NVIDIA Rumored To Launch Fermi GPU This Week, Change Graphics Forever
NVIDIA's Fermi has been revealed, but having a new platform revealed
and having a new platform available for purchase are two very, very
different things. The graphics world has been waiting on pins and
needles for NVIDIA to make good on their promises from September, and
while we can't be absolutely certain that new Fermi-based GeForce cards
are on the horizon, the Wall Street Journal usually doesn't play around
when it comes to details like this.
According to a new report, NVIDIA will launch a new graphics technology as early as tomorrow, and it will supposedly "more than double the performance of its current products." The chips will also "work smoothly with 3-D games and support the latest video-processing software," with Drew Henry (general manager of Nvidia's graphics-chip operations) saying that "our new generation compared to the generation it replaces is probably one of the biggest architectural leaps we've been through in some time."
The new GPU will be NVIDIA's first based on Fermi (again, based on the report), which will have "512 cores, or individual calculating engines, and three billion transistors, doubling the amounts in its previous chips." The device will also be used to "target additional markets outside of its traditional graphics stronghold, part of the company's larger push to use its graphics expertise to tackle other computing problems." We still think that a Fermi GPU would be a solid choice for gaming, but it sounds as if it may be better for applications that focus more on computations and less on graphical optimization. We suspect we'll know soon enough if these really are close to launch, and we get the idea that they won't be cheap. Nothing "first" ever is, right?
According to a new report, NVIDIA will launch a new graphics technology as early as tomorrow, and it will supposedly "more than double the performance of its current products." The chips will also "work smoothly with 3-D games and support the latest video-processing software," with Drew Henry (general manager of Nvidia's graphics-chip operations) saying that "our new generation compared to the generation it replaces is probably one of the biggest architectural leaps we've been through in some time."
The new GPU will be NVIDIA's first based on Fermi (again, based on the report), which will have "512 cores, or individual calculating engines, and three billion transistors, doubling the amounts in its previous chips." The device will also be used to "target additional markets outside of its traditional graphics stronghold, part of the company's larger push to use its graphics expertise to tackle other computing problems." We still think that a Fermi GPU would be a solid choice for gaming, but it sounds as if it may be better for applications that focus more on computations and less on graphical optimization. We suspect we'll know soon enough if these really are close to launch, and we get the idea that they won't be cheap. Nothing "first" ever is, right?
