Graphics Cards - Page 98

With the recent launch of the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, there has been a lot of discussion around the card's switch to a 128-bit bus for memory and the overall capacity remaining stagnant at 8GB. But with NVIDIA bumping up the L2 Cache, delivering improved 1% lows in our benchmarks, and additional features like DLSS 3 proving to be worthwhile even at 1080p, our favorable review focused on these new Ada Lovelace features and the GPU's impressive efficiency.

But it looks like these features don't make up for the overall downgrade to the memory bus when it comes to PC emulation of the Nintendo Switch hardware. With the recent release of the groundbreaking The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Switch emulation is a hot topic right now, and the team behind the YUZU platform has shared some not-so-kind words about the new GeForce RTX 4060 Ti.

The team calls NVIDIA's latest GPU "a terrible investment" for those interested in Switch emulation, with the complete statement pulling no punches. Check it out.

We're now well and truly into the latest generation of graphics cards from NVIDIA and AMD, with the former set to release its new mainstream GPU offering, the GeForce RTX 4060, on June 29. On the AMD front, we've seen the flagship Radeon RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT, alongside the recent release of its mainstream offering, the Radeon RX 7600.

With the MSRP of the GeForce RTX 4060 set to USD 299 and AMD's Radeon RX 7600 at USD 269, these entries, although not exciting when it comes to raw performance, both feature competitive price points compared to their previous generation counterpart launches.

With the RTX 4060 arriving soon and the Radeon RX 7600 still relatively new on the scene, we thought we'd look at the current best-selling GPUs over at US-based retailer Newegg to gauge the market for new graphics cards.

AMD could be cooking up an RX 7800 XT graphics card to arrive sooner than many expected, if the GPU grapevine proves to be on the money.

This leak comes from a regular on Twitter, Harukaze5719, who spotted ASRock filing a couple of RX 7800 XT models with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC).

The graphics cards in question are the ASRock RX 7800 XT PG 16GO and the RX 7800 XT PGW 16GO. As you can see, this is a weighty clue that the GPU will be equipped with 16GB of video RAM (as previously rumored).

Inno3D has formally announced that its new GeForce RTX 4070, GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, and GeForce RTX 4060 Twin X2 and OC White Edition graphics cards will feature its new Stealth Cable Management system. We spotted this a little over a week ago, but Inno3D's official announcement outlines that the company is serious about improving cable management and bringing these new models to a wider audience.

"By placing the power connectors on the back of the GPU, these graphics cards offer a cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing look for custom PC builds," Inno3D writes, noting that the hidden cable trend seen at Computex 2023 is the beginning of a big change for overall GPU designs.

Putting the power connectors on the back of these new GPUs, with an added removable backplate for more stealth action, makes cable management cleaner but also helps simplify the installation process. And it just looks better.

The NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPU is built for AI workloads, designed to work alongside a string of other H100 GPUs, and costs around USD 40,000 a pop. It's a general-purpose GPU and AI accelerator, so it is not designed for graphics or gaming - it lacks any display output.

Still, you might be wondering how it handles gaming workloads because, after all, if you had access to an NVIDIA supercomputer or high-end AI GPU, you'd probably be wondering how it handles something like Cyberpunk 2077 and its cutting-edge Ray Tracing Overdrive Mode.

Hardware-wise, it's a beast, with 14592 CUDA cores and 80GB of HBM3 memory with an effective bandwidth of 2TB/s. It also uses the PCI Express 5.0 interface, something that's still not available on the GeForce RTX 40 Series. But there's no cooling because it is data center rack-based and has no display, so getting it to run games requires some work.

NVIDIA's RTX 4060 Ti has been on shelves for less than a month, but this graphics card has already fallen considerably below its recommended retail price (MSRP) - or at least one model has.

That would be a version of the graphics card from MSI, to be precise, the company's Ventus GeForce RTX 4060 Ti OC (and yes, as the name indicates, this is an overclocked model).

Despite not being a base card, you can now get the MSI Ventus 2X for $380, which is a 5% discount or $20 off (as VideoCardz spotted).

With the GeForce RTX 4060 non-Ti GPU set to launch on June 29, MSI has revealed its line-up of cards ranging from the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 VENTUS 2X BLACK 8G OC to the premium MSI GeForce RTX 4060 GAMING X 8G.

