We've learned that ATI's got a new method for shutting down knackered bits of chips, paving the way for better yields and potentially a slew of SKUs.
Fabricate a batch of chips on a silicon wafer and chances are that some of them will be a bit dodgy... or a lot dodgy; it depends on how refined the manufacturing process is and how 'close to the edge' the chip design is. Still, rather than completely writing off chips that don't quite work, sometimes parts of them can be disabled. With GPUs, the result can be a SKU with a lower number of texture units, pixels shaders and so on.
ATI's developed a new technology called eFuse, which is intended to provide more control over specific parts of the chip, i.e. make it easier to 'turn off' smaller sections, rather than large chunks of chip. It's obviously better to have more control, especially if it saves shutting down bits of silicon that are mostly capable of functioning properly.
So, in terms of getting a saleable product from iffy wafers, it's great news. The only snag is that with a more versatile means of controlling the chips, we could see some very varied GPU configurations, leading to lots of different SKUs... as if the discrete graphics card market wasn't confusing enough with all the different products and xtreme hyperbole.
We'll have to see what AIB partners do before we cast judgement on the benefit of eFuse from a consumer perspective.
