Nvidia preparing Four 28nm Maxwell Skus & Jumping to 16nm in 2015?

[ChrisxIxCross]

 

In case you're not already aware, Nvidia is preparing to release new Maxwell GPU's. Today even more information has surfaced which provides further insight on this upcoming product launch.

 

The GM204 is soon expected to fully replace the current GK104 stack, and the first silicon based on second generation Maxwell architecture. This new generation will later be updated with GK110 successor GM200. 

According to reports by SemiAccurate, Nvidia is going to release the following cards before jumping into a smaller process node. The lineup includes the following 

• GeForce GTX 880 Ti
• GeForce GTX 880
• GeForce GTX 870
• GeForce GTX 860

All of these cards will differ with Stream Multiprocessor count. Sources claim that full fledged GM204 will feature anywhere between 15-20 SMX units (1920-2560 Cuda Cores). This is to be expected as the all new Maxwell architecture is significantly more power efficient than Kepler and the size of each Cuda core is also bigger. We have already seen this with the first Maxwell GPU the 750Ti which has less cuda cores than the 650ti yet it outperforms it and consumes far less power. 

 

NVIDIA to skip 20nm fabrication process, third generation Maxwell to use 16nm? 

Now here comes the most surprising news from the SemiAccurate Article. According to their sources, Nvidia will SKIP 20nm and jump straight into 16nm. Not only that this will be the first time a same GPU will be remanufactured and relaunched on a smaller process. 

 

First Nvidia's GTX 880 launch is set for Q3 2014. If everything goes as planned it should appear in October. The second wave of cards would launch somewhere in mid-Q1/2015 which gives us around 4-6 months between 2nd and 3rd Gen Maxwell. Simply put there will be TWO GM204 revisions GM204A the LAST 28nm gpu Nvidia will make while GM204B & all future GPU's will feature the 16nm node. 

 

In light of this crazy news SemiAccurate listed 3 possible scenarios- 

 

 

Scenario #1: GM204B cards are called the same as GM204A models

According to SA, those new graphics cards based on B revision, would still carry GTX 8xx naming scheme. In fact, all these cards would have the same codename as their 28nm revisions.

Of course it all depends on TSMC. The volume and launch date may be affected by the difficulties met by the foundry.

In case you didn’t know, the GK110 processor was also released in B revision. It was first used by GeForce GTX 780 GHz Edition. The transition to B stepping was rather quiet, and only a very comprehensive analysis would reveal the advantage of GK110B. However GK110 was 28nm all the time.

Scenario #2: GM204B cards renamed

The GM204 is going to be much different. The B revision, will carry much more than just a name. Smaller node will decrease power consumption significantly. Launching a new SKU with the same codename as its 28nm variant would cause an absolute chaos on the market. This is where the other theory comes in. NVIDIA may add a special postfix to its naming schema to indicate which parts are using smaller node, for instance GTX+ (like they did with 9800 GTX+), or call it Green, GHz or Whatever Edition.

Scenario #3: GM204B cards to wait for GeForce 900 series

If TSMC 16nm yields will not be as high as expected, there is a chance that new parts would wait for GeForce 900 series. In fact I think this is the most reasonable scenario (assuming that the whole 16nm thing is true), because nobody wants to buy a new flagship, only later to see the same card with much lower power consumption and higher overclockability in just few months. According to this scenario, GTX 880 would be relaunched as GTX 970, but of course using the GM204B GPU. This theory would also leaves GeForce 1000 series for Pascal (has anyone figured how they are going to name these cards?).

 

All in all all this seems really far fetched and I don't see why Nvidia in their right mind would want to skip 20nm as TSMC supposedly just managed to tape it out in May after complications and delays. In my opinion scenario three is the most realistic out of the ones listed. However If this turns out to be true we can only expect immense gains in performance and overclocking with 16nm cards next year. What do you guys think? 

 

Source- http://videocardz.com/51009/nvidia-preparing-four-maxwell-gm204-skus

http://semiaccurate.com/2014/07/01/nvidia-updates-gm204-maxwell-roadmap/

[flibberdipper]

Just give us the damn things already. K|NGP|N wants to overclock these things to the moon, more than likely.

[ChrisxIxCross]

Just give us the damn things already. K|NGP|N wants to overclock these things to the moon, more than likely.

I know right? My single 780ti is crying trying to push my new 4K monitor . 

[Askew]

So we are looking at a non rebranded lineup from 860 to 880Ti with no Kepler parts in that line of SKUs? If so that's pretty nice.

