Jen Hsun claims Nvidia's core cheaper then ATI's

WE MET NVIDIA'S KEY man Jen Hsun Huang while trying to get our old friends out for a drink. Jen Hsun sure has forgoten my face but definitely not my name but he was gentlemanly enough to spend some time chatting with me, Fudo.

I was behaving myself as I didn't want to create any incidents since our relations with Nvidia are still on crystal legs but getting better and better from CeBIT 2004 ever onwards.

Jen Hsun told me that the NV40, Geforce 6800 series core is actually cheaper to be produced then ATI's R420, X800 generation. He said that Nvidia"s 222 million transistors are built on a 0.13 micron process, non Low K one is only seven per cent bigger than ATI's X800 core.

He added that Low K is a more expensive process and that it actually ends up cheaper to produce chips this way than ATI and its folderol.

Our ATI knowledgeable source said that could be possible if it used more layer on chips or even if it used a 110 nanometre process. Nvidia was clear in the past that it is using 130 nanometres, but in this industry you never know.

From logic it means that 60 millions of transistors means a significantly larger die but it is all about packaging I guess. µ