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Nvidia Partners with Sony on PS3 GPU

Anonymous Coward writes "Just a rumour last year, but it looks like Sony and Nvidia will be partnering for the PS3. Sony will be doing the manufacturing in one of their Nagasaki plants." From the article: "The move signals a shifting of allegiances for NVIDIA, who developed the graphics hardware at the heart of the original Microsoft Xbox, only for the Redmond-based platform holder to turn around and partner with fierce rivals ATI for 'future Xbox products' last August."

14 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. Nvidia's New Dance Partner by blueZhift · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Well, I'm actually glad that Nvidia has found a new dance partner after the falling out with Microsoft with respect to the next Xbox. With both Nvidia and ATI now firmly in the console wars as competitors, I think gamers are in for some serious treats. I just hope that gameplay won't be lost in all of that eye-candy!

  2. So... by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's IBM all around, with Microsoft and Nintendo going with ATI. Sony's going with NVidia, and probably some hacked together backwards compat solution which will make developing for the thing a bitch.

    Interesting. Can't wait to see how this is gonna go...

    --
    The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    1. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Can you explain why a "hacked together backwards compatibility thing" would affect developing for the thing?

      I'll tell you what effect the PS1 emulation had on PS2 development: none whatsoever. I don't see it being different here. Developing for PS2 is/was a bitch for many reasons, but backwards compatibility is not among them.

    2. Re:So... by dackroyd · · Score: 2, Informative

      no unfortunately. For speed reasons developers have bypassed the DirectX api to write native nvidia opcodes.

      D'oh!

      --
      "Free software as in beer, copy protection as in racket" - Telsa Gwynne
    3. Re:So... by dackroyd · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Why bother emulating it when you could simply license from Intel a mobileP3

      Because that would add cost to each Xbox2 sold.

      Since ideally the GPU of the xbox was made to MS specs they can give the info to ATI

      The graphics chip was designed by nvidia who licenses Microsoft to manufacture the chips, but not any derivatives. To make another chip that was backwars compatible Microsoft would need to pay nvdia more license fees to cover the patents which again would add to the cost of the xbox 2.

      Tada Xbox 2 is backwards compatible with a few minor code tweaks and hardware adjustments.
      Except that the Xbox2 probably won't have a hard drive.

      Why does everyone think this is going to be so hard?

      You are wrong because:

      Anything You Don't Understand is Easy to Do.
      Example: If you have the right tools, how hard could it be to generate nuclear fission at home?

      --
      "Free software as in beer, copy protection as in racket" - Telsa Gwynne
  3. So which of the two is the fool? by LordZardoz · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Microsoft turned their back on nVidia because nVidia would not deal on Microsofts terms.

    What makes nVidia so certain that Sony being easier to deal with then Microsoft?

    And what makes Sony feel good about keeping the PS3 manufacuring costs down when Microsoft could not get a deal with Nvidia which would let the X-Box be cheaper to manufacture?

    END COMMUNICATION

    1. Re:So which of the two is the fool? by dackroyd · · Score: 2, Insightful

      What makes nVidia so certain that Sony being easier to deal with then Microsoft?

      Microsoft basically demanded that they be able to renegotiate the deal once they realised how much money they were losing per xbox and asked nvidia to just give up their money.

      They also demanded that Nvidia hand over all their patents so that Microsoft could give them away to whoevers going to make the Xbox2 chips, so that they could be backwardly compatible.

      However bad sony is they can't be as bad as microsoft to deal with.

      Oh and Nvidia will presumably benefit from Sonys chip making expertise and will be able to use their fabs to produce high end graphics chips for PCs at cheap prices - rather than having to pay TSMC through the nose...

      --
      "Free software as in beer, copy protection as in racket" - Telsa Gwynne
  4. Microsoft and nVidia / ATi by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ATi is really a much better fit for MS than nVidia. Working on the Xbox's graphics only set nVidia back, and from what I've heard, they had to fight with Microsoft nearly every step of the way. As nVidia favors OpenGL, it was quite a struggle for them to make the Xbox API more OpenGL-like, despite Microsoft's pressure. ATi, on the other hand, basically makes DirectX accelerators (witness their terrible OpenGL performance. Also, ATi and Microsoft's corporate cultures are much more similar. I doubt there will be nearly as much tension as nVidia had with MS.

  5. Re:Awesome! by bhima · · Score: 2, Informative

    Rich? It's worth about 1/3 of what it was in the summer of 2001. I have it and I'm not rich!

    --
    Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
  6. Re:Summary for the uninformed by oGMo · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Also keep in mind that this time, Microsoft is trying to get the first-mover advantage, something that the PS2 had and enjoyed quite a bit of success from.

    Actually, that's not true at all. Remember the Dreamcast? Oh yeah, the Dreamcast. It was first to market by far... and lost.

