"Nvidia now expected to dump GeForce FX

ATI competition heating up

By Mike Magee: Friday 07 February 2003, 11:22

SOURCES CLOSE to Nvidia tell the INQUIRER that the graphics firm has told its partners that the GeForce FX is likely to be discontinued, with the firm instead concentrating on the NV35 platform.
The sources said that the firm has made the move because of an update that its bitter rival ATI is expected to soon roll out of the door.

Nvidia could not be contacted for confirmation at press time, but earlier this week a PR representative said that he "could not comment" on the previous reports.

Insiders had told the INQ earlier this year that Nvidia was only forecasting 100,000 units of the GeForce FX to ship before the end of May.

The boards were all being manufactured by one outsourcing company to Nvidia's specifications, and the partners were expected to re-brand the GeForce FX with their own boxes and different colour fans.

We're attempting to get more on this later today. If the reports are confirmed it's an expensive business for both Nvidia and its partners. At press time it wasn't clear whether the existing GPUs will be sold. But another source told us that it will stick with the ones it already has produced and that are in production, so won't ramp that production up.

It will also wait and see the reaction from customers and press reviewers to assess the right quantity to ship. There may be only as few as 10,000 GPUs currently produced, that source added"
You have to wonder how many of the Nvidia fan-boys will commit suicide witht this news...lmao

AG #9

[q]Uh take a look at: http://www.gainward.de/gwnewsite/gweurope/gwcontent/gwgcnepress/03_...

A geforce FX without the dustbuster.[/q]Right.

According to the press release, Gainward is claiming that their magical cooling solution for the 5800 *AND* 5800 Ultra is going to put out 7db. Not 7db less, but total! What absolute crap.

Unless of course it's some sort of water cooling or phase change setup that operates outside the case and adds hundreds to the cost. Maybe it's some magic peltier that produces *two* cold sides :D

ag #12: "Worst gfx design"

How can the fastest graphics card currently in existence be the worst gfx design ever?

o_O

AG11 in response to AG14, you're right that the 9500 Pro is the best buy card at the moment, but I don't consider the performance boost versus the Ti500 to be compelling. This is more so in light of the fact that AA is not important to me. Another thing is that I know we won't be seeing any quantity of DirectX 9 games for about a year and by that time, much more compelling graphics card solutions will be available than the 9500 Pro. Still, once the R350 finds it's way to store shelves, I would not rule out a discounted 9700 Pro since the power it offers (and ATI's improved drivers) make it a compelling card versus the Ti500.

I am surprised that none of the main websites have cards yet. Must be something wrong with the cards or the drivers.

I paid 208$ including shipping from bulletpc.com for a 9500 non pro sapphire pre-mod'd to 9700 pro speeds ;)

Not bad all in all, converted to AU$ it's about 340$ for me, I could sell it for 450$ here if I wanted or I can hold on to it for at least 12-18 months I'm betting and get good use from it.

[q]The Radeon 9700 was introduced earlier this summer, and so far ATI has shipped about a million units. Even with a high retail price tag of $350, good sales numbers indicate that hardcore gamers are readily adopting the Radeon 9700.[q]

If that's worldwide then it's a small number. I still haven't seen a reason to upgrade. DX9 games are months away, and Unreal 2/UT2003 isn't reason enough.

"This whole graphics market war is turning into a monster. People going ga-ga over crap like this just means there isn't anything interesting to report - yet."

This statement is ridiculous. The current goings-on are the most interesting thing to happen to the video card world since the harsh stomping of 3dfx. What we have here is a REAL battle. This is interesting and good. I for one can't wait to see how the Geforce FX sales are. It is interesting to me to see a battle brewing after years of nVidia dominating the high-end market. Then, people like you complain about it not being news? What wasn't news was hearing "nVidia stomps ATI again" with every new nVidia card. The R350 v the NV30... that is badass.

Same here, I want to see pictures.

I want to see a pic of Gainward's so-called quiet GFFX.
I'm curious to see their design.

Looks in stock to me.

[q]Gawd knows how many they've sold now (especially seeing as most of the online retailers are now out of stock following the GFFX previews!). [/q]

Hrmm really? Please show me 1 retailer that is out of stock, just did a quick look at my fave eshops and all list the 9700 as "IN STOCK"... you sure "most" are sold out? Please show me one...

twentieth post

[q]13, with the GFX, nVidia IS producing the cards due to the chips requiring a 12 layer board that most manufacturers can't handle. [/q]
Sort of. The cards are actually being produced by one of those manufacturers (MSI was in the rumor mill IIRC) but under direct contract supervision from Nvidia. They are then distributed to the usual suspects, who get to stick their respective names on the box.

Mainly a quality-control issue, presumably because Nvidia is running the FX core at its limits.

[q]Does anyone know how many 9700Pros were sold in the first 3 or 6 months? Just to provide a basis for comparison.[/q]

http://www.flipcode.com/articles/article_mojoday2k2.shtml

[q]The Radeon 9700 was introduced earlier this summer, and so far ATI has shipped about a million units. Even with a high retail price tag of $350, good sales numbers indicate that hardcore gamers are readily adopting the Radeon 9700.[/q]

That article was written about a month or so after the release of 9700 PRO. Gawd knows how many they've sold now (especially seeing as most of the online retailers are now out of stock following the GFFX previews!).

Originally Posted by the wizard
Relevance?

This is more hype, speculation, etc. If nvidia decided to limit production to 100,000 units, that does NOT mean they are \"cancelling\" the technology. It means that one particular model is designed for the high end segment specifically and isn\'t meant for mass market acceptance. The \"technology\" will still be implemented in NV31, NV34 & NV35.

