14 DAY TRIAL // Even though most recent NVIDIA-related news has been about its existing Fermi line, or its upcoming GeForce GTX 580, a certain rumor seems to suggest something quite interesting may have happened on its side of the playing field.
As end-users well know, after AMD launched its first DirectX 11 cards, it took NVIDIA about half a year to get around to releasing its Fermi adapters.
This was owed to several factors, such as repeated research and development-induced delays and problems with TSMC's 40nm manufacturing process technology.
As such, it can be safely said that AMD's current strong hold over the DirectX 11 market is due to it several month-long monopoly.
Now, a certain rumor seems to suggest that the Santa Clara, California-based company does not plan on being late again.
As end-users no doubt know, both AMD and NVIDIA are working on their next-generation GPUs.
What consumers may not be aware of, however, is that, based on what Fudzilla says in a recent report, the GPU maker already has some samples of GPUs based on the 28nm manufacturing process.
Dubbed GF1x9, it is supposedly an entry-level chip built on the High Metal gate 28nm process.
If true, this means that the video board maker has been working faster, in line with its intention to claim dominance over the DirectX 11 graphics market, although mass production still won't start before the second half of 2011.
It should be noted that Advanced Micro Devices should also receive its own samples of 28nm chips not too far into the future.
In fact, Globalfoundries should finish its own first batch of 28nm samples this very quarter.
What remains to be seen is just which of the two rivals gets to start mass production of these chips first and, by extension, if the competition will be tighter next year.