14 DAY TRIAL // NVIDIA's upcoming graphics cards, based on the G92 graphics processor, have been the topic of most of last week's news reports coming in. And, while we're not talking about high-end products, these mainstream, G92-based cards are still interesting enough. On that note, more news about NVIDIA's cards have just surfaced and, according to them, we could see the GeForce 9500GT being launched tomorrow.
What is really interesting is that the new card is expected to be equipped with NVIDIA's second 55nm graphics processor. While the fist 55nm-enabled GeForce card was meant for the mainstream market, the next one will be targeted at the entry-level segment, providing less stream processors and a lower-clocked graphics core. But, even so, the GeForce 9500GT is expected to be much better than the previous GeForce 8600 cards.
The GeForce 9500GT is said to run at 550MHz with the 32 stream processors being clocked at 1400MHz. Because it is built on a 55nm manufacturing process, it is widely believed that overclocked models will top 700MHz for the graphics core, which should provide a rather generous performance/price ratio even for entry-level users. Word has it that another card should launch shortly after the 9500GT. This one will be targeted exclusively at OEMs and system integrators and will be dubbed GeForce 9400GS, but its technical specifications are still unknown.
In other news, it looks like the next phase in the manufacturing process of graphics cards is going to be the 40nm, which will be one step beyond the 45nm technology used in today's CPUs. It is yet uncertain which of the two leading graphics manufacturers will be the first to release a 40nm graphics processor, but one such card is expected to be released sometime in 2009. Speculation about this began once Rick Tsai, CEO of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), was cited by the Chinese-language "Economic Daily News" as saying that the company's 12-inch wafer production expansion would be on track - which could mean that we will see the 40nm process node being introduced in 2009.