Is this on the r520??

[metro.cl]

Only time will tell if ATI will shout the news from its corporate rooftops, but according to the X Initiative, when it ships later this year an unspecified ATI PCI-Express graphics processor will be the first X Architecture chip on the market. ADVERTISEMENT

Before you drift off into dreams of the X-Men and Wolverine's Adamantine augmented skeleton, let us explain.

The X Initiative is a group of semiconductor companies promoting the X architecture for processors. (The group is fairly large, but doesn't include many of the major players in chip design, such at Intel, AMD, IBM and Freescale.)

X Architecture is about bringing diagonal interconnects (or diagonal routing) into the design of a chip.

Normally a chip uses all right angles to connect its various bits and pieces.

According to the X Initiative, "The X Architecture rotates the primary direction of the interconnect in the fourth and fifth metal layers by 45 degrees" from the traditional right angles, but remains compatible with "existing cell libraries, memory cells, compilers and IP cores by preserving the Manhattan geometry of metal layers one through three." The X Initive says this is the first "production-worthy approach" to the "pervasive use" of this design.

Why would a chip company move from the decades old right angle, or "Manhattan" chip design? Try a 20 percent reduction in wiring on a chip, which the X Initiative claims will "reduce chip costs, increase performance and lower power consumption."

In fact, ATI's new processor, manufactured using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's 0.11-micron process and designed with Cadence Design Systems X Architecture "eliminated one metal layer from the original Manhattan design, reducing die costs."

ATI is certainly bullish on the technology. Greg Buchner, vice president of Engineering at ATI claims that using the X Architecture afforded the company the opportunity to "increase the performance envelope while reducing costs." ATI is also joining the X Initiative, and will be its first fabless chip design member.

link
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...129TX1K0000532

anyone knows ?? if so it would oc even better, be cooler and cheaper, or is it a new core??

[Always]

I don't think so, R520 is built on 90nm Low-K not on 110nm process

[Always]

This X advertised 110nm chip is a "value" R520 derivative, like today's X700 and X300 are from X800, and it is supposed to arrive later this year.

[metro.cl]

i've found this info, maybe the x900 has this??

Radeon X900 XT-PE
• 32 Pixel-Pipelines
• 10 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 90nm low-k bei TSMC
• 500 Mhz Chiptakt
• 700 MHz (1,4 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 512 MB GDDR-3

Radeon X900 XT• 32 Pixel-Pipelines
• 10 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 90nm low-k bei TSMC
• 450 Mhz Chiptakt
• 600 MHz (1,2 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 512 MB GDDR-3

Radeon X900 Pro
• 24 Pixel-Pipelines
• 10 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 90nm low-k bei TSMC
• 450 Mhz Chiptakt
• 600 MHz (1,2 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 256/512 MB GDDR-3

Radeon X900
• 16 Pixel-Pipelines
• 8 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 110nm low-k bei TSMC
• 500 Mhz Chiptakt
• 500 MHz (1,0 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 256/512 MB GDDR-3

[zakelwe]

110nm low-k bei TSMC

There is no low k 110nm process at TSMC, 110nm is the cheap process used for mid range cards and now G70.

Regards

Andy

[JuanFlaiter]

Where will they get 1.4ns memory chips? As far as I know, the fastest memory chips are 1.6ns up to date.

[metro.cl]

fastest gddr3 chips are 1.25ns
http://www.samsung.com/Products/Semi...ily_cd=GME1001

[Geforce4ti4200]

Radeon X900 Pro
• 24 Pixel-Pipelines
• 10 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 90nm low-k bei TSMC
• 450 Mhz Chiptakt
• 600 MHz (1,2 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 256/512 MB GDDR-3


wow even the x900pro looks to be better than the 7800gtx

[ettis]

Radeon X900 Pro
• 24 Pixel-Pipelines
• 10 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 90nm low-k bei TSMC
• 450 Mhz Chiptakt
• 600 MHz (1,2 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 256/512 MB GDDR-3


wow even the x900pro looks to be better than the 7800gtx

And it will cost much less than 7800gtx! :

[Geforce4ti4200]

$600-800 for 7800gtx, ive heard $999 for 512mb x900xt

[metro.cl]

$600-800 for 7800gtx, ive heard $999 for 512mb x900xt

way to much....

i think ati and nvidia have to lower the prices, for most vgas.