    --

    Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage

  7. Re:PS3 with NVidia? by SScorpio · · Score: 2, Informative
    *Tosses the Troll some rancid meat*

    It sounds like you have one of four issues.

    1. You have defective card. It happens, if it's under warrenty try returning it for one that works properly. I had this issue when I bought my current GeForce 4200TI and it wouldn't run in at 2x AGP correctly. RMA'd it with NewEgg and got a new one that works wonderfully, even at 8x which my new Athlon64 MB runs it at.

    2. Your Motherboard is crap and can't supply the card with the needed power. I had an old Gigabit Dual P3 board that caused with issue with an old SDR Geforce 1. That board finally died and I replaced it with a ABIT BX6R2 and everything ran great.

    3. Your powersupply isn't powerful enough to deliver the needed power to everything in your computer. Are you running a manufactored Gateway or Dell? Does it have a 180W powersupply, and you added an extra HD, DVD Burner, and more powerful video card? This can and will cause problems.

    4. You may have a corrupt driver or Windows installation. Try loading a new driver, and if that doesn't work see if reloading windows does.

    Still have problems? I guess your just screwed then, either give up on computer gaming and switch brain dead setup consoles. Or maybe get an ATI and spank yourself to sleep with the box.

  8. NEOtaku17, look at the dates! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative
    [NEOtaku17] This completely debunks the myth that is this Slashdot article.


    Look at the date of the article in the link you provided, NEOtaku17. It was September 1, 2003.

    Now look at this press release from nvidia
    ( http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_17342.html):

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

    TOKYO and SANTA CLARA, CA--DECEMBER 7, 2004--Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) and NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) today announced that the companies have been collaborating on bringing advanced graphics technology and computer entertainment technology to SCEI's highly anticipated next-generation computer entertainment system. Both companies are jointly developing a custom graphics processing unit (GPU) incorporating NVIDIA's next-generation GeForce(TM) and SCEI's system solutions for next-generation computer entertainment systems featuring the Cell* processor.

    This collaboration is made under a broad, multi-year, royalty-bearing agreement. The powerful custom GPU will be the graphics and image processing foundation for a broad range of applications from computer entertainment to broadband applications. The agreement will encompass future Sony digital consumer electronics products.

    "In the future, the experience of computer entertainment systems and broadband-ready PCs will be fused together to generate and transfer multi-streams of rich content simultaneously. In this sense, we have found the best way to integrate the state-of-the-art technologies from NVIDIA and SCEI," said Ken Kutaragi, executive deputy president and COO, Sony Corporation, and president and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "Our collaboration includes not only the chip development but also a variety of graphics development tools and middleware, essential for efficient content creation."

    "We are thrilled to partner with Sony Computer Entertainment to build what will certainly be one of the most important computer entertainment and digital media platforms of the twenty-first century," added Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO, NVIDIA. "Over the past two years NVIDIA has worked closely with Sony Computer Entertainment on their next-generation computer entertainment system. In parallel, we have been designing our next-generation GeForce GPU. The combination of the revolutionary Cell processor and NVIDIA's graphics technologies will enable the creation of breathtaking imagery that will surprise and captivate consumers."

    The custom GPU will be manufactured at Sony Group's Nagasaki Fab2 as well as OTSS (joint fabrication facility of Toshiba and Sony).


  9. THE MAGIC IS LOST. by astroblaster · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm has happy as any cross-platform gamer should be that nVidia has a new (and thriving), console bedfellow, but I have to be honest: knowing that the PS3 will have the same type of technology that's in the guts of my OEM high-end gaming rig seems to water down the mystical hype machine. In an age where it's common to hack apart consoles and use them as you see fit, I always feel that knowing what's within is, in a way, violating the experience between the controller and the screen. What keeps me interested in technology is not the fact that I know every detail (including the limits) of what's inside, that's for the office. In the living room I want to give my noodle a break and let the game development magicians take hold of my imagination without comparing it to what's back in the office. I had new confidence in the fact that Sony was developing this all-mystical device with an equally seductive custom innards (Cell), and that there would be a period of a good 5 months after its release where I could revel in the magic of the device before knowing that your common high school tinkerer could download the latest bios hack for it and use it as a pr0n server. I think I'll cover my ears about PS3 until its release. :)

  10. Re:PS3 with NVidia? by dackroyd · · Score: 2, Informative

    Your memory card is fuxored - corrupt blue screen - >the memory chips are failing. Been overclocking it have we or bought it second hand from Ebay?

    If it's working until it get to a certain temperature you could try slapping some memory heat sinks on the chips or increasing ventilation in your pc, but usually corrupt memory means it's time to get another card...

    --
    "Free software as in beer, copy protection as in racket" - Telsa Gwynne