NVIDIA’s Secret Weapon: 40nm GPUs
According to the most recent details regarding NVIDIA’s upcoming graphics products, the Santa Clara-based chip maker is planning to release its very first 40nm GPUs, even before competitor AMD has a chance of delivering its own 40nm-based solutions. Apparently, NVIDIA will step up to the next-generation TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) 40G process technology with the introduction of new mobile chips, codenamed N10x.
At this point in time, there are no details regarding availability and official release date but, according to VR-Zone, NVIDIA will try to be the first to offer a 40nm graphics card, thus increasing its chances of gaining the number one spot in the graphics card market. One of the most interesting aspects of the rumored release is the fact that the company is said to be considering applying the new manufacturing technology to its mobile graphics chip business, a division that has recently suffered impressive losses because of some reported faulty chips.
Furthermore, the abovementioned website even suggests that NVIDIA could possibly roll out a dual chip solution for its recently released GT200 graphics core. This would ultimately increase the company’s chances of regaining market leadership over competitor AMD, which took one step farther by releasing its Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics monster.
No details regarding the future 55nm GeForce graphics cards are available, as neither when the 40nm parts are scheduled to arrive but, given NVIDIA’s current situation in the market, 40nm-based graphics cards could just be one of the best solutions for it.
For the time being, AMD’s graphics subsidiary, ATI, is the only graphics card manufacturer that has managed to deliver a high-performance video card solution based on the 55nm manufacturing technology. The company’s entire Radeon HD 4000-series product lineup has been highly successful despite NVIDIA’s latest high-end GeForce cards. The release of the dual-GPU 4870-based card has enabled ATI to claim the leading position in the graphics card market.
