AMD confirmed to us that its HD 7000 series graphics cards would not come until 2012, and NVIDIA has more or less made it official that its first GPU at 28nm would take until early 2012. New rumors say that a symbolic launch from AMD may be coming before the end of the year.
Both AMD and NVIDIA have said that their GPUs at 28nm will take until 2012, but AMD have been cocky and claimed to be first to market. TSMC has not managed to get the capacity up with its latest node, which has further enforced these claims.
AMD has earlier shown its 28nm circuits, something NVIDIA has not. AMD is according to new rumors aiming for a launch in the second week of December, more specifically the 6th. The HD 7000 series will consist of two architecture, most are said to be VLIW4-based like AMD Cayman and HD 6900. The other will be based on the new NextGen architecture and is said be only used in the top circuits.
Most likely it will be a VLIW4-based graphics circuit that will come first. There is no information if we are talking about desktop or mobile chips for the symbolic launch. Considering the low capacity of TSMC in 2011 it is likely that we are dealing with GPUs in the lower end segment. The launch is said to be more or less just on paper.
AMD’s new NextGen architecture where it abondons VLIW that has been used since HD 2000
It is likely that the launch will happen with quantities to cover some OEM orders for test, and media for reviews and benchmarks, but that is it. We expect cards for the lower segments to begin with, and the climb the performance ladder.
Last, we will see the performance circuits in Q2 2012. It will be NextGen-based according to previous sources. We advice to these rumors lightlym as any actual availability will take until 2012.
Source: Heise.de via TechPowerUp
