Graphics Cards - Page 74

Samsung will reportedly show off its new HBM3E 12-Hi stack memory at NVIDIA's upcoming GPU Technology Conference (GTC) between March 18 and 21.

NVIDIA is a major partner for Samsung's bleeding-edge HBM memory, part of the heart and soul of its AI GPUs coming soon in the form of the Hopper H200 (a beefed-up HBM3E-based version of H100) and its next-gen Blackwell B100 AI GPU that are both featuring HBM3E memory.

Samsung will exhibit its new high-capacity 36GB HBM3E 12-Hi stack memory in physical form at NVIDIA GTC 2024. Samsung is expected to begin mass production in the coming months, with NVIDIA as a major customer for its H200 and B100 AI GPUs.

SK hynix reportedly provided NVIDIA with its latest 12-layer HBM3E memory modules in Universal Test Vehicle (UTV) form for its upcoming next-generation AI GPU hardware.

The news is coming from ZDNet Korea, which reports that SK hynix provided initial samples of its new 12-layer DRAM stacked HBM3E memory to NVIDIA "last month." The site reports that the 12-layer HBM3E memory samples provided to NVIDIA are an "extremely early version and is mainly used to establish standards and characteristics of new products. SK hynix calls it UTV (Universal Test Vehicle)."'

SK hynix recently completed the performance validation required for its 8-layer HBM3E memory, with the same performance verification on the new 12-layer HBM3E memory to "not take much more time," reports ZDNet Korea.

It seems that NVIDIA is responding to mid-range pricing pressure from AMD, and has taken the hatchet to the price of the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB, with this graphics card coming down close to the $400 mark in the US (or at least one model has).

If you've been following the discounts in this GPU bracket recently, you probably saw that AMD's RX 7700 XT has dropped down to $409 over at Newegg (following an official price cut to $419). There are two models at that cheaper price, from Sapphire (Pulse) and ASRock (Challenger).

That's a fair drop from the MSRP of $449 that the RX 7700 XT launched at, which at the time made the GPU look distinctly unfavorable compared to the more powerful 7800 XT which was only just over 10% more expensive.

Late last year, we got word that NVIDIA was planning to sunset the GeForce GTX product line - with the final GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, GTX 1650, and low-end GeForce GTX 1630 GPUs produced earlier this year. Today, we've got some updated info from the same Chinese Board Channels forum source (via Videocardz) that once the remaining stock is depleted, there will be no more new GeForce GTX 16 cards for partners and retailers.

The source cites NVIDIA's GPU product roadmap, which lists the GeForce GTX 16 Series as "completely discontinued," with all remaining "GPU stock allocated to AIC brand manufacturers." GeForce GTX stock is expected to run out in one to three months.

The final GeForce GTX cards, including the GTX 1660, are based on NVIDIA Turing architecture, albeit without dedicated RT or AI hardware. The redesigned GeForce RTX 3050 with 6GB of VRAM and a modest 70W TDP will become the company's entry-level option.

The GeForce Game Ready 551.76 WHQL driver is now available via direct download, through GeForce Experience, or the new NVIDIA App currently in Beta. The latest GeForce driver adds day-one support for The Thaumaturge, which includes support for NVIDIA DLSS 3 and Reflex technologies.

The Thaumaturge is a new narrative-driven isometric RPG from Polish studio Fool's Theory set in early 20th-century Warsaw. With turn-based combat and choices to make, it's something fans of Baldur's Gate 3, Divinity: Original Sin II, Disco Elysium, or Pillars of Eternity should check out.

Outside of support for the Thaumaturge, the GeForce Game Ready 551.76 WHQL driver fixes DLSS 3 Frame Generation stability issues with The Talos Principle 2 as well as solving video corruption when using the NVENC hardware encoder on GeForce GTX 16 Series GPUs.

NVIDIA's new open-source Linux graphics driver "Nouveau" won't have issues with HDMI 2.1 integration, unlike AMD that was knocked back from getting its issues on Linux with Radeon GPUs sorted.

The HDMI Forum is the organization responsible for the HDMI standard, recently rejecting AMD's request for public access -- open-source level -- HDMI 2.1 functionality. AMD has had issues with Linux drivers for Radeon for years now, but NVIDIA has just breezed through, it seems.

Alex Deucher from FreeDesktop.org said: "The HDMI Forum has rejected our proposal unfortunately. At this time an open source HDMI 2.1 implementation is not possible without running afoul of the HDMI Forum requirements."

JEDEC has just published the next-gen GDDR7 graphics memory standard, with the publication of JESD239 Graphics Double Data Rate (GDDR7) SGRAM.

The groundbreaking GDDR7 memory standard offers double the bandwidth of GDDR6 memory, with up to 192GB/sec per device, and will be used as graphics memory offering oodles more bandwidth in graphics, gaming, compute, networking, and AI applications.

