NVIDIA GTX 470M highlights rollout of 400M mobile GPU series
Not everybody needs the world's fastest mobile GPU, so NVIDIA is sagely trickling down its Fermi magic to more affordable price points today. The 400M family is being fleshed out with five new midrange parts -- GT 445M, GT 435M, GT 425M, GT 420M and GT 415M, to give them their gorgeous names -- and a pair of heavy hitters known as the GTX 470M and GTX 460M. Features shared across the new range include a 40nm fab process, DirectX 11, CUDA general-purpose computing skills, PhysX, and Optimus graphics switching. 3D Vision and 3DTV Play support will be available on all but the lowest two variants. NVIDIA claims that, on average, the 400M graphics cards are 40 percent faster than their 300M series counterparts, and since those were rebadges of the 200M series, we're most definitely willing to believe that assertion. Skip past the break for all the vital statistics, and look out for almost all (HP is a notable absentee, while Apple is a predictable one) the big-time laptop vendors to have gear bearing the 4xxM insignia soon.
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Q: What are you announcing today?
A: Today we are announcing the next generation of Optimus notebooks featuring our new Fermi GPUs. These seven new GPUs make up our new NVIDIA GeForce 400M Series Notebook GPUs. The GeForce 400M Series represent the ultimate performance upgrade for a notebook and are built from the ground-up for DirectX 11. And with NVIDIA Optimus technology, GeForce notebooks fuse the great performance with great battery life. And of course, GeForce 400M series offer the very latest in industry-leading graphics such as support for CUDA, 3D Vision, support for PhysX and performance-boosting Verde notebook drivers.
The new series includes:
- GeForce GT 445M, GT 435M, GT 425M, GT 420M and GT 415M for performance users
- GeForce GTX 470M and GTX 460M, for enthusiast users
Q: What is significant about these new GPUs?
A: These are the first notebook GPUs designed with the award-winning Fermi architecture - built from the ground-up for DirectX 11. And with Optimus Technology, 400M series Notebook GPUs deliver great performance with great battery life for the usages consumers value most: processing HD video & High-res photos, experiencing the accelerated Web and eye-popping 3D content, and of course next-gen Gaming on top titles like StarCraft II.
Q: When will notebooks with GeForce 400M GPUs be available?
A: Starting today. Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, Samsung, and Toshiba all announced support for 400 Series GPUs today, with even more OEMs announcing soon. Ask the OEMs for their schedules.
Q: Are these 4xxM GPUs based on a new architecture?
A: All these GPUs are based on the Fermi architecture.
Q: Do these GPUs support CUDA?
A: Yes, they include CUDA-support for GPU computing applications.
Q: Do these GPUs support NVIDIA Optimus?
A: Yes, every GPU announced today supports NVIDIA Optimus Technology.
Q: Does this now mean all current NVIDIA notebook GPUs support Optimus?
A: Yes.
Q: Do these GPUs support 3D Vision?
A: GeForce GTX 480M, GTX 470M, GTX 460M, GT 445M, GT 435M, and GT 425M support 3D Vision.
Q: Do these GPUs support 3DTV play?
A: 3DTV play is supported on all GPUs that support 3D Vision: GTX 480M, GTX 470M, GTX 460M, GT 445M, GT 435M, and GT 425M.
Q: Do these GPUs support PhysX?
A: Yes, all of the GTX & GT 4xxM SKUs support PhysX.
Q: Where can I buy them?
A: You will be able to buy them world wide in retailers and etailers from the world's top notebook OEMs.
Q: How do these products perform compared to the products they replace?
A: On average, GeForce 4xxM series GPUs are up to 40% faster than their 3xxM series GPU counterparts.
Q: How much do they cost?
A: These are available only from OEMs. As such, individual pricing is not disclosed.
Q: What advantages do NVIDIA GeForce notebook GPUs offer over competing solutions?
A: GeForce 400 Series GPUs are DirectX 11 done right, with up to twice the DirectX11 performance of competing ATI GPUs. And only NVIDIA GPUs can offer NVIDIA Optimus technology, providing great performance and great battery life. In addition to this, only GeForce GPUs offer:
- PhysX support, for in-game physics
- CUDA support, for GPU computing applications
- 3D Vision support, for eye-popping 3D
- High performance Verde notebook drivers
Q: What does the NVIDIA notebook line –up look like now?
A:
Mainstream
- GeForce 305M
- GeForce 310M
Performance
- GeForce GT 415M
- GeForce GT 420M
- GeForce GT 425M
- GeForce GT 435M
- GeForce GT 445M
Enthusiast
- GeForce GTX 460M
- GeForce GTX 470M
- GeForce GTX 480M
Q: How is the adaption rate by OEMs for of Optimus?
