Despite what you may have heard, R516 is not an 80nm product

Earlier reports indicated that ATI's RV516 core would be the first 80nm ATI GPU.  Sadly, these reports are incorrect -- at least according to internal ATI memos, roadmaps and employee testimonies. 

RV516 is a pin-compatible drop in replacement for RV515.  RV515, also known as the Radeon X1300 ASIC, was one of ATI's first 90nm ASICs produced at the TSMC foundries.  RV536, RV516 and R581 will still be 90nm products, but they will be produced at TSMC's cross-town rival foundries, UMC. 

Since RV515 and RV516 are interchangeable and comparable, manufacturers already tell us the chips will be used between graphic card implementations without indication.  For all intents and purposes, the only difference between the "one off" ASIC denotations is which foundry the chip will be produced at.

NVIDIA has produced GPUs at both TSMC and UMC in the past.


Source : DailyTech