by late-May or early-June, 2016.
135 Comments on NVIDIA "GP104" Silicon to Feature GDDR5X Memory Interface
Using intel HD530 now on my new skylake build, still gaming on my ROG laptop just a little longer.
www.anandtech.com/show/10017/micron-reports-on-gddr5x-progress
My money is the GTX1080 with 8Gb GDDR5 256-Bit 150W TDP; it can best FuryX and more the reference 980Ti and they'll sell for $550. They'll update it with GDDR5X and higher clocks (more or less a rebrand) when FinFET process is permitting.
More likely is that the base GPU (for both vendors) is prepped for both IMC/PHY logic blocks. GDDR5 initially, and GDDR5X when production hits its stride. If 14/16nm is anything like previous nodes, both companies will want a low (R&D)-cost refresh option.The salient point is mass production. Just as with initial HBM supplies, mass production does not preclude products shipping with the chips. SK Hynix announced volume production of HBM only a week before the Fury X launched - that definitively proves the chips used on the Fiji series of cards were fabricated some months before the Hynix announcement given the lead in time needed for GPU package assembly, board assembly, and shipping. Micron are already sampling GDDR5X and they certainly didn't wait around for JEDEC to ratify the specification before beginning work.Excepting the naming ( I sincerely doubt "1080" will be a model number) that seems reasonable. Nvidia will almost certainly target high end mobile and performance segment discrete as they did with GM 204. Smaller die size will offset higher wafer costs, so $500-550 for the GTX _80 and $350 for the GTX _70 seems in line with previous pricing.I'm picking that GP104 has enough performance to pick off the custom 980 Ti's and Fury cards but maybe not much more. Price the cards at $500-550 and $330-350 (GTX _70) and they will still stack up well for consumers in comparison. One thing is certain, the company usually knows how to sell product, so they will have the angles covered.Sounds like a Grimm faery tale unfortunately. Except for some hollow sabre rattling and PR driven token price cuts, both AMD and Nvidia seem intent on giving the impression of a price war without actually engaging in one.
This whole report is completely made up.
GDD5RX won't be in volume production until end of Q3. So how exactly are NVIDIA going to launch a GDDR5X card at the end of Q2?
Answer: they can't and won't.
They still haven't demo'd real cards to anyone as far as we know. If they had it would have leaked. AMD had their first demos to the press in early December with real cards. Select partners had access earlier than that.
This isn't my first rodeo. :-)
You would think that that massive market share would count for something.
Oh well...guess MOAR profits rule again and the blind will all gladly bend over.
HBM is still superior to GDDR, less chips, less power, much tighter latency's and much bigger bandwidth.