ATI said to start Radeon 9600 volume shipments in April

Zardon · Apr 2, 2003, 10:02 PM

ATI Technologies has decided to move up volume shipments of its Radeon 9600 (RV350) chip from June to the end of April to compete with Nvidia’s upcoming NV35 chip, according to sources.

Nvidia plans to introduce its NV35, an updated version of the GeForce FX 5800 (NV30), in May. ATI had originally aimed to begin shipping the Radeon 9600 in volume in June to meet second-half seasonal demand.

Although top-end products like ATI’s Radeon 9800 (R350) often grab the spotlight, usually less expensive high-end chips such as the Radeon 9600 have a greater impact on market share in the high-end sector, graphics card makers noted.

Demonstrated at the CeBIT Hannover show in March, Nvidia’s NV35 reportedly will deliver much enhanced performance compared to the NV30. The market also expects that since it supports DDR memory, the NV35 is less likely to encounter the problem of limited memory supply that the DDRII-supporting NV30 has suffered from.

Rumors had suggested that the NV35 would likely be the first Nvidia product to be produced by IBM, but some industry sources said that might not be the case, as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is said to have already started manufacturing NV35 chips for Nvidia. IBM may make chips following the NV35 for Nvidia.

Source Digitimes

Apr 2, 2003, 10:02 PM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	ATI said to start Radeon 9600 volume shipments in April ATI Technologies has decided to move up volume shipments of its Radeon 9600 (RV350) chip from June to the end of April to compete with Nvidia’s upcoming NV35 chip, according to sources. Nvidia plans to introduce its NV35, an updated version of the GeForce FX 5800 (NV30), in May. ATI had originally aimed to begin shipping the Radeon 9600 in volume in June to meet second-half seasonal demand. Although top-end products like ATI’s Radeon 9800 (R350) often grab the spotlight, usually less expensive high-end chips such as the Radeon 9600 have a greater impact on market share in the high-end sector, graphics card makers noted. Demonstrated at the CeBIT Hannover show in March, Nvidia’s NV35 reportedly will deliver much enhanced performance compared to the NV30. The market also expects that since it supports DDR memory, the NV35 is less likely to encounter the problem of limited memory supply that the DDRII-supporting NV30 has suffered from. Rumors had suggested that the NV35 would likely be the first Nvidia product to be produced by IBM, but some industry sources said that might not be the case, as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is said to have already started manufacturing NV35 chips for Nvidia. IBM may make chips following the NV35 for Nvidia. Source Digitimes