ATI to roll out R500 GPU for Xbox 2 in 1Q 2005 (?)

[Xenon]

I don't quite buy Xbox 2 having R500. was hoping for more like R600 but I
suppose R500 probably more likely fits the late 2005 timeframe than R600.

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20040930A7056.html

ATI to roll out R500 GPU for Xbox 2 in 1Q 2005

Charles Chou, Taipei; Steve Shen, DigiTimes.com
[Thursday 30 September 2004]


ATI Technologies is expected to roll out a new GPU, codenamed R500,
for the Xbox 2 in the first quarter of next year, according to market
sources.

The R500 will be built using a 90nm process at Taiwan Semiconductor
Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and will deliver performance similar to ATI's
next-generation high-end graphics chip, the R520, the sources said.

ATI is cooperating with Microsoft to develop the chip, but the
software vendor will be responsible for placing orders with TSMC. ATI will
receive royalties from Microsoft based on the number of chips produced.

In related news, the sources said that ATI has completed the tape-out
of its R480 chip, which is due to launch in the fourth quarter. The R480 is
being manufactured at TSMC, using a 0.11-micron process.

 

[Nicholas Andrade]

I expect it will end up being a cross of the R500 and R600 much like how
the CPU in the current XBox shares celeron and pentium 3 aspects.

 

[Just Askin']

I expect it will end up being a cross of the R500 and R600 much like how
the CPU in the current XBox shares celeron and pentium 3 aspects.

I thought it *was* a Celeron.

What does the Xbox CPU have that a Celeron 733 doesn't?

 

[Scott H]

I thought it *was* a Celeron.

What does the Xbox CPU have that a Celeron 733 doesn't?

I think I've seen the comment that it was a custom Celeron chip, but I
think the only thing custom about it was its size. The GPU in the Xbox is a
blend between the Geforce 2 and 3, if I recall.

 

[Vortex]

I think I've seen the comment that it was a custom Celeron chip, but I
think the only thing custom about it was its size. The GPU in the Xbox is a
blend between the Geforce 2 and 3, if I recall.

the GPU in Xbox is called the NV2A. it is inbetween a GeForce 3 (NV20)
and GeForce 4 (NV25).

NV2A and NV25 both have 2 geometry & lighting engines (vertex
shaders), unlike the GeForce 3s which have just 1. Xbox NV2A also
has more elements for pixel shading than even the NV25 / GeForce4. but
NV2A lacks some of the things in NV25 / GeForce 4 so Xbox is not
exactly as powerful as NV25 in some areas.

(also note that when I mention GeForce 4, in no way does that include
the non-GF4 chip called GF4MX which is not a GF4 at all.)

the Xbox CPU is basicly a Pentium III with half the L2 cache. the
Xbox CPU is more advanced than a Celeron because the L2 cache is just
like that of the Pentium III because the cache is 8 way assosiative
whereas the L2 cache in Celeron is 2 way assosiative. or something
like that. i cant explain what that means without doing a bit of
research. it means basicly that Xbox CPU is more like a P3 than a
Cele.

 

[Vortex]

I expect it will end up being a cross of the R500 and R600 much like how
the CPU in the current XBox shares celeron and pentium 3 aspects.

Yeah, I expect a cross of the R500 and R600 much like how the *GPU* in
Xbox shares GeForce 3 (NV20) and GeForce 4 Ti (NV25) aspects.

 

[Company Man]

more L2 cache

I thought it *was* a Celeron.

What does the Xbox CPU have that a Celeron 733 doesn't?