Nvidia Forced to Continue Making Chips for Xbox

[xboxtito]

The arbitrator’s hearing a dispute between Nvidia and Microsoft over graphics chips for the Xbox video game console have ordered Nvidia to continue supplying the chips to Microsoft, threatening penalties if production is stopped.

Nvidia under a March 2000 agreement supplies certain graphics and processing chips for Microsoft's game console. Microsoft and Nvidia’s dispute is over the price it pays for those chips and the quantities in which they are produced.

"The arbitration panel has issued an interim ruling that the company must supply Microsoft's reasonable requirements of chipsets, but no minimum or maximum amount has been set overall or for any particular period," Nvidia said in a quarterly report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Nvidia has been recording the difference between what Microsoft is paying and what the software giant claims it should be paying as deferred revenue. The company said the deferred amount was $46.2 million as of July 28, the end of its fiscal second quarter.

Nvidia has cautioned that if it loses, it could be forced to produce the Xbox chips at a loss and might have to reduce production of other chips to satisfy Microsoft's demands thus forcing Nvidia to miss a product cycle. This could spell doom for Nvidia if ATI can leap ahead.

No decision has been reached about the price dispute.

[Zion]

Sounds like Nvidia bit off more than they could chew. Serves them right. Nvidia's computer video cards are JUST NOW catching up to what 3dfx was doing 3 years ago. It's sad, really.

[LynxFX]

Originally posted by Zion
Nvidia's computer video cards are JUST NOW catching up to what 3dfx was doing 3 years ago. It's sad, really.

*cough*bullsh|t*cough*

[GokuX]

Originally posted by Zion
Sounds like Nvidia bit off more than they could chew. Serves them right. Nvidia's computer video cards are JUST NOW catching up to what 3dfx was doing 3 years ago. It's sad, really.

What exactly do you mean here anyways?

[Dre]

Originally posted by Zion
Nvidia's computer video cards are JUST NOW catching up to what 3dfx was doing 3 years ago. It's sad, really.

someones being visited by the disillusion fairy.

[Zion]

You guys must be new to computing

[El Pollo Loco]

Who cares about 3dfx and nvidia? Everyone knows the original Hercules graphics adapter was the bomb! ooh when u could switch from orange and black to green and black.. no grafx card has come close to doing that anymore.. I swear we are going backwards!!!!

[GokuX]

Originally posted by Zion
You guys must be new to computing

Not really, I bought two 12 meg Voodoo 2s the first day they were released.

[El Pollo Loco]

Originally posted by GokuX


Not really, I bought two 12 meg Voodoo 2s the first day they were released.

Thats so awesome i always wanted 2 voodoo's in SLI mode.

[LynxFX]

Originally posted by Zion
You guys must be new to computing

Umm yeah that's why you haven't backed up your original overblown statement.

But to save you the trouble I'll start.

3dfx was the pioneer of 3d graphics in computer video games. Their API glide was killer and put direct 3d and Open GL to shame especially in performance. This all was during the Voodoo 1 and Voodoo 2 days. They were the undisputed champions. Then comes Nvidia. Small guy on the block. Their first card pretty much bombed. It worked but couldn't compete with the Voodoo1. Enter the first TNT card. The runnings were starting to become neck and neck but the Voodoo II cards still performed better with games written for the Glide api. (remember that you still needed another video card for everything else. The voodoo cards were just addons). Enter the TNT 2 which through the first serious blow to 3dfx. Not only did this card perform on par with 2 Voodoo II cards in SLI but we were introduced to gaming in 32bit. Something 3dfx used to laugh at. All the while 3dfx was having problems putting out their voodoo 3 cards so they introduce a half assed voodoo banshee that was their first 2d/3d graphics card and the tnt2 blew it away in performance and stability. When the voodoo3 was finally released after numerous delays Nvidia was already stealing the thunder from 3dfx with what was the start of the best selling series of graphics cards ever. The first Geforce 256, shortly followed by an upgrade to DDR memory. The Geforce blew away the Voodoo 3 in every game.

Then came the GF2, GF2 Ultra which added more nails to the 3dfx coffin. The voodoo 4 and 5 were plagued with further delays and quality issues. The voodoo 6, still vaporware. When the Voodoo 5 was released it couldn't top the already champ of the road. The GF2 Ultra along with the soon released GF3.

The only card 3dfx had up their sleeves was the Voodoo 6. A bohemoth of a video card with 6 chips (same chips as on the voodoo 4 and 5) a seperate powersupply and a footprint that wouldn't fit in most modern day computer cases. 3dfx's stradegy had always been parallel processing. Build one chip then link them all together. This ultimately is what killed them. Instead of building better chips they built bigger cards. They aquired Gigapixel which had some incredible software and hardware which was to be included in the next 3dfx card which made it as far as a sketch and some white papers. But it was too late. 3dfx had a poor couple years and ran out of steam to compete with the always agressive 6 month product cycle of Nvidia.

Since Nvidia bought most of the assets of 3dfx they also aquired gigapixels technology. This will finally be shown in the NV30 card either this christmas or Q1 2003. This is hardly playing catchup since the last half released card by 3dfx was the voodoo 6 which ran Q3 at 1600x1200 32bit at around 70fps. Today Nvidia cards run Q3 at the same res well above 200 fps. 3dfx was doing NOTHING compared to what Nvidia is doing today.

[Zion]

Thanks for proving my point, Lynx. I just don't have time to explain it.

The way I see it, if you don't know, you don't need to know. It doesn't matter anyway...it won't bring 3dfx back from dead.

[ShannonX]

hmmm.... i'll have to go with Lynxfx on this one. 3dfx shot themselves in the head, it wasn't Nvidia, it wasnt ATI....


