IBM-made Nvidia NV40 will hit the market by year-end

Nvidia and ATI Technologies hope to release their next wave of graphics chips by year-end, sources said. Nvidia’s new graphics chips will be based on the NV40 core, while ATI will release its RV360, R360, and R420 lines of cards.

The NV40 line will be the first 0.13-micron-based graphics core fabricated by IBM, as opposed to long-time fabrication partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), according to sources. Further details of the NV40 line have yet to be released.

ATI’s R360 and RV360 will be based on their predecessors, the R350 and RV350, but upgraded in speed and features. The R420, however, will be ATI’s flagship model based on completely new architecture and 0.13-micron-based fabrication.

What role IBM Microelectronics will play in the graphics chip-making business, and how it will affect ATI and Nvidia’s overall cost structure, is being carefully scrutinized.

Source: companies, compiled by DigiTimes, June 2003.
*GeForce FX 5800 series (NV30) announced on November 18, 2002.

Article translated by Isaac Chang and edited by Richard So