Graphics Cards - Page 219

NVIDIA has just announced its new monster graphics card, the new Titan X. NVIDIA's new Titan X is based on the Pascal architecture, featuring a pretty damn good increase in specs over the already fast GeForce GTX 1080.

The new Titan X has 3584 CUDA cores compared to the 2560 CUDA cores on the GTX 1080, while we have 12GB of GDDR5X on a 384-bit memory bus, compared to the 256-bit memory bus on the GTX 1080. The new Titan X uses the GP102 which is based on the 16nm FinFET process, while GP104 powers the GTX 1080 and GTX 1070.

Power consumption wise, we're looking at a 250W TDP - up from the 180W on the GTX 1080, while we have 12 billion transistors on the new Titan X, compared to the 7.2 billion found on the GP104-based GTX 1080. The memory bandwidth has been increased thanks to the 384-bit memory bus, where we have a huge 480GB/sec - very close to the 512GB/sec offered by HBM1 on the AMD Radeon R9 Fury X.

AMD impressed the world with its Radeon RX 480, priced at $199/$239 for its 4GB/8GB versions - and still coming out on top when it comes to performance for your dollar against NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 1060. Well, the AIB partner cards are now rolling out with the devilish PowerColor Red Devil RX 480 8GB announced.

PowerColor has priced its new Red Devil RX 480 8GB at $269 in the US, with its GPU clocked at up to 1.33GHz and the 8GB of GDDR5 clocked at 2GHz. There's a single 8-pin PCIe power connector, with 6+1-phase power with each phase providing 25W of power compared to 22.5W on other boards.

PowerColor has deployed its latest fan technology dubbed Double Blase III, which "increases airflows and prevents dust deposition on the fans". Double Blase III is made with triple 80mm 2-ball bearing fans, and 2pcs of 8mm and another 2pcs of 6mm nickel-plated heat pipe for the best heat dissipation.

AMD has been ahead of the game when it comes to Asynchronous Compute support in their GPU architectures, and now id Software is throwing their weight behind Async Compute when it comes to their idTech6 graphics engine.

id Software's Billy Khan talked with Eurogamer recently, where he said that other developers will begin to see the benefits of Asynchronous Compute, and will take better advantage of it. Khan said: "Doom is already a clear example where async compute, when used properly, can make drastic enhancements to the performance and look of a game. Going forward, compute and async compute will be even more extensively used for idTech6. It is almost certain that more developers will take advantage of compute and async compute as they discover how to effectively use it in their games".

The developer also said that other game developers should jump right into Vulkan as well, with id Software's Axel Gnetting adding: "Vulkan actually has pretty decent tools support with RenderDoc already and the debugging layers are really useful by now. The big benefit of Vulkan is that shader compiler, debug layers and RenderDoc are all open source. Additionally, it has full support for Windows 7, so there is no downside in OS support either compared to DX12".

TSMC has been hitting its stride this year, with the delivery of the 16nm FinFET process for NVIDIA's current GeForce GTX 1080, GTX 1070 and the soon-to-be-released GTX 1060. But what about the future?

Samsung has been pushing its Extreme Ultra-Violet Lithography (EUV) for the 7nm node, but TSMC isn't far behind, with the Taiwanese giant set to start 7nm node trials by the end of 2017. TSMC's co-CEO, Mark Liu, said that the company plans to push into EUV for 5nm by the end of 2020. Liu added that the company will simplify the process, improve density and cut down on the overall costs of the new node.

TSMC has also said that it has made more than one improvement to its existing EUV infrastructure, while it claims to have implemented 125W EUV source into its ASML NXE:3350 equipment. TSMC also says it now has in-house EUV technologies for inspection, masking and repair for lithography. When it comes to 7nm, TSMC has hit integration for scanners, masks and photoresist, while they'll be adding two more EUV scanners in 2017.

XFX will soon launch its new Radeon RX 480 graphics card, which has been spotted online courtesy of Quasarzone. The new card features an awesome looking XFX logo at the top and a dual-fan cooler.

We will see a single 8-pin PCIe power connector on the XFX Radeon RX 480, while it will rock a factory overclocked GPU. There are four large copper heat pipes keeping the Polaris 10 GPU nice and cool, while we have a rectangular thermal pad solution that looks like it's keeping the VRMs cool. The reference AMD Radeon RX 480 was a great card, but the XFX variant should be an interesting take on the RX 480.

