NVIDIA GT216 and ATI RV870 to be 40nm - launch in June 2009?

CENS reports both AMD and NVIDIA will use TSMC's 40nm process for their next-generation GPUs. The site unveils the NVIDIA GT216 core, which will replace the GT200, will be a 40nm part.

The next high-end GPU from ATI will also be 40nm and this part is codenamed RV870. According to CENS, the first 40nm chips will be taped-out by the end of this year, with a product launch expected in the second half of June 2009.

In the meanwhile, we can still expect some new 55nm parts from NVIDIA, such as the GT206 which will reportedly end up in the GeForce GTX 270 and GeForce GTX 290 graphics cards. The site also writes graphics card prices are expected to drop at least 20% in the holiday season.

AMD will debut its 40nm chip coded RV870 in the middle of next year. Nvidia has long depended on TSMC for foundry service. The graphics-chip vendor plans to introduce its first 40nm chip codenamed GT216, which will replace its GTX280.

The two graphics-chip vendors have decided to migrate to 40nm process from 55nm, skipping the intermediate 45nm process in order to quickly pare down costs. Industry watchers point out that the two companies are engaged in price competition, inspiring the speculations that the prices will likely fall at least 20% in the coming Christmas shopping season.

Little is known about the GT216 and RV870 but these will likely be the first DirectX 11 GPUs.