ATI R5xxx Roadmap Inside: Value First
by Kristopher Kubicki & Vinney Shimpi on August 16, 2005 3:24 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
ATI's R5xxx Roadmap Details
If anything, ATI's OEM partners are just as confused as the rest of us. R520, ATI's next generation replacement for the X800 and X850 series, still has no name. We have talked a little bit about R520 in the past, specifically concerning H.264 acceleration on the card. We have also hinted at performance rumors of the R520, but since the silicon has been overhauled so many times since then, R520 could be much different than what was originally speculated. (In fact, we know it is.)
The ATI roadmaps specifically claim the new R5xxx series cards have new video architectures, new memory controllers and now use a 90nm production process. Whether that equates to better performance will have to wait until the actual production launches.
You'll first notice that ATI is releasing their cards slightly out of order this time around. ATI's approach may be to corner off NVIDIA before a next generation replacement for the 6200 series shows up. NVIDIA actually has a current generation 6200 replacement already, the GeForce 6500 (geared specifically to target the Radeon X550). Our sources say the GeForce 6500 will fall somewhere between the performance of a 6600LE and a GeForce 6200, but at a much lower price point than the 6600LE.
We have obscured the launch times of these cards intentionally.
| ATI High Performance Roadmap | ||||
| Core Name | Slot Width | Launch Date | ||
| R520 "XT" Crossfire | Dual Slot | Mid October | ||
| R520 "XT" | Dual Slot | Early October | ||
| R520 "XL" | Single Slot | Late September | ||
There is some discrepancy between the exact naming on the various cards. We have heard R520 "GL" in the past, but this most recent roadmap seems to indicate R520XL instead. A "Pro" version of the R520 is mentioned as well, but that is the only card for which we do not have an exact availability date. Expect retail availability of these cards in November.
Radeon X850 and Radeon X800 are not completely out of the loop yet either. "Master Card" editions of the X850 and X800 are expected in September as "CrossFire Edition" cards.
Since RV530 and RV515 are actually launching first, we have a bit more information about them. Both RV530 and RV515 come in two main flavors; the RV530XT and RV530 Pro, as well as the RV515 Pro and RV515LE. Again we have slightly obscured the timing on the launches of these cards.
| ATI Mid and Low Performance Roadmap | ||||
| Core Name | Slot Width | Launch Date | ||
| RV530 Crossfire | Single Slot | Late October | ||
| RV515 "XL" | Single Slot | Late September | ||
Oddly enough, ATI is going with a dual-slot configuraton for the high end R520s. Even though the card will physically only occupy a single PEG, the thermals are so massive that they take up two expansion slots, as with the X850XT cards today.
The only major difference between the RV530XT and RV530 Pro appears to be clock speed. A general clock recommendation is given below, but obviously manufacturers will vary this as they please. AGP versions of the RV530 will appear with the Rialto PCI-E to AGP bridge after the initial launch. Meanwhile, the PCI-e users will be blessed with Crossfire editions of at least one of the RV530 variants.
RV530
- 600MHz Core Clock
- 1400MHz Memory Clock
- 512MB Maximum Memory for "XT"
- 256MB Maximum Memory for "Pro"
- 128-bit Memory
- 12 Pipelines
- Maximum 16x32MB 1.4ns GDDR3
RV515 also comes in two separate versions: a "Pro" and an "LE" version. Again there will be AGP versions much after the launch in the form of Rialto bridged cards. ATI roadmaps do not indicate there will be CrossFire versions of RV515.
RV515
- 450MHz Core Clock
- 800MHz Memory Clock
- 256MB Maximum Memory Support
- 128-bit Memory
- 4 Pipelines
- Maximum 16x16MB 2.5ns GDDR2
More details including the various launch names for these cards to follow!
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volrathy - Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - link
12 pipelines 128 bit memory interface are they 256bit graphics core or 128bit my guess is 128bit ? These things the r530 if they get released like this should bench under a 9800pro/me goes and buys nvidia 7800gt
steger - Tuesday, September 6, 2005 - link
I can't remember any graphics card being hyped up and down like the r5xx. Nice to see actual dates on this... Not buying anything until I see some benchmarks.volrathy - Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - link
RV515450MHz Core Clock
800MHz Memory Clock
256MB Maximum Memory Support
128-bit Memory
4 Pipelines
Maximum 16x16MB 2.5ns GDDR2
This is shocking it would prolly bench under a FX5700
Biatche1488 - Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - link
Dont forget the new memory controller i hope it will be goodIntelUser2000 - Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - link
But really, do we need faster performance at 1024x768 when you are already getting 100+ frames per second on most games? I am sure there are people that say they "feel" the sluggishness when they are running less than 100 fps, but like me I feel most people think otherwise. Improving 1600x1200 resolution fps is more worth it.It is much harder to extract parallelism for general purpose applications that CPUs are used for. Graphics are easier to parallelize. Therefore, this multi-core CPU thing should do a lot more than before if the programmers take advantage of it.
KHysiek - Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - link
I mean that 128bit cards with 1,4GHz memory (?!). That sounds a little odd.What is target price range of these cards ?
MrOblivious - Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - link
Let me get this correct here.....ATI High Performance Roadmap
Core Name Slot Width Launch Date
R520 "XT" Dual Slot Mid October
R520 "XT" Dual Slot Early October
R520 "XL" Single Slot Early September
These dates are after these dates:
Core Name Slot Width Launch Date
RV530 Crossfi Single Slot Late October
RV515 "XL" Single Slot Late September
As stated here:
Last time I checked late October was after Mid or Early as was late september. Maybe you were to good at even for yourselves?
KristopherKubicki - Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - link
I'll repeat what I said in the forums:Kristopher
MrOblivious - Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - link
What are you trying to say? Are you saying that the highend will be paper launched? So the low end will launch later but ship first? If so just drop the cloak and dagger routine....it is just muddying the water.
Cuser - Wednesday, August 17, 2005 - link
I think Kristpher is being vague for a reason...which he probably cannot state at this moment. So take his advice and "read between the lines".