We're not far away from the launch of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1060, and we're already hearing about the mobile variant, which is reportedly not going to have much of a performance difference between the desktop and notebook parts.

Polish website Purepc is reporting that the only difference between the GeForce GTX 1060 on the notebook and desktop is the clock speeds, where they said: "The only difference between the GeForce GTX 1060, for laptops and desktop version, will be reduced core speed. 1405 MHz instead of 1506 MHz in the basic mode, and 1671 MHz instead of 1709 MHz GPU Boost 3.0".

If this turns out to be true, the GTX 1060 will usher in a new performance standard for gaming notebooks, where 1080p 60FPS shouldn't a problem. Now we need to know the pricing on GTX 1060-powered gaming notebooks, which should be revealed in the very near future.

AMD has released its Polaris 10-based Radeon RX 480 into the wild, with the next-gen Vega architecture in the oven, and ready for early 2017. But now we're hearing rumors of the Vega 10 and Vega 11 GPUs, in the middle of 2016.

In the new OpenCL driver, a few new chips were discovered under 'GFX9': Greenland, Raven1X, Vega10 and Vega 11. Greenland is something that has been swinging around the rumor mill for a while now, a new GPU that will reportedly rock 4096 stream processors, and a new SOC v15 architecture.

Vega on the other hand is a "high-end architecture for high-end gamers" according to AMD, and has an early 2017 release window. Vega will be the first GPU to utilize the faster HBM2 memory standard, which is something NVIDIA is using on its professional side of things on the Tesla P100 graphics card. Vega will be the first GPU to utilize the faster HBM2 memory standard, which is something NVIDIA is using on its professional side of things on the Tesla P100 graphics card.

Colorful has just announced it has four custom GeForce GTX 1060 graphics cards on the way, ready to cover gamers in all segments of the mid-range market.

Colorful is aiming its new iGame series of GTX 1060-based cards at gamers who don't want to throw their wallets at the prices of the current GeForce GTX 1070 and GTX 1080, while offering great performance for 1080p 60FPS gameplay. Colorful's new iGame GTX 1060 series is led by the iGameGTX1060 X-TOP-6G, which has base/boost clocks of 1620/1847MHz, respectively. It will also feature 5+2-phase IPP power.

The second card in Colorful's iGame GTX 1060 arsenal is the iGameGTX1060 S-TOP-6G, which will have 1594/1809MHz base/boost clocks, respectively. The iGameGTX1060 S-TOP-6G will feature 4+1-phase IPP power. Under that, we have the iGameGTX1060 U-TOP-6G which will have the same 1594/1809MHz base/boost clocks, respectively - while it will amp up the power to a 5+2-phase design.

There was one thing that I addressed in my review of AMD's Radeon RX 480, is that the company had enough wiggle room with Polaris to release a dual-GPU card, and stay under the 300W TDP. Well, it appears we might see this card before the end of the year.

According to the latest reports, SAPPHIRE's website has teased the Radeon RX 490, which should arrive as a dual Polaris 10-based graphics card. We know from AMD's revised naming system for the Radeon series that that the RX 490 will feature a 256-bit memory bus and will be aimed at 4K and VR gaming.

Polaris 10 is the most powerful GPU in AMD's arsenal before it moves to Vega, so it won't be a faster Polaris GPU with more stream processors - but two P10 GPUs makes perfect sense. SAPPHIRE's website states it has 8GB of GDDR5, but that's the way dual-GPUs work - each GPU has the same framebuffer, with 16GB of GDDR5 in total - but 8GB per GPU.

Exclusive: NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce GTX 1060 is coming very soon, ready to fight AMD's mid-range Radeon RX 480, but with the rumors there'll be two versions - in 3GB and 6GB framebuffers - we're here to clear that up.

We have had an industry insider tell us that NVIDIA has decided against releasing the 3GB variant of the GeForce GTX 1060, and instead it is all steam ahead with the standard 6GB variant. This makes sense, as releasing a mid-range card with 3GB of VRAM that's meant to be a competitor against AMD's Radeon RX 480 which comes in 4GB and 8GB flavors doesn't make much sense.

Our source added that NVIDIA will instead release the GeForce GTX 1050 in December with 3GB of RAM, which makes much more sense. We should see these plans materialize very quickly, as soon as NVIDIA confirms the existence of its GeForce GTX 1050, which shouldn't be too far away now.