[Geforce4ti4200]

they did, its called 9800pro

[metro.cl]

they did, its called 9800pro

new gen vgas i still mis my 9800pro aiw but its pci-e time now

[groovetek]

well if the 6800GT/U vs X800XT/XT-PE story was anything to go by, you need an ATi core to run at least 100mhz quicker (core and mem) to outperform the nVidia counterpart... so I doubt X900 Pro would beat out a 7800GTX when both are at stock speeds - but yeah, again i'd assume the ATi cores would clock better.

[nVmatrix]

When is the date for the ATI cards? August?

So when ATI releases their 900 cards, give them 2-3 months to be in mass volume at the stores. Thats puts you at around X-mas time. Which is 6-months after the 7800GTX release which means... nVidia could in that time release a new card...... could happen you never know.

[Kanavit]

the x900pro looks very attractive out of the bunch. hope it comes in agp form, because i refuse to go pci-e , since i'm not going SLI or crossfire.

[blackdust]

since it is right around my birthday I will buy whichever my bday money affords me to

[HaLDoL]

Like Andy said, low K is not possible at 90nm at TSMC, so the specs are proven to be wrong.

[Entity_Razer]

who says the specs are wrong? Its not because TSMC doesn't do that now that they won't do it in the future on request of probabbly one of their if not THE biggest costumer?

[zakelwe]

who says the specs are wrong? Its not because TSMC doesn't do that now that they won't do it in the future on request of probabbly one of their if not THE biggest costumer?

They have a cheap 110nm process at 1 fab now
They have expensive 90nm low k process at 3 fabs now or soon.

But you are suggesting that TSMC put more effort in an expensive 110nm low k process and build a whole new line just so that Ati can make the X900 cards ? Why make a new expensive 110nm process when they have 3 lines of 90nm working or being built ? Thats a massively backward step and would cost Ati more so it is non sensical.

Anyhow, lets not have facts spoiling a good story , I'm going to laugh both my testicles off when it turns out there is not going to be 32 pipes

Regards

Andy

[Fetou]

i've found this info, maybe the x900 has this??

Radeon X900 XT-PE
• 32 Pixel-Pipelines
• 10 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 90nm low-k bei TSMC
• 500 Mhz Chiptakt
• 700 MHz (1,4 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 512 MB GDDR-3

Yeah if they could do that by Christmas I'd pick one up for anything under 1000 :-), assuming they preform as well as they look like they should on paper. I'd have to suspect Nvidia would release another card for 7 series though if ATI pulled off a lineup like this... if..

[Cyber$nake]

i've found this info, maybe the x900 has this??

Radeon X900 XT-PE
• 32 Pixel-Pipelines
• 10 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 90nm low-k bei TSMC
• 500 Mhz Chiptakt
• 700 MHz (1,4 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 512 MB GDDR-3

Radeon X900 XT• 32 Pixel-Pipelines
• 10 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 90nm low-k bei TSMC
• 450 Mhz Chiptakt
• 600 MHz (1,2 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 512 MB GDDR-3

Radeon X900 Pro
• 24 Pixel-Pipelines
• 10 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 90nm low-k bei TSMC
• 450 Mhz Chiptakt
• 600 MHz (1,2 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 256/512 MB GDDR-3

Radeon X900
• 16 Pixel-Pipelines
• 8 Vertex-Shader Einheiten
• 110nm low-k bei TSMC
• 500 Mhz Chiptakt
• 500 MHz (1,0 Ghz) Speichertakt
• 256/512 MB GDDR-3

Yeah I saw that, http://www.ati-news.de/cgi-bin/News/...&id=1117138247 is the article. If thats really what its going to be then Im going to go crazy...unless its like $900 for the x900XT PE

[One_Hertz]

Yeah I saw that, http://www.ati-news.de/cgi-bin/News/...&id=1117138247 is the article. If thats really what its going to be then Im going to go crazy...unless its like $900 for the x900XT PE

Hope fully it wont be...

32 pipes looks insene though. Can't wait...

btw to xtreme!!!

[Fetou]

Yeah I saw that, http://www.ati-news.de/cgi-bin/News/...&id=1117138247 is the article. If thats really what its going to be then Im going to go crazy...unless its like $900 for the x900XT PE

I think that ATI should recognize that its being outsold by NVidia because of their prices, even though they put out more powerful card. Apparently, the build on the new cards allows them to make it fast but produce it for cheap, so if the R520 is 500-700$ then

[Shadowmage]

Remember that this is a completely new architecture, so for all we know, the R520 could be clocked lower than the 7800GTX and still get better performance.