According to the latest rumors, NVIDIA is the only one securing itself GDDR7 memory modules for its next-gen GPUs, hearing that AMD has been buying up GDDR6 at faster 20Gbps bandwidth for its new RDNA 4-powered Radeon RX 8000 series GPUs. AMD isn't walking away from GDDR7, as beefed-up Radeon RX series GPUs should feature GDDR7 in teh future, the rumor is that AMD has received "tons of purchases" for GDDR6 at 20Gbps.

NVIDIA's RTX 5090 graphics card could be out a lot sooner than expected, and will certainly be arriving this year, a YouTube leaker reckons.

This is the latest video from Moore's Law is Dead (MLID) in which the leaker asserts that Blackwell is currently being validated by Team Green, and that includes the RTX 5090.

Meaning that in a few months' time, we can expect the Blackwell flagship GPU to be through that validation process - and it will definitely launch this year, MLID tells us.

It's only been available for a month or so, launching with the same price point as the GeForce RTX 4070 but offering a notable bump to performance. Still, the new GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER has already entered the most popular GPU list in the latest Steam Hardware & Software Survey results for February 2024.

Usually, it takes a few months, at least, before a new discrete desktop GPU appears in the Steam hardware survey, so it's safe to say that among PC gamers upgrading or putting together a new rig, the new GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is a popular choice. Granted, it's near the bottom of the list, but with the Radeon RX 7900 XTX still the only RDNA 3 or non-NVIDIA current-gen GPU to make the list - it's a testament to NVIDIA's dominance in this space.

The GeForce RTX 4070, which saw its price drop to $549 USD following the launch of the SUPER variant, is the most GPU from the current generation - shooting into the number 13 spot after a strong showing last month. The RTX 4070 is joined by the GeForce RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti in the top twenty.

MSI debuted its latest flagship GPU design for the recent NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER launch. The MSI GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER EXPERT is a head-turner for several reasons, but mainly because it's unlike any GPU we've encountered outside of NVIDIA's iconic Founders Edition design.

Sporting a full brushed metal shroud with a stylish metallic grill, it's quite the looker. The push-and-pull fan setup (dubbed MSI Flow Frozr) mimics NVIDIA's founders' design for unique airflow, with a vapor chamber rounding out the cooling in this solid package built with premium materials. Check out our full review for a complete design, thermal, and performance breakdown.

MSI's EXPERT cards join the company's SUPRIM flagship range, albeit as a more minimal and arguably stylish flagship design choice. Today, thanks to a new report from Videocardz, it looks like MSI plans to expand its EXPERT line-up with a new MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER EXPERT coming soon.

With the revelation that Windows 11 was getting an 'Automatic super resolution' feature called Auto SR, powered by AI, the recent DirectSR announcement from Microsoft's DirectX team had many assuming that the company was planning to unveil its version of DLSS, FSR, or XeSS at GDC in the coming weeks.

It turns out that's not the case; DirectSR sounds very exciting as it's a new API designed in partnership with GPU makers like AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA "to enable seamless integration of Super Resolution (SR) into the next generation of games." Integrating upscaling or Super Resolution (SR) technologies within DirectX aims to make it a lot easier for developers to add this support to their games.

"DirectSR is the missing link developers have been waiting for when approaching SR integration, providing a smoother, more efficient experience that scales across hardware," Microsoft's Joshua Tucker writes.

It's time to put your skeptical hat on - and your coat of caution as well, for good measure - as we dive into the latest rumor drop for AMD's next-gen graphics cards.

This is from RedGamingTech (RGT) on YouTube who has new details about RDNA 4 GPUs, namely Navi 48 and 44, which will be aimed at the mid-range market. (AMD isn't doing high-end products this time around, as you're likely aware).

RGT has an update from sources which changes the predicted specs for these GPUs, with both of them now said to run with GDDR6 RAM (rather than GDDR7 as previously stated by the YouTuber).

NVIDIA has announced two new GPUs that will join its Ada Generation Laptop GPU line-up this year - the NVIDIA RTX 500 and RTX 1000, designed for 'highly portable mobile workstations.' The announcement notes that mobile workstations with these new GPUs will be available from partners including Dell, HP, Lenovo, and MSI this spring.

The new RTX 500 and RTX 1000 GPU-powered workstations will ship with a neural processing unit (NPU) as part of the CPU configuration, with the addition of NVIDIA's Tensor Cores for more demanding AI workloads.

On the high-end, the NVIDIA RTX 5000 offers 682 TOPS of AI performance, with the new RTX 500 and RTX 1000 sitting on the entry-level side with 154 TOPS and 193 TOPS, respectively. NVIDIA adds that these workstations and new GPUs will be useful for video conferencing with AI effects, AI upscaling video content, generative AI, and content creation.

Jon Peddie Research's latest report is on the PC GPU market, which has been doing surprisingly well over the last quarter. PC GPU shipments increased by 6% in Q4 2023, with a total of 76.2 million graphics cards shipped.

The new report detailing 76.2 million GPU shipments over Q4 2023 is a huge 24% year-over-year increase, which JPR notes is the "biggest year-to-year increase in two and a half decades". Overall, JPR reports GPUs will have a compound annual growth of 3.6% during 2024-2026, where the outfit estimates that almost 5 billion GPUs will be in the wild by 2026.

