GraphicsCard
Latest
Jingle Bells played with graphics card, Santa wonders why
As if an office full of guitar-controlled lights weren't enough to get you in the holiday spirit, along comes a self-proclaimed geek to play Jingle Bells on his graphics card. We know, it's hard to really grasp what we mean, so jump on past the break to catch a video that will undoubtedly do our explaining for us.[Via TheInquirer]
NVIDIA reveals GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB
Not even two months after NVIDIA tempted gamers on a budget with the GeForce 8800 GT, the outfit has loosed a new beast just in time for those eleventh hour holiday shoppers. Based on 65-nanometer fabrication, the 8800 GTS 512MB boasts 128 stream processors, twin dual-link DVI ports, PureVideo HD technology, DirectX 10 support, a 650MHz core clock / 970MHz memory clock and hardware decode acceleration for smooth playback of "H.264, VC-1, WMV and MPEG-2 HD and SD movies." According to the company, this card provides some 25-percent more processing power than NVIDIA products previously offered at the same price point, which, if you're wondering, is around $299 to $349.[Via HotHardware]
NVIDIA debuts cooler, cheaper, smaller GeForce 8800 GT
Even if it's smaller, cooler, and cheaper than its higher end brethren, that unfortunately doesn't mean it's better: the formerly G92-codenamed NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT sits in the middle of the 8800-series with a single slot configuration that uses 100 Watts less power than the top of the range model, but with a lower clock speed and six less "stream processors." It's a fair bit higher spec than the GTX and GTS models though, with the same "stream processor" (what the hell are these?) clock speed as the Ultra at 1500MHz, and a memory frequency of 900MHz. It also supports PCIe 2.0 and the PureVideo HD engine which offloads H.264 encoding onto the GPU. It sells for between $199-249, and should be available within the next few days at the usual online stores.
Diamond planning HD 2900 XT-based 2GB VFX 2000 pro GPU?
Diamond is no stranger to packin' an awful lot of RAM onto graphics cards, and apparently, the forthcoming VFX 2000 Series Professional Workstation GPU will keep the legacy alive. According to Hot Hardware, Diamond is readying a 2GB (of GDDR4 memory, no less) professional card based on the R600 (now known as the HD 2900 XT), and reportedly, "the card's PCB has been modified from the standard HD 2900 XT reference design to support the workstation-class features inherent to the FireGL line of professional graphics cards." Still, there's no word yet on what frequencies the GPU and RAM will hum along at, but word on the street has this beast launching "in the coming weeks." Click on for another glimpse.
NVIDIA stuffs four Quadro FX 5600 GPUs into 1U server
Yeah, we all agreed that the Quadro Plex 1000 was hot stuff in its heyday, but NVIDIA's latest GPU server blows away prior iterations by cramming four Quadro FX 5600s into a 1U enclosure. The Quadro Plex VCS Server packs a "record number" of GPUs into a 1U form factor, and its 6GB frame buffer (1.5GB per GPU) and mind-boggling computational abilities should please those interested in remote graphics / offline rendering. Additionally, it's built to "dynamically allocate compute, geometry, shading, and pixel processing power for optimized GPU performance," and while there's no mention of a price, those actually in the market for this beast probably aren't concerned.[Via MacsimumNews]
QA glitch allows defective ATI Radeon cards to slip out
According to "sources" at AMD, the firm's official graphics card diagnostic and validation software was recently discovered "to have a bug that failed to detect defective ATI Radeon HD 2400 and 2600 graphics cards." The problem was actually discovered by various "channel vendors" who supposedly pointed out an error in the BIOS application process, and it was noted that Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte were all bitten by the mishap. Thankfully, the glitch can seemingly be rectified by "reapplying the BIOS," but now some 20,000 to 30,000 units are already being shipping back in order to be mended before reaching consumers' hands; interestingly, there's no mention of a remedy for the "small number" of end users that may actually own one of these marred boards. Nevertheless, AMD has responded by stating that this ordeal was simply "an isolated incident," and assured us all that "measures were taken to solve the issue as soon as it was detected."[Via TGDaily]
Foxconn offering sub-$100 DirectX 10 cards
For those looking for hot, sweaty DirectX 10 action on a shoestring budget, Foxconn has announced a pair of NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS-based graphics cards that should do the trick. The cards will hit stores in a 128MB or 256MB configuration -- both sporting 450MHz / 800MHz core / memory clock speeds -- on an unspecified date for less than $100. That should be the perfect compliment to a basic Vista setup, or a cheap gaming option if you spent all your money on that fancy case.[Via ExtremeTech]
ATI ships out Radeon HD 2400 and HD 2600 graphics cards
While some of you may be holding out for a 1GB Radeon HD 2900 XT, those looking to spend a little less can get a bit of instant gratification. ATI has just announced that the Radeon 2400 HD and 2600 HD are now shipping to board customers, meaning that a few more DirectX 10 graphics cards will be hitting store shelves in the not too distant future. Both cards will also include the company's Unified Video Decoder (UVD), are based around a 65-nanometer chip, and will support HDMI and HDCP. Time to start scouring the neighborhood couches for spare change, eh?[Via TGDaily]
Diamond stuffs 1GB onto ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT
With leading-edge graphics cards getting more and more dedicated RAM shoved onto their PCBs, it's only surprising that it has taken this long for a 1GB single GPU card to hit the market. Diamond Multimedia has just announced the launch of its Radeon HD 2900 XT 1GB, which packs a full gigabyte of GDDR4 memory, second-generation unified shader architecture, 512-bit memory interface, integrated CrossFire scalability, and built-in HDMI support. Moreover, it also includes ATI's Avivo display technology, dual-link DVI output, HDCP compliance, and DirectX 10 support. No word just yet on what kind of premium you'll be expected to pay for this momentary claim of superiority, but we'd wait for the benchmarks to see if it's even worth the extra coin.
