Nvidia preps NV40 for PCI Express migration

Coming late 2003/early 2004

Nvidia will move from today's AGP 8x interface to the next-generation PCI Express buys during the last three months of 2003 and the first three months of 2004, according to roadmaps revealed by German web site HardTecs4U.

The product that will lead that transition will be the NV40, the site says. Speaking at an AMD road show in the US recently, an Nvidia staffer claimed NV40 would be twice as fast as the recently launched NV35, aka the GeForce FX 5900. The representative also said that the company was back on track for a six-monthly product refresh cycle, so on that basis, you'd expect to see the NV35's successor make an appearance in the timeframe suggested by HardTecs4U's roadmap.

Come the end of Q2 2004, and Nvidia will announce a revised NV40, the NV45. Unlike the NV40, this will only be offered with a PCI Express interface, rather than both AGP 8x and the new bus, HardTecs4U suggests.

In the same timeframe, the company will offer NV41 and NV43, aimed at the performance graphics and mainstream sectors, rather than the high-end enthusiast arena, much as the GeForce FX 5600 and 5200 sit below the 5900. HardTecs4U's roadmap also includes an NV42 part, due to appear mid-2004 and also targeting mainstream buyers.

In the meantime, Nvidia will release updates to the NV3x line, the NV36 in the middle of this year and the NV36X during Q4 2003/Q1 2004. The NV36 will be a AGP 8x product, while the NV36X will carry the line over to PCI Express. Both will ultimately be replaced by the NV41. ®

Related Link

HardTecs4U Nvidia roadmap (in German)