Is NVIDIA dead? Posted in: AMD/ATI NVIDIA Reports are circulating that NVIDIA is to kill off the GTX 260, GTX 275, and GTX 285 and exit the high-end and mid-range graphics card market. Is this the end for NVIDIA? SemiAccurate has the scoop: Word from sources deep in the bowels of 2701 San Tomas Expressway tell us that the OEMs have been notified that the GTX285 is EOL'd, the GTX260 is EOL in November or December depending on a few extraneous issues, and the GTX275 will be EOL'd within 2 weeks. I would expect this to happen around the time ATI launches their Juniper based boards, so before October 22. Which leaves the GTX 295, but given that AMD/ATI now has 5xxx series cards that annihilate it, its lifespan can't be that long either (Demerjian has a good analysis on why vendors won't take a chance of stocking NVIDIA cards). And what does NVIDIA have in the pipeline for the near future ... hmmm, not much. A series of technical issues, combined with what appears from the sidelines as a high degree of mismanagement has steered the company into the tar pits. So where does this leave the market? Well, it makes AMD's investment in ATI now seem like a pretty good buy (especially given the dismal run that AMD has been having lately). If NVIDIA is exiting the high-end and mid-range graphics card market then this leaves a very lucrative field open to AMD. So is this a good thing or a bad thing. Well, it's good for AMD, and bad for NVIDIA, that's pretty obvious. But what about consumers? Well, I'd hate to see a world without NVIDIA, because in a market with only one big player, things tend to stagnate, and prices tend to be higher than they could be. If you're looking to buy a graphics cards (or buying a new PC) then NVIDIA exiting most of the GPU market is not a good thing at all. But ... If you've been watching the GPU market closely over the past few years you must have noticed how games are no longer driving the GPU industry. Gone are the days of needing to spend hundreds of dollars on GPU hardware to run a game well. Nowadays you can pick up a sub-$100 GPU that will run games very well indeed. GPU vendors have been spinning their wheels truing to invent markets for high-end GPUs and multi-GPU rings. Truth is that the market for these sort of fringe applications is small. The importance of the GPU is dwindling, and this means that there might not be room for two big players any more. Thoughts? posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes October 6, 2009 @ 4:39 pm http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/wp-mobile.php?p=5759 Thoughts? What do you think
i would then expect this means the GF100 card is due to be released not far. GPU sells are most of nVidia's business, so the only reason to EOL their current GPU would be because a newer, more efficient card is coming. although i'd take this with a very large handful of salt
at my place of work... we are supposed to be getting a new Nvidia card. the GT220. i believe that was the name. arrival was due i believe on the 14th. could this be the reason for the EOLs? lxrysprtmscl
Standing to this reasoning, the 920 Intel processor can run everything and more than a consumer can think off, therefore all new products are unnecessary. Medium range cars in production today can drive far above speed limits, comfort of a Golf (or similar) is great, therefore all new cars are dead; we need just engine updates (more mileage per gallon). Shall I continue?
How is this any different than the EOL-ing of the high-end 7 series when the 8800GTX was introduced? Old products die and new ones take their place.
Noes, not another unfounded, ludicrous story from SemiAccurate. It seems every anti-nVidia story someone has posted on the forums lately has originated from that site, and as none have shown to have any merit whatsoever (just take a look at the 'Top 5 Articles' to see what I mean). Notice that he only ever links to his own articles posted on that site, so his views are clearly not shared by anyone else involved in the tech industry. This guy's ramblings shouldn't even be taken with a pinch of salt, he's clearly either a raving lunatic or a fanboy of epic proportions, and at the very least a disgrace to his profession.
If I understand this well, he posts on (better) forums and then links to his "articles"? There is really some news from Nvidia concerning the retirement of some models and not willing to sell underprice; however, it's to be seen what do they have in mind and how. AMD/ATI is extremely aggressive; they maintain a whole crowd-army of equally adept; look what happened here: (interesting that such attacks happen only when AMD needs to demonstrate it's technical superiority and pioneering; from processors to graphic, motherboards) http://www.brightsideofnews.com/new...rd-was-a-dummy3b-does-that-really-matter.aspx
It's impossible to judge until nVidia release their next GPU But they do appear to be moving away from PC gaming as their core market. Judging by this article I think the GT300 will be a more flexible, versatile chip. I understand nVidia see the potential of graphics accelerators in wider markets (e.g. earlier in the year I saw an article with nVidia sharing their vision powering 3D car HUDs). It would be a shame to lose them entirely from the PC gaming segment, though, as that would only result in a loss to the consumer. I don't believe that's the case. New products are essential and without them industry would die, hence the short product lifecycles and continual progress. They will always keep producing new technologies and always cause our existing systems to be outdated, because we inherently desire (or are conditioned to desire) the latest and greatest. It all factors into the progress of the human race... ...or at least I hope it does
earlydoors!!!! you're so insightful! as Madonna in American Life song http://www.pickmusic.com/watch/85455/madonna/american-life
Most companies eliminate their top end cards first. Well mainly because they come out with a top end card first. The one exception would be the X1950XTX ---> 2900XT.
What? They say the aren't and then say they are. Which means, oh ho ho, another round of rebadges this should be interesting.