Engadget Chinese gets hands-on treatment with Asus OCgear
You already knew that our Chinese brethren were tearin' it up at Computex 2007, but this one is of particular interest here in the US. Turns out that Asus' OCgear overclocking module actually doesn't have a graphics card integrated in, rather, it's simply an extra peripheral that will connect up to your card via USB or PCIe. Reportedly, a proprietary connector was initially considered, but the tried and true connectors proved quicker in the end. We have to admit, it certainly adds that finishing layer of geekness to the front panel of the PC, but why not hit the read link and view the gallery of hands-on snapshots for yourself, cool?
ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT review roundup
We've already seen it benchmarked, but those of you considering ATI's new top-end Radeon HD 2900 XT graphics card now have a number of full-on reviews to sink your teeth into, all of which seem to be roughly in line with each other. On the all important point of performance, ExtremeTech, HotHardware, and [H] Enthusiast each found that the card held its own against NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTS in the usual array of tests, although it fell well short of NVIDIA's pricier GeForce 8800 GTX, which ATI still has no answer to. All three also found many of the same things to complain about, most notably the card's noise and excessive power consumption, although ATI is promising a driver update to cut down on some of the racket. HotHardware also points out that the ATI card likely has more room to grow through driver updates than the NVIDIA, and speculates that a 65nm version of the card could arrive "sooner rather than later." Until then, however, all three look to be sticking with NVIDIA hardware, with the 8800 GTS offering a better value for the money, and the 8800GTX providing the necessary all-out performance to those who demand such things.Read - Extreme Tech ([8/10)Read - HotHardwareRead - [H] Enthusiast[Thanks, Mathieu]
NVIDIA's DX10-capable 8M laptop GPUs get official
NVIDIA's been parading its DirectX 10 desktop GPUs around for some time now, and while we've seen lappies in the pipeline that tout the DX10 niceties, the firm is getting all formal on us with the release of the 8M series of laptop graphics cards. Hailed as the "world's first mobile GPU to support DirectX 10 and fully accelerate decoding of H.264 full HD movies," the 8M series will initially consist of the GeForce 8600M and 8400M. NVIDIA claims that these chips will provide "up to twice the performance of previous generation GPUs," and also boasts about the PureVideo HD processing engine and PowerMizer technology that purportedly conserves battery life when you're not engaged in a ruthless deathmatch. Unsurprisingly, the chips have already been made available to laptop manufacturers, so watch for these suckas in forthcoming "HP, Toshiba, Acer, Samsung, and Asus offerings."
NVIDIA's overclocked GeForce 8800 Ultra debuts
Really, it's hard for us to imagine sticking anything as loud and power hungry as the GeForce 8800 GTX into our precious desktop, no matter how great the latest games look on it, and we're having an even harder time envisioning NVIDIA's new 8800 Ultra anywhere near our motherboard. The new children-eating card starts at $829, and includes premium versions of the GTX's components, overclocked to fairly unreasonable degrees: a 612MHz core clock, 1500MHz shader clock and 1080MHz memory clock. Unfortunately, all that Ultra-ness only leads to a 10-15% performance increase, which isn't horrible, but hardly worth ditching your current 8800 GTX SLI setup for a couple of Ultras. But if that's not enough to dissuade you, or if you've been holding out for the best of the best from NVIDIA, you can pick one of these up around May 15th.