Both options sport twin fans using MSI's latest cooling, TORX Fan 5.0 for the Gaming X and TORX Fan 4.0 for the Ventus, as well as a minimal two-slot look that is compact and tailor-made to fit in most cases and builds. Plus, very little in the way of RGB lighting.

The MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ventus 2X comes in two flavors, representing the entry-level models from MSI sporting the black and grey look of the Ventus line-up. You're getting ample cooling with large fans, a heatsink, and a reinforced backplate - with the OC model featuring a 2490 MHz boost clock that can go up to 2505 MHz via MSI Center.

The new ZOTAC GeForce RTX 4090 PGF OC Edition, where the PGF stands for Prime Gamer Force, is the company's most premium RTX 4090 model and, at this stage, looks exclusive to the Chinese market. With a physical design reminiscent of Zotac's AMP Extreme series with the use of funky curves, it also happens to be one of the biggest GeForce RTX 4090 models to date.

Length-wise, you're looking at 381mm or 38.1cm, which makes it one of the biggest GPUs to date - and that's saying something considering that most, if not all, GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards are massive. The bigger size does reflect the new cooling deployed by Zotac, which includes three 110mm or 11cm fans, a vapor chamber, and a 24+4 phase VRM design delivering a total of 525W via a single 16-pin power connector.

The full dimensions for this monster are 381mm x 154mm x 74mm.

Overclocker CENS has pushed the clock speed on a GeForce RTX 4090 to new heights, passing the 3900 MHz barrier to hit an impressive 3930 MHz and sustain that for over 46 seconds. The number surpasses the previous best set by CENS of 3825 MHz and now sits in the top spot in HWBOT's GPUPI 3.3 32B ranking.

The GPUPI benchmark isn't about pushing graphics or visuals but about observing peak frequency through complex mathematics. Interestingly, the Top 10 results are all GeForce RTX 4090 overclocks, pointing to NVIDIA's flagship GPU as the most powerful in raw performance and potential boost clock speeds. AMD is basically nowhere to be seen here.

Still, it's an impressive showing and another step towards a single GPU hitting 4 GHz, which this result is just 70 MHz shy of!

Some weirdness in the world of AMD drivers for Radeon graphics cards, with two AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition releases adding F1 23 support. AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 22.40.57.06 for F1 23 covers all Radeon GPUs from the Radeon RX 7900 to the RX 6000 Series and even cards from the Radeon RX 500 Series.

That is all GPUs apart from one, the new AMD Radeon RX 7600. And so it looks like AMD has released an F1 23 optimized driver, AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 23.10.01.37, specifically for the Radeon RX 7600. And separately from the mainline driver update.

This isn't the first time we've seen a split in driver support for AMD drivers for the new RDNA 3-based Radeon RX 7000 Series, with the company taking a few months to unify its driver updates to support the new cards and previous generation cards after the launch of the Radeon RX 7900 and Radeon RX 7900 XTX in December.

With NVIDIA dominating the GPU space, it's always good to see new players enter the game, Intel with its Arc Graphics line-up or Moore Threads, a Chinese-based tech company looking to create new GPUs for the PC gaming market.

But we already know that the Moore Threads MTT S80, even with its MUSA architecture with 14.4 TFLOPs of performance, 16GB of GDDR6, and a 256-bit memory bus, is something of a dud. Earlier this year, we reported on benchmarks for the new GPU appearing online, where South Korean outlet BullsLab showed it lagging the GeForce GT 1030. A passively cooled 30W GPU with only 2GB of VRAM and a 64-bit memory bus. Yikes.

The story isn't much better with the latest benchmarks, this time from Japanese outlet PC Watch, which shows the Moore Threads MTT S80 being absolutely destroyed by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 150 Ti. Not only that, but PC Watch came across several titles that didn't even run on the card, and the most prominent issues look to be around DirectX 12 and Vulkan-based games.

Our good friend Igor Wallossek over at Igor's Lab has tested the new professional Radeon Pro W7800 GPU as a potential gaming card - the still-to-be-announced Radeon RX 7800 XT. The big thing is that these GPUs are not like-for-like; one is designed for efficiency and professional workloads, while the other is all about gaming performance.