ZOTAC is a company that never ceases to impress me, as I've just reviewed their GeForce GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme, which is the fastest GTX 1080 yet. But something more impressive has just appeared; ZOTAC's unannounced GeForce GTX 1060 Mini.

ZOTAC will be utilizing the smaller PCB of the GeForce GTX 1060 to their advantage, with the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 Mini set to arrive in 3GB and 6GB variants, with both cards arriving with reference GPU clocks of 1506/1708MHz for base/boost, respectively.

The company will be using their own custom PCB for the GeForce GTX 1060 Mini, with a slick-looking, but not over-the-top cooler on board. We should expect the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 Mini to be officially revealed in the coming weeks, and I hope ZOTAC has a sample on its way to me.

AMD has been pushing Polaris for the last 6 months or so, leading up to the launch of the Polaris 10-based Radeon RX 480, but that doesn't mean the company is shying away from its next architecture; Vega.

AMD's next-gen Vega architecture is due in 2017, and during the Radeon RX series launch in Australia, the company showed off the same GPU roadmap we've seen at previous events - but also said something interesting. AMD said that the next-gen Vega architecture is a "high-end architecture for high-end gamers".

Remember that Vega will be using HBM2 technology, so we should expect a rather large leap over the Polaris architecture when it comes to specs, speeds, and technology. Vega will continue its rampage into the 14nm FinFET process, while the architecture to succeed Vega, 'Navi', is due in 2018. We don't know much about Navi just yet, but AMD teases that it will feature 'next-gen memory' - which is something I really need to know about. What is 'next-gen memory' when HBM2 is already incredible with 1TB/sec+ bandwidth?

NVIDIA announced its GeForce GTX 1060 not long ago, but with prices ranging between $249 and $299 - it won't directly compete against AMD's Radeon RX 480 which is priced at $199 to $239 and beyond, depending on whether you want the reference 4GB/8GB model ($199/$239, respectively) or a partner card with a custom PCB and improved cooling.

Well, NVIDIA could hit a lower price point with the 3GB variant of its GeForce GTX 1060, as the company has only unveiled the 6GB version thus far. NVIDIA is reported to hit a $149 price on the partner cards, while the GTX 1060 3GB Founders Edition could be priced at $199.

This means NVIDIA would be competing against the Radeon RX 470, which is priced at $149, and is a cut down variant of the Polaris 10 with 4GB of GDDR5. But what will NVIDIA cull from the 3GB variant of the GeForce GTX 1060 to get the price down? The GTX 1060 6GB features GPU clocks of 1506/1708 for base/boost, respectively - while it has a 192-bit memory bus for its 6GB of GDDR5 RAM.

AMD has released its Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.7.1 drivers, something the company promised it would deliver to fix the power draw issues on the Radeon RX 480.

The new Radeon Software 16.7.1 drivers can be downloaded here, with two solutions offered by AMD to lower the power draw on the Radeon RX 480. Firstly, it will move the power draw to the PCIe power connector from the PCIe slot, or limit the total power consumption of the card. AMD's main focus seems to be moving the power consumption to the 6-pin PCIe power connector.

AMD has also provided a 'compatibility mode' inside of Radeon Settings that will limit the RX 480's power consumption so that both the PCIe slot and PCIe power connector will not draw more power than allowed. Performance is affected slightly, and will be something we'll be looking into next week.

Inno3D has put its hat into the custom GeForce GTX 1060 ring, with the announcement of their new iChill GTX 1060 X3 and GTX 1060 GAMING OC X2 graphics cards.

NVIDIA's own GeForce GTX 1060 Founders Edition was announced in the last 24 hours for $299, while Inno3D's cards will feature factory overclocks, a custom PCB and much better cooling technology. Inno3D's new iChill GTX 1060 X3 has a triple-slot cooler, while the GPU clocks are 1712/1784MHz for base/boost clocks, respectively. The 8GB of GDDR5 on Inno3D's iChill GTX 1060 X3 is ramped up to 8.2GHz, a 200MHz increase over the stock 8GHz frequency.

VideoCardz reports that Inno3D's upcoming iChill GTX 1060 X3 will rock a single 8-pin PCIe power connector, but it'll still include some great overclocking headroom, especially over the reference Radeon RX 480 from AMD.

NVIDIA may have introduced its new GeForce GTX 1060, with AIB partners like GIGABYTE already revealing their GeForce GTX 1060 G1 Gaming card - but we still have AMD in the Red corner with its Radeon RX 480.

