Nvidia preparing to counter-attack in the sub $150 segment

Nvision '08 is coming to a close and Nvidia took the oppurtunity to launch their $59 part; 9400GT. Sporting 16 Shader processors, 8 TMUs & 8 RBEs the GPU will crunch out some decent gaming performance for the money. Memory configurations will be 128-bit 256 & 512MB DDR2.

Keep in mind, this is the MSRP so the products might appear for less in retail. TDP for the board is rated for 50W. The product is based on G96, the same core used in 9500GT but with parts of the core disabled. So the yeilds for this GPU will be really good and will be very inexpensive to manufacture as Nvidia is transitioning all its products to the 55nm process. This product will directly go against the upcoming 4400 series based on the RV710 GPU from AMD.

Part two of the counter-attack is the 9550GT; going up against AMD's Radeon HD 4670. This product will be based on G94b, the 55nm version of the G94. This will still be 64 Shader processor part like the 9600GT but will feature a 192-bit bus width. In terms of die-size and bus width, AMD's 4670 will be cheaper to manufacture but might also end up short on the performance side of things.

In summary, both vendors will be looking to score in the sub $150 price segment. There will be good price/performance ratios from both sides. The only downside on Nvidia's product stack is that the GT2xx based mainstream/budget parts are still missing and lack the potential value from an OEM perspective.

Stumble it!