GTX295
Latest
University of Antwerp stuffs 13 GPUs into FASTRA II supercomputer
The researchers at the University of Antwerp's Vision Lab caused quite a stir last year when they built a supercomputer with four high-end NVIDIA graphics cards, but it looks like they've truly stepped up their game for their followup: a supercomputer that packs no less than thirteen GPUs. That, as you might have guessed, presented a few new challenges, but after wrangling some flexible PCI cables into a specially-made case and loading up a custom BIOS courtesy of ASUS, they were apparently able to get six dual-GPU NVIDIA GTX295 cards and one single-GPU GTX275 card up and running with only a few hiccups. As before, the big advantage with this approach is that you get an enormous amount of computing power for a relatively small cost -- twelve teraflops for less than €6,000, to be specific. Head on past the break for a pair of videos showing the thing off, and hit up the link below for the complete details (including some jaw dropping benchmarks).
Fujitsu unleashes CELSIUS ULTRA specs, offers test drives at gamescom
And now we know what the "world's fastest" air-cooled gaming rig is made of -- a 3.33GHz Intel Core i7-975 and a pair of souped-up GeForce GTX 295s running in SLI. They're backed up by 12GB of DDR3 memory, a 150GB WD Raptor as an OS drive and two 1TB storage hangars, but you must be wondering where all that German ultra clocking is. Well, the motherboard is of Fujitsu's own making and a custom tweaker-ready BIOS is promised, but the truth is we really can't see anything overclocked especially for this rig. Which is not to say it won't be the most powerful pixel pusher in the world (this week), with hardware like that we're sure you'll be able to run Vista Business without a hitch... oh yea, that's the listed OS, and since we're spilling bad news, recommended price tag is €4,000. If you're anywhere near Cologne this week, head on down to gamescom, and if you ask really nicely, the Fujitsu people might even let you play on this fiery beast of a machine. See it undressed after the break. [Via Netzwelt]
BFG gifts GTX 285 and GTX 295 cards with self-contained liquid cooling
Believe it or not, this is far from the first time we've heard of a liquid cooled GPU; in fact, NVIDIA was tossing the idea around way back in 2006, when Quake III and Unreal Tournament were still top titles in the FPS realm. BFG Technologies, which currently holds the greatest name for a graphics card company ever, has today introduced its GeForce GTX 285 H2O+ and GeForce GTX 295 H2OC cards, both of which boast ThermoIntelligence Advanced Cooling Solutions (read: self-contained liquid cooling systems). BFG swears that both cards are completely maintenance free, with the GPUs kept around 30°C cooler under load as compared to standard air cooled models. There's no mention of pricing just yet, but both should be available any moment at NewEgg. Good luck resisting the sudden urge to upgrade.
ASUS Mars GPU hands-on at Computex
We knew it was coming, and come it did. Over in Taiwan today, ASUS was demonstrating its motherboard-incinerating Mars graphics card, which it proudly deemed "the world's fastest." In fact, the card packs 21 percent more power than a reference GeForce GTX 295 card, and the eight-heatpipe cooling solution keeps things at least a notch below molten. We found that the card will actually be sold in some capacity, though only 1,000 of them -- all of which will be individually numbered -- will be made available. Two more looks after the break.
ASUS Mars GPU weds twin GeForce GTX 285s, might just melt your face
You into frame rates? No, we mean are you frickin' bonkers over watching your rig hit triple digits in a Crysis timedemo? If you're still nodding "yes," have a gander at what'll absolutely have to be your next buy. The ASUS Mars 295 Limited Edition is quite the unique beast, rocking a pair of GTX 285 chips that are viewed by Windows as a GeForce GTX 295. All told, you're looking at 240 shader processors, a 512-bit GDDR3 memory interface, 32 total memory chips and 4GB of RAM. Amazingly, the card is totally compatible with existing drivers and is Quad-SLI capable, and if all goes to plan, it'll actually peek its head out at Computex next week. Rest assured, we'll do everything we can to touch it.
