Monday, November 21st 2011
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Noises About Radeon HD 7900 Series with XDR2 Memory Grow
As early as in September, we heard reports of AMD toying with Rambus XDR2 memory on its next generation of high-performance GPUs. Apart from our own community's response, that news met with a wall of skepticism as it was deficient in plausibility. New reports from Chinese websites have raised the topic again with fresh rumors that AMD will attempt to implement XDR2 on some of its next-generation ultra-high end products after all. XDR2, according to Rambus, can transport twice the amount of data per clock as GDDR5.
Apparently AMD and Rambus have had much more cordial relations with each other, than other companies the latter engaged in patent disputes with. In 2006, AMD settled outstanding disputes with Rambus by willing to pay licensing costs for certain technologies claimed by Rambus, turning a leaf in the relations between the two. What Chinese sources are suggesting now, is that AMD will design its high-end GPU (codename: "Tahiti") in a way that will let it support both GDDR5 and XDR2. Certain higher-end SKUs based on Tahiti will use XDR2, while the slightly more cost-effective SKUs will use GDDR5.
In related news, other sources told TechPowerUp that AMD could adopt a "top-to-bottom" strategy with the high-end portion of its next-generation of products. This means that AMD could launch the dual-GPU "New Zealand" graphics card first, followed by single-GPU SKUs.
Source:
Mydrivers
Apparently AMD and Rambus have had much more cordial relations with each other, than other companies the latter engaged in patent disputes with. In 2006, AMD settled outstanding disputes with Rambus by willing to pay licensing costs for certain technologies claimed by Rambus, turning a leaf in the relations between the two. What Chinese sources are suggesting now, is that AMD will design its high-end GPU (codename: "Tahiti") in a way that will let it support both GDDR5 and XDR2. Certain higher-end SKUs based on Tahiti will use XDR2, while the slightly more cost-effective SKUs will use GDDR5.
In related news, other sources told TechPowerUp that AMD could adopt a "top-to-bottom" strategy with the high-end portion of its next-generation of products. This means that AMD could launch the dual-GPU "New Zealand" graphics card first, followed by single-GPU SKUs.
64 Comments on Noises About Radeon HD 7900 Series with XDR2 Memory Grow
If you want more reading see Digitimes. Yes it is old, but it shows how much Rambus pissed off the only people that can make their memory. Rambus makes nothing except IP.
www.rambus.com/in/news/press_releases/2011/110830.html
They(Rambus) are already using GloFo's 28nm-SLP process.
Wouldn't be hard to beleive that XDR2 would come out of GloFo, considering they are already working together on 28nm designs. And if the specs are true, it would be killer for AMD to have exclusive partnership rights to the design and manufacturing process of XDR2, leaving nVidia left with "older" technologies.semimd.com/blog/tag/rambus/
So there's your memory foundry producer, connected directly to AMD, even.
Ok now I am selling my XFX HD-695A-CNFC AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB :D
That doesn't mean that this rumour has any merit to it at all...but the fact it persists is based on the truth that it is very very possible.
I wouldn't get rid of those cards just yet. We have word mobile parts are coming in December(not that that is anything new), and high performance desktop parts were always expected next spring. Still got the winter to deal with!
Not even considering that AMD is probably already been in full swing production on 79xx parts. Which means that they've already decided what memory they are going to be using for the parts. XDR is not XDR2. I know your trying to point out that the volume capabilities are there. I'm just pointing out the obvious (to me at least). The fact of no XDR2 samples.
All I can think is how everyone was so sure of BD release dates, that went, and then they were sure of the next...but nothing ever came of it, for months and months.
That said, of course this could be false. Hence the word "rumour" attached to it. I don't see why you are getting so worked up about it...
Myself, I cannot deny the possibility that GloFo has been producing XDR2 since August, 2 months ago.
Also, I do not expect the cards that will use this memory until the end of April, next year. That's 5 months out yet, and plenty of time for stuff to eb out, and sampled.
Just becuase you think(or have confirmed via a board partner) there are no samples, doesn't mean that there is none...just perhaps NDAs are so tight that noone is willing to talk about it.
It is Rambus, after all. If I was AMD, I'd want to keep it under wraps until I was confident that it was a "sure thing". And in this industry, nothing is a "sure thing" until it launches, and users can buy it. But that announcement from GloFo about some next-gen memory design on 28nm is confirmation enough that GloFo is producing samples of SOMETHING for Rambus.
As far as I am concerned, the FX-8150 is a myth, as is the boxed version that is supposed to come with a watercooler. I cannot buy either, so they don't exist. So I really do understand your opinion here. I just don't agree.
I don't think it's even likely, like you do not. But i cannot deny that it's possible. Show me EXACTLY what GloFo is produsing for Rambus, and I might be more skeptical.
I chose to beleive NOONE, and will wait for AMD to actually confirm before I beleive it's true, myself, but, as I said, it does seem possible.
And frankly, if someone in the industry comments on unreleased products, they don't know shit. NDAs ensure that those who talk about stuff are usually full of it. And you can guaranttee that the info stream from AMD on unreleased stuff is going to dry right up now that they have let go of some many people in the wake of the BD launch.
Then again, the same applies to this rumour. Personally, I think this all spawned from that award GloFo gave Rambus. Like, nearly everything usees ram, including cell phones and stuff, so Rambus could be pushing out nearly anything from GLoFo.
It just bugs me that noone knows what those products actually are, so I must remain willing to accept that it COULD be VGA ram. But I'm just as skeptical as you are...
I want to see AMD innovate. Perhaps using XDR2 could change things a bit.