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Hardware The Real Details of RV516
Kristopher Kubicki (Blog) - April 4, 2006 4:24 PM
Print 11 comment(s) - last by kilkennycat.. on Apr 5 at 1:32 PM

ATI Radeon X1300 reference design
Despite what you may have heard, R516 is not just an 80nm product

Earlier reports indicated that ATI's RV516 core would be the first 80nm ATI GPU.  Sadly, these reports are incorrect -- at least according to internal ATI memos, roadmaps and employee testimonies.  ATI's RV536 will be the first 80nm core, and will appear in late June 2006.

RV516 is a pin-compatible drop in replacement for RV515.  RV515, also known as the Radeon X1300 ASIC, was one of ATI's first 90nm ASICs produced at the TSMC foundries.  RV536, RV516 and R581 will an be 80nm product, but they will be produced at TSMC's cross-town rival foundries, UMC. 

Since RV515 and RV516 are interchangeable and comparable, manufacturers already tell us the chips will be used between graphic card implementations without indication.  For all intents and purposes, the only difference between the "one off" ASIC denotations is which foundry the chip will be produced at.

NVIDIA has produced GPUs at both TSMC and UMC in the past.

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Better or Worse?
By firewolfsm on 4/4/2006 4:53:51 PM , Rating: 2
How much cooler will this run?




RE: Better or Worse?
By KristopherKubicki (blog) on 4/4/2006 4:57:50 PM , Rating: 2
It's going to be exactly the same as RV515. It's just going to say made by UMC instead of made by TSMC.


RE: Better or Worse?
By Hypernova on 4/4/2006 5:28:13 PM , Rating: 2
Then whats the point of renaming the chip if it's practically identical?


RE: Better or Worse?
By Knish on 4/4/2006 5:41:43 PM , Rating: 3
*cough*

" For all intents and purposes, the only difference between the "one off" ASIC denotations is which foundry the chip will be produced at. "


RE: Better or Worse?
By oTAL on 4/4/2006 10:46:12 PM , Rating: 2
I'd replace the *cough* with a DUH!
Read the articles and ask intelligent questions ppl ;)
Or even better, make interesting comments!!!


Right...
By hwhacker on 4/4/2006 7:44:04 PM , Rating: 2
RV516, RV536, and R581 are exactly what you say, UMC versions of the same chips...that's been reported for awhile. Thanks for clearing the air though.

What about Rv505 (x1300), Rv535 (x1600), and R590 (x1900)? Those are still all planned to be the actual 80nm shifts of those products, right? Not to mention Rv560 and Rv570 (x1700) which may come in 90nm first, but 80nm later...If not just 80nm to begin with (that one still seems hazy to me). Is that right...Or do you have any more to add to that? That surely would be appreciated.

Thanks. :)





RE: Right...
By KristopherKubicki (blog) on 4/4/2006 8:31:54 PM , Rating: 2
I read one roadmap that claimed R590 was not a die shrink and that R600 would be the first 80nm card. However, there are more typos in these roadmaps than you would believe (and that's not just ATI).

I'll post more details as I get them.


RE: Right...
By hwhacker on 4/5/2006 2:57:26 AM , Rating: 2
Oh, I believe it...Hence why we have different reports from hkepc, the inq, and you guys...Where surely you all must be seeing some kind of roadmap(s) not privy to the masses.

We surely do appreciate you trying to keep on top of it and sorting through it all. It's appreciated Kris.



Article vetting before publishing ?
By kilkennycat on 4/5/2006 1:09:27 PM , Rating: 2
Seems as if Daily Tech is in such a panic to publish articles ahead of other on-line tech news publications that they neither vet the content for accuracy nor appropriateness. What is the point of the last sentence in the above article ?





RE: Article vetting before publishing ?
By AnotherGuy on 4/5/2006 1:22:58 PM , Rating: 2
Its mentioning that ATI is not the only one producing chips from different sources... what r u so aggrevated about? DOnt like the news... go read somewhere else then.


By kilkennycat on 4/5/2006 1:32:21 PM , Rating: 2
Both ATi and nVidia are fabless silicon companies. What do you expect ? Multiple sources of silicon, of course... Disastrous earthquake in Taiwan, may need to go to Singapore...

Anyway, back to the core subject. The last sentence of the article seemed totally irrelevant to the rest of the content - that's all. Just keep your hair on and please take a few more minutes reading all articles in a critical light for both accuracy and relevant content before publishing.


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