Video: 23 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295s packed into one system, "overkill" exemplified
Ha, and you thought paying hundreds of dollars for a NIC was insane. For one reason or another (likely "another"), AtlasFolder has loaded in 23 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 graphics cards into a single server rig, and while only 17 were installed at the time of this video (he's waiting for a few nuts and bolts before installing the others), we're already amazed. Call us crazy, but something such is this definitely isn't what NVIDIA had in mind when it revived SLI. Per usual, the vid's past the break.[Thanks, P]Update: Turns out this is a GPU Folding Farm at Stanford. Impressive.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 / 295 review roundup
NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 295 is only a week old at retail, but that hasn't stopped the company from turning around and releasing yet another card -- the GTX 285 -- today. The reviews for both are in and from what we've read, the GTX 295 seems to match or outshine its AMD Radeon HD 4870 X2 counterpart in most performance tests. As for the GTX 285, the general consensus is that it's the fastest single-GPU graphics card on the market right now. It's only slightly better-performing than the GTX 280, however, so if you've already got that, it's probably not worth the upgrade. We're not gonna pretend to understand every benchmark result, but we'll gladly point you in the right direction. GTX 285 Read - TweakTown Read - PC Perspective Read - HotHardware GTX 295 Read - TweakTown Read - PC Perspective Read - HotHardware
NVIDIA makes GTX 295 official now that it's on sale, 285 too for good measure
We already knew more or less all we needed to know about NVIDIA's GTX 295, however, despite being already on sale, the company has decided now is a good time to grace the model with a press release. The GTX 285 has been given the formal treatment too -- despite not being available until next week. If you missed the earlier specs, the $499(ish) 295 includes dual 55-nm GT200 GPUs and supports nearly 2GB of memory, while the $399 285 makes do with but one processor and an undisclosed RAM ceiling (though the upcoming Winfast, pictured above, comes with 1GB and one yellow robot). Again the 295 is up for order now, while slightly more budget conscious gamers will have to wait until January 15 for the 285. [Via bit-tech.net]
NVIDIA announces new GeForce chipsets for laptops, starts selling GTX 295s for desktops
Spare a thought for NVIDIA's GeForce 9M series of laptop GPUs, just announced this past summer and already being put to pasture by the newly announced G100M series. The first trio of members for the club are the G105M, G110M, and GT 130M. The G105M is intended to replace the 9200M GE and scores a 2177 in 3DMark Vantage compared to 1391 for the old one -- a tidy 56 percent boost. Meanwhile the G110M supersedes the 9300M GS, scoring 2481 and beating its predecessor by 35 percent, and the GT 130M beats the old 9600M GT's score by 17 percent. The chips are in production now and will be featured in Lenovo's upcoming Y-series laptops. Meanwhile, for those looking for a little boost at home, EVGA's version of the GTX 295 is now available for purchase -- if you have a spare $510 lying around. Update: Sean just commented to let us know that there are other 295 flavors now available as well, some for a penny under $500.[Thanks, Sean]Read - 100M series announcementRead - GTX 295 buy link
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 gets (mostly) official
Well, here's a bit of a surprise. While most folks were only expecting NVIDIA to announce its GeForce GTX 295 graphics card at CES, the company has now come out and gotten official with it today, although it's still holding back on a few details until the big show. As rumored earlier this month, the card packs two 55-nanometer GT200 GPUs, a staggering 1,792MB of video memory, a total of 480 stream processors, and a not-too-ridiculous TDP rating of 289 watts. What's more, while they faced some restrictions from NVIDIA, the folks at bit-tech were able to run a few benchmarks on the card and found that it does indeed seem to live up to its promise of besting ATI's top-end Radeon HD 4870 X2. That appears to partly back up those early numbers that leaked out yesterday, although bit-tech is quick to point out that the card doesn't deliver the same performance leap seen when AMD rolled out its card. Still, they do seem to think that NVIDIA has a winner on its hands, assuming that it actually manages to meet (or even beat) the 4870 in terms of price. Hit up the link below for bit-tech's complete numbers, plus a few more.Read - HotHardware, "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 Specifications Unveiled"Read - bit-tech.net, "First Look: Nvidia's GeForce GTX 295 graphics card"Read - Guru 3D, "GeForce GTX 295 Preview"Read - PC Perspective, "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 Preview - Performance King Returns"
Early NVIDIA GTX 295 benchmarks impress, raise suspicions
NVIDIA still hasn't gotten official with the less-than-secret card, but it looks like China's IT168 website has already gotten its hands on an actual GTX 295 and gone ahead and published some early benchmarks, which now seem to have not so mysteriously disappeared. This being the internet, however, there's already been screenshots taken, and while the benchmarks certainly impress, they're also rightfully leading folks to wait for some slightly more official numbers. If they are accurate, however, it looks like the GTX 295 will trounce ATI's top-end HD 4870 X2 in a number of tests, including a stunning 100% boost in performance in Dead Space, all while boasting a considerably lower power consumption too boot (hence the suspicion). We won't have to wait too much longer to put things to rest, however, as the card is expected to be officially unveiled at CES, with a whole slew of benchmarks inevitably set to follow shortly thereafter.[Via The Inquirer]
Twin-GPU NVIDIA GeForce GTX295 expected at CES
The next installment of CES is under a month away (crazy, right?), and the leaks around the hinges are already starting to show. The latest dirt on the graphical front is this bit from NVIDIA: a twin-GPU behemoth that'll likely destroy anything else on the market today. Purportedly dubbed the GeForce GTX295, the device will pack two 55-nanometer GT200 chips, 480 total stream processors, 1,792MB of DDR3 memory and a power consumption rating of 289-watts. Other details are currently missing, but don't be shocked to see this locked and loaded in a few brand new machines come January 8th.
