NVIDIA announces GeForce GTX 580M and 570M, availability in the Alienware M18x and MSI GT780R (updated: MSI says no)
We know you're going to be shocked -- shocked! -- to hear this, but NVIDIA's gone and refreshed its high-end line of GeForce GTX cards. The GTX 580M takes the place of the GTX 485M, and NVIDIA's bragging that it's the "fastest notebook GPU ever," capable, we're told, of besting the Radeon HD 6970M's tesselation performance by a factor of six. The new GTX 570M, meanwhile, promises a 20 percent speed boost over the last-generation 470M. Both 40-nanometer cards support DirectX11, OpenCL, PhysX, CUDA, 3D Vision, Verde drivers, Optimus, SLI, and 3DTV Play. As for battery life, NVIDIA's saying that when coupled with its Optimus graphics switching technology, the 580M can last through five hours of Facebook, but last we checked, that's not why y'all are shelling out thousands for beastly gaming rigs. You can find the 580M in the Alienware M17X and M18X (pictured) starting today, though you might have to wait a week or so for them to ship. Meanwhile, the 570M is shipping in the MSI GT780R as you read this, and you'll also find the 580M in a pair of 3D-capable Clevo laptops: the P170HM3 and the SLI-equipped P270WN. Handy chart full 'o technical details after the break.
Update: An MSI rep has let us know that contrary to earlier reports, the GT780R is not currently available with the 570M graphics card. The company added that it will offer some unspecified laptop with the 570M sometime in the "near" future. It's unclear if that laptop will, in fact, be the GT780R.
GeForce GTX 570M | GeForce GTX 580M | |
Processor cores | Up to 336 | Up to 384 |
Support for | PhysX, Verde drivers, CUDA, 3D Vision, 3DTV Play, Optimus, SLI, DirectX11 | PhysX, Verde drivers, CUDA, 3D Vision, 3DTV Play, Optimus, SLI, DirectX11 |
Processor clock speed | Up to 1150MHz | Up to 1240MHz |
Memory clock speed | Up to 1500MHz | Up to 1500MHz |
Memory | Up to 1.5GB or 3GB | Up to 2GB GDDR5 |
Memory width | Up to 192-bit | Up to 256-bit |
Memory type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
Show full PR text
Fastest. Notebook GPU. Ever.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M GPU Launches in Alienware M18x and M17x Notebooks with Record-Breaking Gaming Performance
SANTA CLARA, Calif.-June 28, 2011- NVIDIA today announced the world's fastest notebook graphics processing unit (GPU), the NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 580M. Available now in the Alienware M18x, the new GPU sets new standards in industry leading benchmarks and games. It will also be available soon in the Alienware M17x notebook along with NVIDIA Optimus™ technology.
"The best game support. The best gaming features. The best gaming performance available anywhere. That's the essence of the GeForce GTX 580M," said Rene Haas general manager of notebook products at NVIDIA. "With power like this, you can turn all the knobs to 11."
The first notebook PC to feature the GeForce GTX 580M, the Alienware M18x offers the option of two GeForce GTX 580M GPUs in one system for up to double the gaming performance, using NVIDIA SLI® technology. Not to be outdone, the Alienware M17x will offer the GeForce GTX 580M along with NVIDIA Optimus™ technology and will deliver 5 hours of battery life in Facebook, and 100 frames per second performance in Call of Duty: Black Ops.
"Gamers aspire to experience games at their highest settings," says Eddy Goyanes, product marketing manager for Alienware. "Alienware activates the technology designed to enable those aspirations. With the launch of the GeForce GTX 580M on the Alienware M17x, and a dual card option on the M18x, that synergy continues - Alienware delivers the ultimate gaming experience."
GeForce GTX 580M GPUs are the fastest Microsoft DirectX 11 notebook GPUs on the market, offering up to six times the tessellation performance of any other notebook GPU. They are also more efficient, with up to 20 percent better performance per watt than the previous generation.
NVIDIA also introduced the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570M GPU, which offers 20 percent faster performance than the previous generation product it replaces.[iv]
The power of GeForce GTX GPUs means gamers can play at full 1080p high-definition resolutions with the advanced technology features that set GeForce GPUs apart from the competition. These include:
· Support for NVIDIA 3D Vision™ technology, the #1 3D experience for notebooks, which automatically converts over 525 titles into immersive 3D.
· Support for NVIDIA 3DTV Play™ software, for connecting 3D Vision-based notebooks to 3D TVs.
· NVIDIA SLI® technology, which links two GTX GPU's for up to double your gaming performance.
· NVIDIA Optimus technology, which enables extra-long battery life by automatically switching on and off the GPU so that it runs only when needed.
· NVIDIA PhysX® engine support, which brings games to life with realistic physics.
· NVIDIA CUDA® architecture support, for GPU computing applications.
· NVIDIA Verde™ notebook drivers, for frequent performance improvements and rock-solid stability.
For more information on any GeForce 500M Series GPUs, visit www.nvidia.com.
