Report: Nvidia GTX 480 to Have Disabled Cores

The more and more i read about these cards the less and less i think the 5800 series will drop in price, but i have waited this long for a new card i could hold out till the official benchmarks come out.

6 months late, AMD already has near a dozen DX11 parts out, this will likely cost more than equivalent AMD cards (based on transistor count and yields), and run hotter and louder to top it all off.


*Starts slow clap for Nvidia*

Fail

why would someone buy a brand new vga with disabled cores on it ?

Although i don't like the idea of throwing out tons of video cards...it just doesn't seem right to sell them to customers if they have disabled cores. Rather, it seems like if they are making lower models with the same material than the highest model should be equal cost...

I think im going in circles. I don't like the idea.

Speculations won't stop til Friday. Even if this is true, if they work, that's what counts. GTX260's technically had 240 cores, originally with 48 disabled, then 32. It's just teething pains.

I'd be more concerned with just how much power these things will consume. The ~290W figures are just plain scary.

No what they will do with these defective cores and chips is they will make a GTX475.... an inbetweener like the previously defective GTX275 and Ati's 4830's. This will allow a new SKU to be introduced but in reality it is nothing but a simple recycling of a non-perfect or non=standard GPU.

Enough with the DX11 argument. How many games have you played which are true DX11? And how many DX11 "compatible" games look any better then their DX10 or even DX9 hybrid counterparts? I am all for DX11, but it's nonsense at this point to make it seem like the DX11 issue is the make it or break it thing regarding the ATI vs nvidia race. I own an nvidia, but I know ATI rocks and next purchase i'll be making will be an objective one, not based on brand loyalty.

Stop fluffing Fermi! I can't think of anything else that's had this many articles without any actual substance! when the benches come out then I'll be interested, and if theres benchmarks with the disabled cores unlocked I'll be extremely interested, till then give me a break please.

If the GTX 480 has 480 cores, it seems the GTX 470 should have 470 cores, or change it's name to the GTX 448.

What like a 5830?



Do you like the idea of a 5830 then as it's kind of the same thing?

You think the 480 card supply outnumbers ATI's 58xx series 2:1? I guess thats why Nvidia said availability will be scarce till April 6.

Well, just five days to know the true about Fermi and his performance, lets see how many of that nVidia "bad" news are true.

It's odd that NVidia is having trouble with 40nm yields, since both AMD and Nvidia Chips a MADE IN THE SAME BUILDING at Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC.) Maybe Nvidia should contract intel which seems to be having no such issues at 32nm...

Why didn't gt200 have 256 cores?

CPU and GPU processes are very different. Nvidia couldn't just go to Intel and ask to use their process. Also... there's no way Intel would let ANYONE use its fabs, they spend a fortune to ensure their process is first and fastest.

And LOTS of video cards come out with disabled cores. HD 5850, GTX 260, 8800GT, X800GTO, there's a bunch of others. What matters is performance, price, and then heat, noise, and power. Whether or not a card has disabled cores doesn't make any different.

I think your getting AMD confused with VIA. I'm not an expert, but I would think GlobalFoundries does AMDs stuff...

PMSL at the hypocrasy of the AMD/ATi fanboys...

Why use GPUs with disabled cores? I'll just say... Phenom x3.

Like the 5850?

ACC can unlock the fourth core on some AMD triple core CPUs. I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing happens here to allow those with 512 good cores to push the card to its full potential.

Fixed! (and already mentioned).

I wouldnt buy 5850 nor gtx 480 or amd x3. i dont care about brand/manufacturer, what I care about is a 100% healthy, 100% able hardware. its like buying a v6 car with 2 disabled pistons. just doesnt sound right, does it ?

The TSMC yield issues were also apparent in the earlier Radeon's, I suggest you do more reading. They most likely did a similar thing to their cards to correct the issues, or worked something out with TSMC, that I'm not sure about.

But since we don't know everything, lets take the big company and turn them into an evil corporate monster! Why not? /sarcasm, seriously? Try being brand neutral or keep your "opinions" to yourself.

As for using a card with disabled cores....a card with less cores is better than a card with voltage leaking and performance flounders/crashing. Simply put of course.

If it's advertised as a 4 piston engine and performs as such, why do you care? If you can find me 100% healthy and 100% able hardware, you tell me please.

Why not add all these to the list?
Kuma CPUs, Phenom II X2, Phenom II X3, Athlon II X2, and Athlon II X3
While you're at it, add the HD4830, 9600GSO (along with numerous other G92 variations), and my aforementioned GTX260.

This sort of thing should be of no shock to anyone who's paid attention over the last few years. It simplifies production tremendously. You design one chip, and one chip only. You take the ones that work perfectly and sell them properly as the flagship. You take the ones that are slightly imperfect, disable the imperfections, then sell them as lesser models.

The problem with nVidia's Fermi is that it doesn't seem as though they aren't getting any "perfect" yields, yet. Though, I can't imagine a card that has 32 of it's 512 cores disabled, yet already draws almost 300W of power remaining within the PCIe 300W standard when all 512 cores are enabled. Even if it barely manages to slip within the limit, there would be zero overclocking headroom.

Can we expect a GTX490 with all the cores and perhaps faster speeds?

Disabling cores makes no sense to me, I don't mind it, it just sounds stupid.

By your logical virtually every CPU is defective because only few are binned as being EE. You go on paying $1000 for CPUs while I pay for $200, overclock and get equal or better performance.

duke nukem

NVidia certainly has every right to release defective GTX 480/470's. What causes concern is where are the fully functional 512SP parts? ATI release fully working 5870 and cut down SKU's 5850's. However with NVidia all we're seeing are defective 480's and 470's being passed off as flagship parts. Are you guys really buying this BS?

Everyone, calm down. This same rumor has cropped up several timnes over the past few months, and nV has NOT stated that the 480 will have any fewer than 512 cores.