NVIDIA update - 55nm parts ahoy!

When you see a heat spreader on a part that comes assembled, it is a pretty sure sign something is wrong thermally, it simply is not worth the cost and performance drop otherwise. Make no mistake, the spreader and stiffener combo on the GT200b is a bad bad sign.

Why is the GT200b such a clustered filesystem check? We heard the reason, and it took us a long time to actually believe it, they used the wrong DFM (Design For Manufacturing) tools for making the chip. DFM tools are basically a set of rules from a fab that tell you how to make things on a given process.

These rules can be specific to a single process node, say TSMC 55nm, or they can cover a bunch of them. In this case, the rules basically said what you can or can not do at 65nm in order to have a clean optical shrink to 55nm, and given the upcoming GT216, likely 40nm as well. If you follow them, going from 65nm to 55nm is as simple as flipping a switch.

Nvidia is going to be about 6 months late with flipping a switch, after three jiggles (GT200-B0, -B1 and -B2), it still isn't turning on the requested light, but given the impending 55nm 'launch', it is now at least making sparking sounds.

The real question is, with all the constraints and checks in place, how the heck did Nvidia do such a boneheaded thing? Sources told us that the answer is quite simple, arrogance. Nvidia 'knew better', and no one is going to tell them differently. It seems incredulous unless you know Nvidia, then it makes a lot of sense.

If it is indeed true, they will be chasing GT200 shrink bugs long after the supposed release of the 40nm/GT216. In fact, I doubt they will get it right without a full relayout, something that will not likely happen without severely impacting future product schedules. If you are thinking that this is a mess, you have the right idea.

The funniest part is what is happening to the derivative parts. Normally you get a high end device, and shortly after, a mid-range variant comes out that is half of the previous part, and then a low end SKU that is 1/4 of the big boy. Anyone notice that there are all of zero GT200 spinoffs on the roadmap? The mess has now officially bled over into the humor column.