The state of journalism today, really . . .

Some guy posts a comment on a message board, a tech junkie site swallows it whole and it spreads. Kinda like the stock message boards of a few years ago - we all see how that ended.

If you really, really want an NV30 card, you will get one. Nobody is going to refuse an opportunity to make more money. If the demand exceeds supply, that demand will prompt further production.
While this may (or may not) say something about the NV30\'s demand, it has little relevance.
This whole graphics market war is turning into a monster. People going ga-ga over crap like this just means there isn\'t anything interesting to report - yet.

Here\'s an idea, find some other segment of technology to report about until something interesting does happen with nvidia/ATI.
The cards will be out shortly, then we can have reviews and benchmarks of production cards. And while we\'re benchmarking the actual cards that have been released and comparing one supplier\'s version over anothers we can argue about bundles, differentiating factors, driver development and then speculate about all sorts of other things that aren\'t out yet.

This is silly . . .

ATI delivers heavy blows to nVidia

Fastest ATI chip ready to roll

By Arron Rouse: Wednesday 05 February 2003, 15:42

ATI IS READY TO STRIKE fierce rival nVidia with some vicious competition. News has reached us that ATI will release an updated version of the Radeon 9700 as early as the first week in March.
The R350 chip which powers the new series of graphics cards is expected to run 15-25% faster than ATI's current fastest chip. It is aiming to deliver the new chip at a speed of 400MHz, though many pundits suspect it will end up settling on 375MHz. Either speed should put it comfortably ahead of nVidia's yet-to-be-released GeForce FX, which only just beats the current ATI flagchip. Those famous nVidia driver optimisations will need to come thick and fast.

That ATI is ready to roll and stories are starting to leak will be putting enormous strain on nVidia. The reception of the GeForce FX has been lukewarm at best. Loud fans, excessive power requirements and using up a PCI slot have cost nVidia dearly. That the new ATI uses much lower cost memory and is likely to be significantly cheaper can only add further strain.

News has also reached us that an updated version of the Radeon 9000 is likely to be delivered in a similar timeframe. So ATI is hitting back at nVidia at the low cost end of the market too. Despite all the fuss surrounding the top end cards, the low cost market is where most of the profit is made.

We have to give ATI a big pat on the back. A year ago nVidia was the only game in town, now it's looking like it has a real fight on its hands. Fans of nVidia, and there are lots of them, will be less than pleased. Fans who've pre-ordered a GeForce FX card might want to cancel that order.

For everyone else, this whole ruckus can only be a good thing. ATI has definitely gained the high ground but nVidia is sure to fight back. The graphics card market is likely to be very lively over the next year
This should make things a little more spicy.............

In the high-end workstation market only about 10k cards are sold per year. I'm assuming that the enthusiast market is substatianly larger so 100,000 minus the "Quadro market chips" wouldn't be unusual.

11, Best buy right now is the Radeon 9500 Pro.

13, with the GFX, nVidia IS producing the cards due to the chips requiring a 12 layer board that most manufacturers can't handle.

For arguments sake, let's assume the 100,000 numbers are true. Since nvidia doesnt manufacture cards, this number would be based on the orders (projected or otherwise) from their 3rd party manufacturers.

If the Gainwards, Asus, MSI's of the world have only ordered X units it would be foolish to make too many more.

Besides. while 100,000 sounds low, I really have no idea :). Does anyone know how many 9700Pros were sold in the first 3 or 6 months? Just to provide a basis for comparison.

BTW, someone remind me what the NV31, 34, and 35 feature again?

I said it before nv30 release, I would skip NV30 and release NV35 in summer, but selling 100k at high price for people to remember the worst gfx design isn't a bad idea.

It's a good thing that the GeForce3 Ti500 is still a decent card. If I had something slower and needed to upgrade right away, I'd be in a real bind as to what to buy. I'm not one to spend big bucks on a video card.

i think that this is probably the best idea - forget about the geforce FX failure, and quickly bring on a cooler, speedier NV35 without all the disadvantages the FX had - instead of spending time and money on hyping the FX as something that it isnt.

[quotespecially not if its successor will lose the Dustbuste/quote]

Uh take a look at: http://www.gainward.de/gwnewsite/gweurope/gwcontent/gwgcnepress/03_...

A geforce FX without the dustbuster.

[q]Beacuse it's their flagship.
The flagship it's crucial when it comes to brand awarnes, but real milkcows are low-end products designed to hit mass market.

It makes perfect sense. Let's have NV30 just to justify "industry leader" label, but focus on the segment where we can make big bucks.

McSikor [/q]

I don't think the 100,000 number is enough to satisfy OEM puter makers. The 9700 will be top model for most makers. I said that because I don't think it's true. But weird things happen.

Most of the 100,000 will probably go into OEM boxes, with a small few hitting retail shelves.

I agree, the purpose is for bragging rights only...

[q]I don't know why they would market it that much and not do anything with it. [/q]

Beacuse it's their flagship.
The flagship it's crucial when it comes to brand awarnes, but real milkcows are low-end products designed to hit mass market.

It makes perfect sense. Let's have NV30 just to justify "industry leader" label, but focus on the segment where we can make big bucks.

McSikor

Nah, it means we got the money 4 1 and the card will be good for atleast a year and a half for 320 bucks or I can go buy two midrange cards over the same period for roughly a bit more.

Back to the topic, looks like a BS rumor to me. I don't know why they would market it that much and not do anything with it.

AG #1 -

Why on earth did people buy the 9700 Pro when it first came out at $399? Its product life was roughly six to eight months. Makes you wonder, huh?