 

I'm looking forward to the 800 range to be honest, I'm hoping they come around before Feb 15 so I can upgrade my 670 in time to witness Witcher 3 with maximum settings!

[ChrisxIxCross]

So we are looking at a non rebranded lineup from X60 to X80Ti? no Kepler parts in that line of SKUs?

Yup once the new Maxwell cards come out Kepler is done. 

[Askew]

Yup once the new Maxwell cards come out Kepler is done. 

 

For 860 and above, I wonder if GK104 parts will go into 850/850Ti for example.

[RelentlessAF]

I personally am excited for the 800 series because to me it seems they will be developed with 4K in mind and trying to gain more performance at that resolution. Effectively making 1080p(which I play at) to be absolutely nothing to something like 880. Ohhhh the buttery smooth gameplay.

[ChrisxIxCross]

For 860 and above, I wonder if GK104 parts will go into 850/850Ti for example.

Well Maxwell is already at the 750ti tier right now so I doubt it. If anything Kepler will be moved to super low end sub 100$ cards. 

[RelentlessAF]

For 860 and above, I wonder if GK104 parts will go into 850/850Ti for example.

It's possible, maybe if we're lucky they'd even put GK110 chips in there. (doubtful but a guy can hope.)

[Askew]

Well Maxwell is already at the 750ti tier right now so I doubt it. If anything Kepler will be moved to super low end sub 100$ cards. 

 

If they used kepler for that it might use more power than the next maxwell part that outperformed it!

[Askew]

It's possible, maybe if we're lucky they'd even put GK110 chips in there. (doubtful but a guy can hope.)

 

I doubt it, the power consumption would rival more powerful cards in the range and I can't see that being acceptable.

[RelentlessAF]

I doubt it, the power consumption would rival more powerful cards in the range and I can't see that being acceptable.

Well the 750ti did take quite awhile to come out after the 700 series hit, a similar practice could be made to find ways to decrease power consumption or even just underclock them. As a chip it's powerful in general so underclocking it to sub-1000 mhz probably wouldn't be too bad. Making the pcb longer for waterblock compatibility could also allow budget power users to hit a higher threshold as well.

[ericlee30]

I'm really hoping thses cards dont diappoint. I want to upgrade my GPU's and i want to see a goood enough jump to be worth it

[Yummychickenblue]

Just give us the damn things already. K|NGP|N wants to overclock these things to the moon, more than likely.

Who's kingpin?

[ChrisxIxCross]

Who's kingpin?

Hes EVGA's resident overclocker who breaks world records and pushes their highest end gpu's/motherboards to their limits. Recently he set the World Record in GPU overclocking by breaking the 2ghz barrier. 

[flibberdipper]

Who's kingpin?

Basically a hardcore video card overclocking team, as I recall.

[ROK]

I'm not buying another gpu til we get a die shrink. Hurry it up, NVIDIA!

[Redheadsrule13]

Poll seems to be broken, the forum thinks there's multiple questions.

[TechFan@ic]

The semiaccurate article also mentioned that the GM204 GPU was delayed again, however Videocardz.com neglected to mention that for some reason.

[ChrisxIxCross]

Poll seems to be broken, the forum thinks there's multiple questions.

Yea thats odd I set it to be one question with multiple choices.

[xentric]

I have a feeling we won't see another x80 ti for while. I think it worked out for this series. 

[ChrisxIxCross]

I have a feeling we won't see another x80 ti for while. I think it worked out for this series.

Yea same here although it might be possible since the new 800 series has to beat the 780 Ti.

[Guest]

Give me a really powerful 880/880ti that is suitable for high res gaming and I'm probably on board. My 770 is doing pretty well at 1440p but I would love to completely max out games with tons of AA again.

[xentric]

Yea same here although it might be possible since the new 800 series has to beat the 780 Ti.

 

I hoping that the new GTX 880 beats the GTX 780 ti but if AMD comes out with a card that beats the GTX 880. Then they will release a GTX 880 ti. They always seem to have a card in there back pocket to pull out if they need it. Which sticks because we want full GTX 880. 

[Guest]

I hoping that the new GTX 880 beats the GTX 780 ti but if AMD comes out with a card that beats the GTX 880. Then they will release a GTX 880 ti. They always seem to have a card in there back pocket to pull out if they need it. Which sticks because we want full GTX 880. 

 

I really hope they don't pull out a titan again just to beat AMD..... A titan white/platinum/titanium(?), or whatever they want to call it, would probably be ridiculously overpriced again for features that don't matter in games.