"We didn't want to come out with one monolithic GPU and then disable parts of it for different markets," said an AMD spokesman prior to a full disclosure of the part in a briefing in San Francisco on June 16.
The strategy makes sense for the financially troubled AMD which also has laid out conservative road maps for its computer processors. The graphics choice reduces costs and risks while maximizing returns for the company which has suffered through multiple loss-making quarters.
The decision to use a two-chip strategy for the high end was made more than two years ago, based on an analysis of yields and scalability. It was not related to AMD's recent financial woes, said Rick Bergman, general manager of AMD's graphics division.
"I predict our competitor will go down the same path for its next GPU once they see this," Bergman said. "They have made their last monolithic GPU."
"On paper the AMD approach looks good," said Jon Peddie, principal of graphics market watcher Jon Peddie Research (Tiburon, Calif.). "If it works, it will be a significant shift in how GPUs are made, but we won't know until later this year" when customers can test the new parts, he said.
AMD says its 4850 device at about 110 W and $199 will deliver about 75 percent of the performance of Nvidia's high-end GTX280 which costs $649 and dissipates 236W. Two of the AMD parts on a board will hit graphics benchmarks about 30 percent higher than the Nvidia device, the AMD spokesman added.
A 4870 version of the product sporting slightly higher performance will cost $299. Both AMD chips are made in a 55nm process, compared to 65nm for the Nvidia chips, and measure about 16x16mm compared to about 24x24mm for the Nvidia part. The approach gives Nvidia bragging rights for the single most powerful graphics processor, an edge that plays well to the gaming and technical communities who use the parts.
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