AIB partners are now revealing their custom RX 480s, with details on PowerColor's upcoming Radeon RX 480 Red Devil arriving. As you can see, it features a triple-fan cooler which should keep the Polaris 10 chip nice and chilled, with some promised overclocking headroom that will provide performance up and above the reference Radeon RX 480 from AMD.

We should be looking at 'out of the box' GPU clock speeds of around 1350MHz, which means we should be able to overclock PowerColor's Radeon RX 480 Red Devil past 1400MHz without a problem. PowerColor have used a custom PCB, with the cooling system being quite elaborate - running longer than the PCB itself. Underneath, we have the same 2304 stream processors, 8GB of GDDR5 RAM at 8GHz, and a 256-bit memory bus.

NVIDIA announced its GeForce GTX 1060 in the last 24 hours, and now the AIB partners are revealing all of their custom cards - with one of the first being GIGABYTE with its new GeForce GTX 1060 G1 Gaming card.

GIGABYTE's new GP106-based GeForce GTX 1060 G1 Gaming card features the company's Windforce 2x cooling technology with 2 x 90mm alternate-spinning fans with the "unique blade design and 2 composite copper heat pipes with direct touch to the GPU, together keeping the card cool and quiet even when heavily overclocked". GIGABYTE also adds that the 3D Active Fan provides semi-passive cooling, so if you're sitting idle or low loads are on the GPU, you'll enjoy silence.

The new GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1060 G1 Gaming has the company's GPU Gauntlet Sorting technology which promises some serious overclocking. NVIDIA's own GTX 1060 Founders Edition features a 3+1-phase design, while GIGABYTE ramps it up to 6+1-phase, which has the MOSFET's operating at lower temperatures to provide higher stable voltage outputs for increased overclocking headroom.

After weeks of rumors and leaks on NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1060, the company has finally made it official. Riding on the wave of AMD's new Radeon RX 480 which is priced at $199, the new GeForce GTX 1060 features GTX 980 level performance starting from $249.

For $249, NVIDIA has constructed the GeForce GTX 1060 to be a mid-range monster with 1280 CUDA cores and 6GB of GDDR5 RAM at 8GHz. For clock speeds, NVIDIA has said that the boost clock on the GP106 GPU hits 1.7GHz, and can be "easily overclocked to 2GHz for further performance". As for power consumption, thanks to the incredibly efficient Pascal architecture and the new 16nm FinFET process, the GeForce GTX 1060 has a power-sipping 120W TDP.

When it comes to performance, NVIDIA promises GTX 980 like performance, with the GTX 1060 being around 15% faster and over 75% more power efficient "than the closest competitive product", adds NVIDIA. By "the closest competitive product", we're guessing NVIDIA means AMD's new Radeon RX 480, which has a 150W TDP and can't beat the GTX 980 on its own.

GALAX has officially revealed its new GeForce GTX 1080 HOF, which has a strikingly beautiful white PCB - oh, and some great overclock speeds, too.

The new GALAX GeForce GTX 1080 HOF features the same 2560 CUDA cores, 8GB of GDDR5X RAM at 10GHz and the same display output connectivity as the GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition, but has some great overclocks on the GP104 GPU.

GALAX has ramped up the GPU to 1809/1961MHz for Base/Boost clocks, respectively. GALAX says that it has a 180W TDP, even though it has 8+8-pin PCIe power connectors. GALAX provides dual BIOS capabilities, so you can flash back to a previous BIOS if your overclock goes horribly wrong, too.

We've reported in a previous article that the early shipments of AMD's new Radeon RX 480 will include 8GB of RAM - but now there's proof. Riding on the waves of our latest story, which has AMD releasing its next-gen Vega 10-based video card in March 2017, rocking the ridiculously fast HBM2 technology.

WCCFTech is reporting that they have an XFX Radeon RX 480 4GB they secured on Newegg, and it has 8GB of RAM - with a 4GB sticker on the box, which when peeled away, reveals it is an 8GB card. We've already stated a few times that this is happening with the early stock of the Radeon RX 480, so if you buy the 4GB model right now - you have a good chance of getting the 8GB model, but this won't last forever.

Considering the Radeon RX 480 4GB is just $199, it's a steal as you can flash it to the 8GB model and enjoy a $40 savings, double the VRAM, and an extra 1GHz in RAM clock speeds. Winner winner, chicken dinner.