AMD readies RV670 graphics chip

Author: Tim Smalley
Published: 28th September 2007
Comments (14) Stumble
RV670 looks set bridge the gap between the Radeon HD 2900 XT and the Radeon HD 2600 XT.

RV670 looks set bridge the gap between the Radeon HD 2900 XT and the Radeon HD 2600 XT.

Pictures of a non-working sample of AMD’s upcoming RV670 graphics processor – a chip designed to bridge the massive gap between the high-end and mainstream cards in the ATI Radeon HD 2000 series – have shown up on a Taiwanese website.

The chip is rumoured to have been fabbed on TSMC’s 55nm process and will reportedly be clocked at 600MHz.

There will be the same 320 stream processors as there are in R600 (and are presumably arranged in the same way). However, RV670 is reported to only have a 256-bit memory interface – just half of what R600 has available.

This is connected to eight 32MB Hynix DDR3 DRAM chips, making a total of 256MB memory which is rated to 900MHz (1800MHz effective).

Additionally, the GPU will support CrossFire and the rumours suggest that RV670 will be Shader Model 4.1 compliant (DX10.1) along with also supporting PCI-Express 2.0. Our own sources have also confirmed that the GPU will integrate AMD’s Unified Video Decoder.

The card pictured has a single slot cooler and a single 6-pin PCI-Express power connector. These should be as a result of the benefits of moving to 55nm and also from PCI-Express 2.0’s increased power draw through the interconnect, which is up to 150W from 75W on older versions of the specification.

DailyTech also reports that the card is expected to appear in AMD’s lineup in Q1 2008 and at this time pricing hasn’t been finalised.

Obviously, the card isn’t going to be as fast as a Radeon HD 2900 XT, but won't be far off either – will this take the mid-range to where it should have been originally?

Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
Quote Mankz. 28th September 2007, 12:16
Apparently there are also rumors of an X2950XT coming out in November!

Should make an interesting christmas!
Quote bubsterboo 28th September 2007, 12:24
Quote:
will this take the mid-range to where it should have been originally?
I sure hope so! This generations midrange cards have been very disappointing from both nvidia and ati.
Quote Goty 28th September 2007, 12:39
Quote:
Originally Posted by bubsterboo
Quote:
will this take the mid-range to where it should have been originally?
I sure hope so! This generations midrange cards have been very disappointing from both nvidia and ati.

Unfortunately, that's only out of character for nvidia. ATI's midrange cards are usually fairly disappointing at first with some decent refreshes later on in the cycle.
Quote Cobalt 28th September 2007, 13:09
I promised myself that the next graphics card I bought would be 512MB because I am already starting to run into a texture size wall with certain games *glares at oblivion* and I want something that will last as long as my 9800pro did. Maybe that will never happen but I hated that I had to replace my last two cards within a year. It probably won't be untill the next generation of DX10 graphics cards that I upgrade at this rate. The price performance ratio in the current gen is abysmal.
Quote devdevil85 28th September 2007, 16:50
Quote:
Originally Posted by the Article
RV670 looks set bridge the gap between the Radeon HD 2900 XT and the Radeon HD 2600 XT.
I AM that gap....I don't want a piece of crap, but I can't afford the cream of the crop....it's sad, but mid-range is really the better way to go for me...
Quote EQC 28th September 2007, 17:52
Quote:
Originally Posted by the article

The card pictured has a single slot cooler and a single 6-pin PCI-Express power connector. These should be as a result of the benefits of moving to 55nm and also from PCI-Express 2.0’s increased power draw through the interconnect, which is up to 150W from 75W on older versions of the specification.

I hope the reduction to a single 6-pin power connector has nothing to do with the PCI-Express 2.0 power allotment -- that would imply that the card couldn't work (or at least wouldn't get enough power to run at full speed) on any of the PCI-Express 1.0 boards that have sold over the last several years.

Or maybe it draws 150 Watts in total, so on a 2.0 board, you don't even need to plug in the 6-pin connector, and on a 1.0 board, it'll get power through both the motherboard and the 6-pin?
Quote Drexial 28th September 2007, 19:59
ATi really needs to cook something good up to bring back the competition between the two. hopefully this will help a little.

Is it also amusing that the watermark on the pictures is nv6800? cause that makes me think of nVidia 6800.... and its a ATi card? no? just me? ok....
Quote sam.g.taylor 28th September 2007, 20:24
that much electricity - and the mid 8-series will still probably beat it.

So much for ATi being green...
Quote Bladestorm 28th September 2007, 20:28
Manufacturers would be insane to make PCI-E 2.0 only cards anytime in the near future, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Edit add (talk about going off half cocked..)

I'm waiting for a decent mid-range DX10 card myself, somehow if this is going to be less powerfull than the GTS 640mb/2900 region I doubt its the card for me :(.

Kinda waiting for Nvidia to come out with 89xx or 9xxx I think, though unless AMD can pull together major competition soon, anything nvidia do eventually release is likely to be hideously expensive still.
Quote HourBeforeDawn 29th September 2007, 00:13
ooow interesting I cant wait to see this in real world test ^_^
Quote Aankhen 29th September 2007, 15:35
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bladestorm
Manufacturers would be insane to make PCI-E 2.0 only cards anytime in the near future, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.
They would have to work pretty hard to make PCIe 2.0–only cards, I think, since PCIe 2.0 is backwards compatible.
Quote Bindibadgi 29th September 2007, 15:43
Yea it is, and we've heard from more than one source that PCI-Express 2.0 is more or less nil performance increase.
Quote devdevil85 1st October 2007, 19:55
single slot cooler = positive / single 6-pin PCIe power connector = positive for some reason I was thinking the GPU was going to be based on TSMC's 45nm process....o well....
Quote completemadness 1st October 2007, 23:32
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bindibadgi
Yea it is, and we've heard from more than one source that PCI-Express 2.0 is more or less nil performance increase.
doesn't surprise me, the change from AGP to PCI-E was a pretty low performance gain as well
The cards are far more limited by other things then the bus
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