ATI's Radeon HD 2900 XT benchmarked, trumps NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTS
Although preliminary testing proved that ATI's R600 architecture wasn't messing around, DailyTech added another layer of proof to the pudding as it benchmarked a bonafide Radeon HD 2900 XT against NVIDIA's 640MB GeForce 8800 GTS. The DirectX 10-capable card is a notch above the HD 2600 XT that was snapped in the wild, and the tested unit featured 320 stream processors, 512MB of GDDR3 RAM, a dual-slot "blower-type heat sink," dual dual-link DVI ports, and a serious desire to crank out impressive FPS numbers. While the marks weren't the end-all answer to the ATI vs. NVIDIA question, the Radeon managed to best its opponent in every single trial, including Call of Duty 2, Company of Heroes, F.E.A.R., Oblivion, 3DMark06, Maya 02, Cadalyst C2006, and a few more for good measure. Of course, we're sure NVIDIA will be hitting back with something of its own, but feel free to hit the read link if you take pleasure in graphical beat downs with ATI escaping victorious.[Thanks, Mathieu]
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT snapped in the wild
Shortly after going from codenames to a more retail-friendly tiltling scheme, ATI's midrange RV630, er, HD 2600 XT has already been acquired, photographed, and slapped into one lucky PC overseas. According to the author, the card sports 256MB of GDDR4 RAM, and even more impressive, doesn't require any sort of external power connector to suck down the respectable 80-watts of power required for usage. It also appears to have a single-slot cooler and a hefty heatsink, not to mention a snazzy flame job that any true geek should adore. Let's face it, you're after the pics, so feel free to click on through for a few more shots and screengrabs from the installation. [Warning: Read link requires registration][Via Inquirer]
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS reviewed
NVIDIA's GeForce 8600 GTS graphics card has been attracting a fair bit of interest with its relatively low price tag and promised performance gains, but we're guessing most of you aren't just going to go on NVIDIA's word to make your purchase decision. Helping out in that respect, the folks at PC Perspective have put the card through the usual battery of tests to see just how well it stacks up. While they certainly welcomed the $199-229 price tag, they were somewhat let down by the card's performance, with it getting out-performed in some cases by ATI's comparatively priced X1950 Pro. That said, the 8600 GTS does still have the edge when it comes to DirectX 10 support, which they say should be enough to at least garner it some consideration from budget-minded gamers.
AMD names names: R600 now the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT
AMD is losing the "X" prefix of its ATI graphics lineup, and slapping on "HD" to denote the changes and advancements in its R600-based DirectX 10 cards. Up top is the Radeon HD 2900 XT (the rumors were close), with 320 stream processors, double that of the GeForce 8800 GTX from NVIDIA. The lower-end RV630- and RV610-based cards will go as the HD 2600 Pro / XT and the HD 2400 Pro / XT. HD on all these cards denotes the Avivo HD technology on board for decoding H.264 and VC-1 video off of Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. The 2900 series also has full HDMI outs, with integrated 5.1 surround sound. No exact launch date or pricing yet, but we shouldn't have too much longer to wait.
Asustek's XG Station ripped apart
It appears that, like many of you, the folks at 4Gamer were skeptical of Asustek's claim to bring high-end graphics capabilities to any ExpressCard-equipped laptop with its XG Station rig. So, like any reasonable person, they decided to rip into the device to see just what's going on. As you can see above, they did indeed find a full-size PCI Express graphics card packed inside -- an Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS, specifically (just one of the options available) -- which itself is mounted on board with a readily accessible PCI-E slot. That would seem to at least open up the possibility of replacing the card down the line, even if you can't just buy a barebones unit right off the bat. Unfortunately, there's still no word on pricing or availability, so it looks like you'll have to live with those integrated graphics for a little while longer.[Via The Inquirer]
NVIDIA shows off new mid-range 8300, 8500GT, and 8600GT DX10 graphics cards
They may not match up with the performance of the super high end graphics cards that we've seen from NVIDIA and ATI recently, but inevitably middle-range graphics cards are going to be the most popular with gaming enthusiasts as they invariably offer the most bang for your buck. At CeBIT last week, NVIDIA apparently accidentally put several graphics cards that it marked down simply as "New DX10 Graphics Card with HDMI" on display, which were in fact its new mid-range 8000-series of GeForce cards. On show were the passively cooled 8300, and the higher spec'ed 8500GT, and 8600GT (pictured). All feature HDCP supported HDMI ports (with sound routed to the cards through S/PDIF), Dual-Link DVI, and video RAM at 256MB each. No word on release date, but as with every other range of middle performance GPUs, you can probably expect the prices to be significantly less than their bigger brother (along with the performance, too).[Via Trusted Reviews]
More yummy details surface on ATI's R600 offerings
Sure, most roadmaps don't present anything to get immediately excited about, but considering the journey the R600 has taken to get to this point, the newest details concerning its future are indeed enthralling. While we've seen ATI's beast, witnessed its mighty power (and kilowatt sucking abilities), and even heard about a recent snag, it looks like things could be worked out fairly soon. According to TweakTown, the flagship edition -- dubbed the X2900XTX and codenamed Dragons Head 2 -- will sport a 9.5-inch configuration, 1GB of GDDR4 memory, dual DVI, video in / out, and require a baffling 240-watts of energy delivered through dual onboard power connectors. The X2900XT (Cats Eye) will share most of the same design characteristics as the aforementioned card, but will tout GDDR3 RAM and a lower clock speed to boot. As seen in the read link, ATI is apparently looking at releasing several more iterations with varying clock speeds and other luxuries, and while we can't confirm the claims just yet, the cards could be hitting shelves anytime within the next several weeks depending on model.[Thanks, Juan D.]