Over the next 5 years, JPR estimates the penetration of discrete GPUs inside of PCs will hit 30%.

AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 24.2.1 is available now for Radeon GPU owners, and it's one to definitely check out if you've been running into issues when gaming, as it's chock full of fixes and updates.

Those playing the smash hit co-op, democracy spreading, bug squashing Helldivers 2 on PC will be pleased to know that this new driver update fixes 'intermittent driver timeout' issues on Radeon RX 7000 Series GPUs while also fixing crashing while playing. These are the sort of problems that are way more annoying when playing an online title, so kudos to AMD.

Another big fix covers those playing Counter-Strike 2, where the game would crash when enabling FSR on some Radeon GPUs. AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 24.2.1 also fixes 'excessive stutter' across a range of titles, including Battlefield 2042, Destiny 2, Overwatch 2, Monster Hunter: World, PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, and STAR WARS Battlefront II.

Intel has released a new driver for Intel Arc graphics with more massive improvements to DirectX 11 titles, up to a 65% average FPS uplift in Assassin's Creed Syndicate and a whopping 155% average FPS uplift in Just Cause 4. However, this time around, these performance enhancement improvements are not for discrete desktop Intel Arc graphics cards like the Intel Arc A750.

The performance improvements found in the new Intel Arc graphics 5333 WHQL driver focus on the new 'Meteor Lake' Intel Core Ultra mobile processors with built-in Intel Arc GPUs - like the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Ultra 5 125H, and Ultra 9 185H. As integrated graphics, the improvements range from 7% to 155% when playing DirectX 11 titles covering 1080p with 'Medium' settings enabled. Although DirectX 11 is most associated with older titles, newer games like Palworld still use the API - with the smash hit survival game getting a 14% performance improvement with the latest driver release.

This driver update covers all Arc GPUs and integrated Intel graphics and adds support for the new action RPG hit Last Epoch and Rare's DirectX 12 update for Sea of Thieves.

NVIDIA's RTX 5090 could be with us late this year - or that's the rumor, anyway (though some disagree) - and we've just heard a bit more about how one YouTube leaker feels this graphics card might pan out.

In a new 'Broken Silicon' episode (246), Moore's Law is Dead (MLID) touches on the topic of the RTX 5090, and retreads some of the rumors aired in the past about the Blackwell flagship, while adding some fresh theories into the mix.

MLID replies to a question about whether the RTX 5090 (built on the GB102 chip) will be cut down for CUDA cores to a greater extent than the RTX 4090 (AD102), or about the same, or whether it'll be closer to the full loadout of cores than the current Lovelace flagship GPU.

AMD has officially dropped the price of the Radeon RX 7700 XT GPU, with the "new pricing" enabling partners to sell models for as low as $419 USD, a $30 price drop from the original MSRP of $449. Many have been hoping to see this happen as the Radeon RX 7700 XT was overshadowed by the Radeon RX 7800 XT when the two GPUs launched in 2023 - with only $50 separating the two.

Having reviewed a few Radeon RX 7700 XT models last year, praising the 1080p and 1440p gaming performance, a recurring con was that pricing was too close to the Radeon RX 7800 XT. The new $419 price makes the GPU better value for money, with the GPU generally outperforming the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti in more workloads and tests.

The new price comes into effect today, Monday, February 26 - so expect $419 or thereabouts to become the new norm for the Radeon RX 7700 XT in the coming days.

AMD's Radeon RX 7900 GRE (Golden Rabbit Edition) initially launched in China, a cutdown version of its flagship RDNA 3 GPU hardware that - at the time - was an odd release that predated the arrival of the Radeon RX 7800 XT; its performance most closely resembles AMD's $499 offering. After rumors and leaks, it looks like AMD is making the Radeon RX 7900 GRE available worldwide starting February 27 at a competitive price of $549 USD.

Priced the same as the GeForce RTX 4070 and sitting between the Radeon RX 7800 XT and GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER, it's a GPU build for 1440p and 4K gaming. $500 - $600 is now a heavily stacked enthusiast price bracket thanks to the addition of NVIDIA's new SUPER variant and RTX 4070 price drop earlier this year, so this release makes a lot of sense with the competition.

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE features 16GB of GDDR6 memory, and 80 compute units with RT and AI accelerators, with AMD claiming that when it comes to 1440p gaming, it's 14% faster, on average, than the GeForce RTX 4070 - making it better value for money.

AMD is just about to unleash a new GPU in the US, rumor has it, namely the RX 7900 GRE which was initially for the Chinese market only (but has since come to Europe).

This isn't the first time we've heard chatter about the RX 7900 GRE ('Golden Rabbit Edition') being launched in the US - VideoCardz has floated this idea before - but now Moore's Law is Dead (MLID) on YouTube is claiming the release of this graphics card is imminent.

MLID has sources who reckon the RX 7900 GRE will be on shelves in the US as soon as February 27, the start of next week. It's pretty much being rushed out of the door by AMD, and it'll be priced at $549.