ehm... I don't if someone is interested, but I think I have very wierd information...

[Greebe]

Well it's not exactly "free"... we do bust our butts testing drivers for them (you)

[efty]

I am Malakas and I was wrong

Sorry guys, it seems I was wrong claiming that Haig said so. Anyway, after some head scratching I remembered where I saw the Hint on the 512 mem interface. It was from an interview on Systemlogic.

Here is the link

http://www.systemlogic.net/articles/01/7/matroxinterview/page2.php

Any comments?

[SmellYfeeT]

Nothing is impossible
But when a chip has 512 IO pins just for memory you can imagine how big it will get and the cost is going to rise high in the sky! So it is just a matter if the customer is willing to pay the extra bucks for the extra kicks!
The only reason you can see graphics companies now comming out with such complex 3D chips is the fact that the memory prices have fallen drastically. Therefore they can beef up their chip and still have customers since now they have to pay less for the RAM on board! This means off course more complex memory interface!
I should say having a bigger memroy interface is only one solution and a more logical and common one.

However, there are other solutions such as having more cache on board, umm well I guess you don't call that cache you would call it a RAM+LOGIC on one chip. This approach is now common in designs that have high data flow; example would be a video decoder/decompressor chips, which recently have put a huge amount of RAM together with their design to beat the memory data transfer problem. Could that happen in 3D graphics?! well to me doesn't make much sense pricewise! But for other applications such as mobile communication, that is the only solution for memory bottleneck!

It would be very interesting to see the memory interface complexity of a next generation CPU or GPU! I'm all hooked

[Hati]

@eftychios:

Memory speeds will continue to increase. 300 MHz DDR could be common next year and then there is DDR-2. Of course, you could add a 512-bit memory interface if you really really wanted to

(from the interview at systemlogic).

Doesn't sound like Matrox intends to use such a interface?

I still think Bitboys will only produce some sample chips and then license their technology to some card manufacturing companies.
According to Nappe's last posting it's not going to be Matrox.

I hope we will see some more specs on their upcoming chip.
They even say, it will not be too expensive :

"Is there a catch?
The only catch is if you have already gotten locked in to the older generation architecture. By not having to depend on exotic, very expensive boutique memory to get extreme performance, our solution will have a lower system cost to our customers. Not only is there not a catch, there is actually a bonus! The best performance, hands down, without the high price."

Well, sounds intereresting!

Hati

[Nappe1]

Hati: actually, I am pretty sure that we will not see Bitboys chip at Matrox product, but there still possibility that we _will_ see XBA memory technology in Matrox product. There is no way at the moment use 512 bit memories outside the chip. But using eDRAM, (XBA, for example.) you can have up to 1024 bits wide memory interface inside the chip. (and they are talking 2048 bits in next gen.)

Bitboys will also have their own chip, which will be manufactured at Infeon's factories. Bitboys are chip making company just like nVidia (chips manufactured by TMSC)

Just wait and see what happens... I know that Radeon 2 is comin next tuesday (or rumour are stating this.), but there's more...

Anyway, I am about to change my Radeon AIW, (yeah, I know, their drivers sucks, not so much as the old times, but still...) but replacing part isn't going to be ATI nor nVidia...

[[GDI]Raptor]

It may also be posible that Matrox uses the 3D arcitecture from Bitboys, and their own 2D engine. I don't think Matrox will use a complete chip from another vendor.

Personaly I think the next generation chip from Matrox will contain som 3D technology from Bitboys. Remember wath a represent from Matrox said at an AMD conferance some months ago! He said that Matrox would release a "king of 3D" card at the end of the year/start og 2002!

Well well!
"Time will show, sooner or later time will show!" :-)

[Hati]

Yes indeed, time will show. But I wonder how much time Matrox will need to present their new DX8 chip (I simply guess they are working on some next-gen chip right now.)
Beeing a "quiet company" isn't bad - I don't like hyping products that will not be out soon - but in my opinion Matrox is much too quiet.
What I would like to see from Matrox? Maybe a roadmap like the one from ATI you can find over at :

http://www.rageunderground.com/articles/roadmap/frame.html

For me it is very annoying how tight lipped Matrox is.
But of course, it's up to Matrox how they handle their PR.
Have a nice day everyone!
Hati

[SmellYfeeT]

Too quite for us. And as a matter of fact what difference would it make if you know a company's road map or not. When you need a graphics card you will see what's out there and you pick! Its only the tech fanatic group who is really into following the technologies of their favourite companies, for the rest of the people who gives a damn what Matrox can make into 2 years when you can't buy it now. You see what I'm saying....
It is only a specific group that need to know what Matrox is making in the near future and that is the oem bussiness and the game and application developer. And as far as I know, Matrox has revealed most of their new features in their next chip to game developers and I am sure they have contracts lined up with oems. But it is a shame where Nvidia has a 6-8 months design cycle, Matrox is more or less 18 months. so lets see what they have under their belt.

[The_King]

What makes matrox so good is that they develop new technologies. Companies like nVidia will eventually use any technology matrox brings out. Its good that they are being so quiet!

[Indiana]

Originally posted by The_King
What makes matrox so good is that they develop new technologies.

Like Headcasting?!?

Sorry, could not resist, but the only other major new technologies Matrox introduced to the mass market that I can remember are DualHead and EMBM.
Now, EMBM was not a Matrox development but licensed from the Bitboys. And there already were dual display cards before Matrox' DualHead (Just not in a single chip, I believe).

EDIT: O.K. I've just remembered another (really noteworthy) Matrox technology: DVDMax.