Nvidia GeForce GTX 480 and 470 specs emerge + VirnetX sues Microsoft again over the same patents

With Nvidia's next-generation Fermi graphics cards now just a week away, some new details have trickled in courtesy of Turkish site donanimhaber.com and VR-Zone.com. According to the publications, the GTX 480 will offer a total of 480 shader processors, a 384-bit interface working with 1.5GB of onboard GDDR5 RAM, and clock speeds of 700MHz, 1,401MHz, and 1,848MHz for the core, shaders and memory respectively.



Measuring around 26cm in length, or roughly 2cm less than the Radeon HD 5870, the card will draw power from a six-pin + eight-pin power connector combination and feature dual-link DVI and mini-HDMI outputs. Pricing is supposedly set at $499 and the TDP rating is quoted a being below the 300W threshold, apparently at 250W. Leaked pictures show the card will occupy two slots and feature a cooling system design with protruding heatpipes.



The less powerful GTX 470 on the other hand will reportedly make do with 448 shader processors while offering a core clock of 607MHz, shader clock of 1,215MHz, and a memory clock of 1,674MHz. The card will have a 320-bit memory interface and 1280MB of GDDR5 memory, along with a TDP of 225W and a more sensible $349 price tag.

According to VR-Zone, internal benchmarks reveal that the GeForce GTX 470 and GTX 480 are some 5-10% faster than the Radeon HD 5850 and 5870 respectively. Such estimations are of course unofficial, but we'll have clearer idea of the value behind these cards when benchmarks start popping up after next week's launch.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VirnetX sues Microsoft again over the same patents

VS



Only a few days after successfully suing Microsoft for $105.8 million, VirnetX has hauled the software giant back into court over the same two VPN-related patents (6,502,135 and 7,188,180). Expanding on its previous suit, VirnetX claims that its technology was used illegally in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008. The prior case covered Windows XP and Vista, along with Office and services like Windows Messenger.

Microsoft is standing its ground, contesting that it hasn't infringed upon either patent. The company plans to appeal the original $105.75 million verdict, as well as defend against the new case. It also still faces the possibility of paying as much as triple the original penalty, because it was found guilty of willful patent infringement.

Redmond has described the ruling as "legally and factually unsupported." The company has petitioned the USPTO to re-examine VirnetX's patents -- and that's looking hopeful. In a preliminary review, the agency deemed all but three of VirnetX's claims invalid. That doesn't guarantee the patents will be tossed out, but it's positive sign nonetheless.

There's no word on exactly how much VirnetX is seeking in damages in the second case, but it sought $242 million the first time around. In a statement yesterday, VirnetX CEO Kendall Larsen said the latest suit is a "tactical and procedural post-trial action to ensure and protect our property rights as we proceed to final resolution with Microsoft."