A: Optimus has quickly established itself as a must have feature. With GeForce 400 series GPUs, 6 out of the top 7 OEMs will now ship Optimus notebooks.
3D Vision/3D TV Play
Q: When will 3DTV Play be available?
A: 3DTV Play will be available to consumers in a variety of ways beginning in September:
1) It will be bundled with new 3D Vision Fermi Notebooks, including the ASUS G53 and Acer 5745DG 3D notebooks featuring the GeForce 400M series GPUs, as well as with new models from multiple vendors when they launch
2) It is scheduled to be available as a free update to existing 3D Vision owners in mid-/late-September with the release of our Release 260 WHQL driver release
3) It will be bundled with a variety of notebook systems in the coming months – stay tuned for announcements from NVIDIA and our OEM partners
4) It is also scheduled to be available as a download for purchase on NVIDIA.com in mid-/late-November
Q: What is the adoption rate for 3D among PC consumers?
A: 3D PC growth among consumers is growing very fast. The NVIDIA 3D ecosystem of products is the largest install base of 3D products on the market. To date we have achieved the following milestones:
- Six desktop 3D monitor manufacturers building 3D Vision LCDs, with at least four more coming 2010
- Four notebook manufacturers building 3D Vision notebooks, with more coming in 2010
- Five projector manufacturers building over 20 projectors, with more coming in 2010
- A game library of over 425 games, supporting titles such as World of Warcraft, Mafia 2, and Battlefield Bad Company 2
- Launched web 3D streaming video for the 2010 Masters, NASCAR Daytona Coke 400, and the 2010 PGA Golf Championship
- Successfully partnered with Fujifilm to bring their 3D camera to market and built a platform to shoot, edit, and share photos in 3D
- All in One PCs with built in 3D functionality.
We are seeing large uptakes of 3D PCs across all segments and the projected growth rate of
3D PCs is expected to grow to the over 30 million PCs by 2012.
Q: How many 3D Vision kits have you sold to date?
A: 3D Vision sales have passed the hundreds of thousands of units already and we are expected to grow that with the launch of these new 3D platforms. The growth rate of 3D PCs is expected to be over 30 million PC by 2012.
Q: What is the schedule for Blu-ray 3D titles?
A: There are a number of Blu Ray 3D titles currently available today, including Monsters vs. Aliens, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Ice Age 3, Disney's A Christmas Carol, Clash of the Titans, and others. In addition, there have been dozens of 3D movies release in theaters over the last 6-12 months, so consumers can expect many of these Hollywood titles to be available on Blu-ray 3D over the next few months.
Q: How many 3D laptops are coming out with GeForce 400 Series GPUs?
A: Acer Aspire 5745DG, Asus G53 are the first of many 3D notebooks to launch with GeForce 400 Series GPUs.
Q: Can these new 3D laptops drive home entertainment centers?
A: Yes, with 3DTV Play, these laptops can be connected to compatible 3D TVs and audio systems to provide a rich 3D experience for 3D games, Blu-ray 3D movies, and viewing 3D photographs.
Q: There have been a lot of new 3D TVs announced recently. Does 3D Vision work with any of them?
A: Yes. 3DTV Play software allows you to connect a 3D Vision PC to the new 3D TVs , such as the Panasonic Viera 3D plasma. Please check www.nvidia.com/3dtv for a full list of supported 3D TVs.
Q: What do I need to watch 3D streaming content?
A:
1) A 3D Vision PC.
2) The latest GeForce and 3D Vision Drivers released after 6/1/2010.
3) Silverlight 4 (http://www.microsoft.com/getsilverlight).
4) A 3D Vision Enabled website
Q: What is the overall landscape of the stereoscopic 3D ecosystem on the PC?
A: The 3D Vision ecosystem is very robust and growing. 6 out of the 10 largest monitor makers are already shipping 3D displays. Asus, Toshiba and Clevo are already shipping notebooks. The Asus all-in-one has also been announced. Streaming web content such as YouTube and sporting events like the Masters 3D are already happening. There are 3D cameras and projectors supported, and Blu-ray 3D players from Cyberlink and Arcsoft. And there are over 425 games supported with 3D Vision technology. I'd say 3D is here to stay.
Q: What is NVIDIA's outlook for the stereoscopic 3D market? What will be the major applications – movies and games for example, and what are the TAM and shipment forecasts?
A: Analysts predict about 1 million 3D PCs this year, growing to 75 million/year within 5 years.
(Source: Jon Peddie Research, 75 million PCs in 2014)
