When 3Dfx announced the Voodoo3 2000/3000 part, the majority of media in attendance instantly knew a lot about what type of part the "TNT 2" would end up being. This is due to the fact that 3Dfx and nVidia share the same chip fabrication plant in Taiwan for the bulk of their manufacturing. The die-shrink to .25mu that allowed 3Dfx to pack a full Voodoo2 SLI rig along with a Banshee chip into one part running at 183MHz would also allow nVidia to boost the output of their already strong TNT. Unlike the Voodoo3, the TNT includes support for 32bpp final color rendering and larger than 256 x 256 size textures (the two biggest gripes against the V3 currently).

The TNT 2 promises faster core and memory clock speeds (Most likely 125 to 150MHz depending upon when SGRAM falls in price enough that OEMs like Diamond and STB can make TNT 2 boards packed with 32MB of SGRAM for $199 or less).

Not much else is known about the TNT 2 other than the increase in core speed, but we'd expect to see some DVD support (similar to the Voodoo3's light DVD acceleration) as well as the possible addition of some other features (Video In/Out, Flat Panel Display Support, etc).

As for a ship date, nVidia hinted at a late Q1/99 target, which translates into an April/May type of timeframe. This should be a rockin part, but might fall short of the Voodoo3's ultimate 183MHz performance level unless nVidia decides to wait for 160+MHz SGRAM.

A 160+MHz TNT 2 versus a 183MHz Voodoo3 3000 would be one helluva battle, particularly if the TNT 2 is approximately $50 less in cost…

This is what we've all been waiting to report on ever since nVidia let the cat out of the bag about an "NV5" part early this past summer (The TNT is the NV4).

Thanks to the amount of work that's gone into what was one referred to as the "NV5", the part in development now enjoys a project code name of NV20. We aren't able to really talk about any details concerning the NV20, but we will say that nVidia was very adamant that the mistakes that occurred with the TNT's PR debacle will not be repeated. This time around nVidia seems to be speaking softly and carrying a big stick, as they teased and insinuated to us that "perhaps" the NV20 actually exists in silicon, a striking statement considering that the Voodoo3 silicon is less than a month old currently.

No hints or speculation about the NV20 were thrown our way, not even what its possible name could be. One thing that we were able to find out is that the Riva or TNT labels are out at this point. nVidia would rather place a new brand name on the NV20 to emphasize its revolutionary performance nature.

***650+ Megapixels per second***

Hey, who the hell put that number above in there?? Now let me say right now, that no nVidia representative ever ever ever told us that the NV20 would be looking to exceed that figure above. Nope. No way, no how. No can do. No sir. Just for reference though, the Voodoo3 pounds out 366 Megapixels per second…

Expect this part to begin shipping somewhere in October, just in time for a lucrative and profitable Christmas Q4/99.