Yes, the original voodoos were great, and the voodoo three was good in 16 bit mode, but from what i remember, it had no 32 bit mode, which nvidia and i believe ATI had at that same time. From that point, 3dfx was gone. They never had a product that was competitive with either ati or nvidia. Sure, the voodoo 5 was ok, but not great...

dunno how you say nvidia is only getting to where 3dfx was at 3 years ago... You sure you've been laying off the crack?

[GokuX]

Originally posted by Shannon-XBA
hmmm.... i'll have to go with Lynxfx on this one. 3dfx shot themselves in the head, it wasn't Nvidia, it wasnt ATI....


Yes, the original voodoos were great, and the voodoo three was good in 16 bit mode, but from what i remember, it had no 32 bit mode, which nvidia and i believe ATI had at that same time. From that point, 3dfx was gone. They never had a product that was competitive with either ati or nvidia. Sure, the voodoo 5 was ok, but not great...

dunno how you say nvidia is only getting to where 3dfx was at 3 years ago... You sure you've been laying off the crack?

I think the Voodoo 3 had a 24 bit color mode or something to that effect.

[ShannonX]

could have been, just know they didn't have 32 bit..haha, cause i was gonna get one and didn't because of that... or something along those lines.

[LynxFX]

Originally posted by Zion
Thanks for proving my point, Lynx. I just don't have time to explain it.

If you can't explain it or back it up then you have no point. Please explain yourself. I'm not flaming you, I just want to know what makes you think Nvidia is just getting to where 3dfx was 3 years ago. My only guess is because they are incorporating gigapixel technology. That still doesn't put them behind 3dfx since they NEVER used gigapixel technology nor where about to release anything that did. (they had no working sample of what they were claiming) At the time of acquiring gigapixel tech Nvidia already had more than a years worth of R&D on their next gen chip so it would have been counter productive to go back to square one and use some of gigapixel.

So am I on the right track or do you still have no time to explain yourself?

PS I still have my Monster 3D II's. I could never bring myself to sell them. They alone make Q2 the game to play.

[Snoopy7548]

ive still got the voodoo banshee in my comp. lol. it runs cs fine, and thats all i play. ha

[Turbo Gamer]

Isnt microsoft making their own chips for xbox2

[DOOM]

Originally posted by Lynxfx


Umm yeah that's why you haven't backed up your original overblown statement.

But to save you the trouble I'll start.

3dfx was the pioneer of 3d graphics in computer video games. Their API glide was killer and put direct 3d and Open GL to shame especially in performance. This all was during the Voodoo 1 and Voodoo 2 days. They were the undisputed champions. Then comes Nvidia. Small guy on the block. Their first card pretty much bombed. It worked but couldn't compete with the Voodoo1. Enter the first TNT card. The runnings were starting to become neck and neck but the Voodoo II cards still performed better with games written for the Glide api. (remember that you still needed another video card for everything else. The voodoo cards were just addons). Enter the TNT 2 which through the first serious blow to 3dfx. Not only did this card perform on par with 2 Voodoo II cards in SLI but we were introduced to gaming in 32bit. Something 3dfx used to laugh at. All the while 3dfx was having problems putting out their voodoo 3 cards so they introduce a half assed voodoo banshee that was their first 2d/3d graphics card and the tnt2 blew it away in performance and stability. When the voodoo3 was finally released after numerous delays Nvidia was already stealing the thunder from 3dfx with what was the start of the best selling series of graphics cards ever. The first Geforce 256, shortly followed by an upgrade to DDR memory. The Geforce blew away the Voodoo 3 in every game.

Then came the GF2, GF2 Ultra which added more nails to the 3dfx coffin. The voodoo 4 and 5 were plagued with further delays and quality issues. The voodoo 6, still vaporware. When the Voodoo 5 was released it couldn't top the already champ of the road. The GF2 Ultra along with the soon released GF3.

The only card 3dfx had up their sleeves was the Voodoo 6. A bohemoth of a video card with 6 chips (same chips as on the voodoo 4 and 5) a seperate powersupply and a footprint that wouldn't fit in most modern day computer cases. 3dfx's stradegy had always been parallel processing. Build one chip then link them all together. This ultimately is what killed them. Instead of building better chips they built bigger cards. They aquired Gigapixel which had some incredible software and hardware which was to be included in the next 3dfx card which made it as far as a sketch and some white papers. But it was too late. 3dfx had a poor couple years and ran out of steam to compete with the always agressive 6 month product cycle of Nvidia.

Since Nvidia bought most of the assets of 3dfx they also aquired gigapixels technology. This will finally be shown in the NV30 card either this christmas or Q1 2003. This is hardly playing catchup since the last half released card by 3dfx was the voodoo 6 which ran Q3 at 1600x1200 32bit at around 70fps. Today Nvidia cards run Q3 at the same res well above 200 fps. 3dfx was doing NOTHING compared to what Nvidia is doing today.

THANK YOU!!!

[Zion]

Originally posted by Lynxfx



PS I still have my Monster 3D II's. I could never bring myself to sell them. They alone make Q2 the game to play.

Well, by your own admission Nvidia must not have a card that can do what your SLI Monsters can do or you would have replaced them by now. Why can't Nvidia make a card that's better than your Monster pair???

[LynxFX]

I said I have them, I didn't say I use them. I've long left 3dfx and since have gotten a TNT, Geforce 256, ATI All in Wonder, ATI Radeon VE and now have a GF 4 ti 4400 for my gaming machine.

My monsters haven't seen gaming for well over two years. I kept them for nostalgia and nothing else.

Edit: You still haven't answered my question.