"Floppy, yet firm!" - One teraflop of computing power...and maybe a terawatt of power.
Though the G80 is still the chip to beat in the high-end graphics market, that isn't stopping Nvidia from looking toward the future. The company recently had a conference call where it discussed its upcoming G92 processor, which will take the high-end crown again. Apparently, it will be
almost a teraflop of raw computing power.
For a comparison, that's around double the computing power of the current 8800GTX, which can do about 518GFlops (MAD+MUL) if you push it to its limit. Normally, the chip would average around 345 GFlops (without MUL). We would assume the new 1TFlop would also be MAD+MUL, which has had some controversy surrounding it.
Is anyone else interested in the PSU that will be required for this?
According to Nvidia's Michael Hara, Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications, the new chip will be ready at Christmas. This is actually going to be Nvidia's new launch plan after its wonderful success with the G80 - the high-end parts will be released shortly before the Holidays, and then the mid- to low-range parts will start filtering out in the spring. This gives the high-end early adopters a bit of extra time to cradle their expensive toys.
Of course, this "slick" plan borne from the G80 launch is actually an accidental stroke of genius due to production issues for the G80 part. At the time, the card was supposed to launch at the end of Q3 or start of Q4, but had to go back
for a respin of the silicon. The launch put it in our hot little hands ever-so-slightly before Christmas, which (with all the Vista buzz) helped sell the device like hotcakes. Of course, since Nvidia didn't actually disclose the original date (we just knew the silicon needed redone), it could technically be said that the whole thing was just well-executed with a margin for error.
Anyhow, this launch is to now become the standard for Big Green, which isn't really a bad thing. It's a great way to get the company's name out right at the end of the year, when we're also expecting AMD's Barcelona, Intel's Nehalem, and a possible R600 refresh that might make it more competitive with the 8800 Ultra. Sounds like a great time to drop the 9800.
Do you have a thought on the upcoming monster? Tell us
in our forums.
As for some food for thought on what G92 could be... 160 G80 stream processors @ 2.0GHz = 0.96 TeraFLOPS, 192 G80 stream processors @ 1.7GHz = 0.98 TeraFLOPS ;)
I wish both ATI and Nvidia would concentrate as much on power consumption as they would performance. I don't want to upgrade my PSU every time I upgrade my GFX card. For every extra watt your GFX card uses some poor wild creature will be getting killed by the extra smog that coal or gas fired powerstation kicks out ... ;)
-wolfman
Haha...
I think calling it a 9800 would be a lovely piece of irony. Let's hope both companies have a better sense of humor as they do with power consumption and sustainability - as with a card like this - or even present cards in single or dual card set up, pretty much makes computers consume power like mini-particle accelerators.
(and this is NOT cuz i care about being green... I just dont need a heater/Pc for the very hot summer we are getting nowadays)
360 G80 stream processors @ 1GHz is about 0.96 TeraFLOPS
720 G80 stream processors @ 500MHz is about 0.96 TeraFLOPS
1440 G80 stream processors @ 250MHz is about 0.96 TeraFLOPS?
or
360000 G80 stream processors @ 1MHz is about 0.96 TeraFLOPS?:| :D
here is a thought, do you intelligent people see "dual-core" GPU's (not SLI) in that crystal ball of yours? would it make sense? or would the chip become way too big (and prob too hot)..
as for the power requirements, has anyone checked whether Intel, nvidia and AMD/ATI has invested money in power companies lately... I smell a conspiracy ;)
Funny about the next big thing always seams to be just on the horizon, truth is the next best thing, the thing after that and then the next best DNA based thing after that are all probably just over the horizon as we speak now, you'll never be up to date no matter what you buy, there's always something else nearing commericialisation.
Ah well, at least I can buy another 8800GTS 640mb cheaply at the end of the year...
But going G90? If only I was in the position to build my own core reactor in my garage... if I had a garage :| Link
If they require me to buy ANOTHER motherboard or PSU, I'll be bowing out of PC gaming that requires anything more then my C2D 6300@3Ghz and 7800gtx. I've replaced parts too often just to accommodate another part or feature I want to use. It's just getting too expensive and isn't beneficial enough to me. At least I get half-decent graphics on my console and I don't need to drop $200-500+ every other year just to play a new game at passable framerates.
But seriously its going to be impressive and the irony of if it were called the 9800 would be so funny i don't think i'd stop laughing for a while, a similar situation that happened when i saw OCZ's external 2KW PSU but sadly that ones looking more and more sensible with the amount of power this things going to consume!
i will only buy a graphic card as soon as they lower their power consumption, i don't have a nuclear reactor to power my pc!
Because it's a predictive trend. Unless you have facts that say otherwise, I'll agree that looking at these trends backs up his statement.
Heck, we might start having to build enclosure outside our homes to house computers in. Both for heat and electrical safety.
Imagine if the PSU driving an SLI'ed system with two of those cards goes boom
Sadly network KVM transmitters are like £150 or something, so its not very cost efficient, also games might not like the added latency
Well I'm guessing if you can afford two of them, a £200 - £300 PSU etc, you surely can afford the bill. ;)
People in the US usually run on Credit Cards, so even if they do buy em, they probably cannot afford them :P
ATI is coming out with the "next gen" of GFX cards
At the same time Nvidia is coming out with the next next gen of GFX cards
ugh...
Then just wait, by xmas the 8xxx series will be dirt cheap :p