21st February 2003, 9:43 PM
Quote:R350 will be named Radeon 9800 PRO
WE MANAGED TO GET some additional details on the interesting ATI up and coming product codenamed R350 which is close to its launch. R350 is going to be the Radeon 9800 PRO and it will have non pro version as well, just like the R300 that was called 9700 PRO and 9700.
Clock speeds are still not finalized but it's very close to finalization as this is a March product and the European launch will be at Cebit. As far as we hear, and this is still not confirmed, clock speeds will be either 375 or 400 MHz.
The higher numbered Radeon 9900 is reserved for a version of the card with 256 MB of memory that is planned to be introduced later, May we've heard. Radeon 9900 with 256MB is going to break the 399 USD limit because of the cost of memory and this card will also have PRO and non pro version.
According to the latest information that we gathered, R350 despite, its 0.15 marchitecture and DDR 1 memory running at 375 MHz maximum, is likely to defeat the Geforce FX performance wise.
The fastest version Radeon 9800 PRO should be 40 percent faster than a Radeon 9700 PRO. Cards should hit the retail in April leaving Nvidia very little time to have the fastest product.
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Quote:ATI's R350 in mass production
IN THE HIGH PERFORMANCE graphics industry, performance must be combined with quality. It is this neverending race which will lead to initial availability of Nvidia's new Geforce FX cards this month.
However, we have learned that ATI's next generation R350 chip which will compete with the Geforce FX is now in mass production, and will definitely be in retail stores in April. It will be officially announced at CeBIT in Hannover, Germany on March 12, 2003.
Specifications of the new chip are being kept under extremely tight scrutiny because of the tight competition between the two rivals. It would give too much lead-time to overclock one chip just to paper launch a product and claim the performance lead.
Many facts are already known. The R300 will be built on a 150 nanometer process. It is basically an overclocked R300 with eight rendering pipelines and two texture units per pipeline.
Be aware that there are numerous enhancements to its design and manufacturing process, which will increase performance and yields thus lowering the price of the chip. If yields of the R300 are any indication, ATI could have yields in excess of 90% using TSMC's proven copper process, although without a low k dielectric.
We expect the chip to launch at a core clock of 375MHz. It will incorporate DirectX 9.1 features, which is great if you're going to keep the card for at least two years, but don't expect to see any games written for it released for at least a year.
ATI will brand the chip the Radeon 9900 Pro, and the card will be equipped with 128 MB memory while supporting 256MB configurations for its partners. They will use 10 layer PCBs for the graphics cards. The 128MB variations will be priced around the ?400 mark. Lower bin parts will be sold through ATI's partners at a lower speed for less. A 350W power supply would be recommended if you are using a hyperthreading P4 system.
* AS FUDO SAYS in a separate article today, the R350 will have support for DDR I at launch. But we learn that it can support DDR II, and ATI will offer this if it sees a cheaper future for it.