First up, with the Radeon Pro W7800 GPU rated at 260W, the estimation made by Igor's Lab is that the Radeon RX 7800 XT proper will be rated at around 270W, not to mention the fact that it will probably feature 16GB of VRAM. Other considerations were taken, including drivers that will be a factor and that memory speeds will differ. The Radeon PRO W7800's 4480 shader units, 280 texture mapping units, and 70 ray tracing acceleration cores match the expected Radeon RX 7800 XT specs.

And with that, Igor's Lab's extensive benchmarks - which go into far greater technical detail than my quick summary here - present 1080p, 1440p, and 4K simulated results for the Radeon RX 7800 XT plus adjusted results. And for those wondering, you're looking at a modest improvement to the Radeon RX 6800 XT, albeit with better power efficiency, thanks to the new RDNA 3 architecture.

NVIDIA has released a new driver update with the GeForce Game Ready 536.23 WHQL driver now available for download or updating via the GeForce Experience app. It brings day-one support for F1 23, out June 16, which supports DLSS and ray-tracing in the form of reflections, shadows, and ambient occlusion. Like F1 22, DLSS 3 support is coming with a post-launch update.

GeForce Game Ready 536.23 also supports Aliens: Dark Descent, a cool-looking XCOM strategy game set in the Aliens universe - specifically James Cameron's Aliens. And both F1 23 and Aliens: Dark Descent support is part of the new Intel Game On Drivers for Arc Graphics which has also dropped today. F1 23 is also set to support Intel's XeSS on day one to boost performance on the Intel Arc A750.

Intel's latest driver release preps Arc Graphics for the upcoming release of Counter-Strike 2 from Valve, the official free upgrade to CS:GO. Running on the Source 2 engine, it promises several visual overhauls and dramatically improves the server-side tech. This is excellent news for Arc owners, as CSGO presented quite a few issues when the GPUs launched last year; the Intel Arc A750 can deliver 167 FPS at 1440p High settings with 1% lows of 130 FPS.

AMD has yet to announce or even formally hint at when we might see the proper mid-range options for its new RDNA 3-powered Radeon RX 7000 line-up. It's not hard to understand why there has been a delay, as sales for discounted Radeon RX 6700 and RX 6800 GPUs have made them an excellent choice for many new PC builds in recent months.

Still, we got our first look at Navi 32, the GPU that will presumably power the Radeon RX 7700 XT and Radeon RX 7800 XT, via a new Forbes interview with AMD CEO and President Lisa Su. As part of the b-roll footage in the video (which you can see at the end of the article at around the 1:30 mark), we got a glimpse at Navi 32 sitting alongside other AMD chips, and it provides some insight into what to expect.

The image confirms a similar multi-chip or chiplet design seen with the Radeon RX 7900 XT and Radeon RX 7900 XTX, albeit with a single GCD (Graphics Compute Die) in the center measuring at around 200mm squared with four MCDs (Multi-Cache Die) measuring at approximately 37.5mm squared each.

AMD recently launched its new Radeon RX 7600 GPU, an 8GB GPU targeting the mainstream 1080p gaming segment. Based on our in-depth review, the USD 269 price point presents a pretty good deal when you're getting better than GeForce RTX 3060 performance. Not to mention around 25% more performance than its predecessor, the Radeon RX 6600.

But, with new GPU launches sitting alongside massive discounts to previous-gen models (where it seems like now's the right time to purchase something like the Radeon RX 6700, RX 6800, or GeForce RTX 3060 Ti), it looks like AMD's new mainstream RDNA 3 card has effectively dropped the price of the previous-gen RDNA 2 model.

And with that, over at Newegg (link at the end of this article), the ASRock Radeon RX 6600 8GB is currently being sold with a $20 off promo that puts its price down to USD 179.99. This represents a 33% discount when you compare the price to the new Radeon RX 7600 though you're getting something less powerful.

Bright and colorful PC components aren't exactly new, and we've seen some impressive designs over the years - including licensed stuff that adds a bit more flair to the usual black or monotone look we see for the most part. And there's the rise in popularity and presence of white hardware, from GPUs to motherboards, cases, and everything else.

This new GPU from Chinese company Zephyr, the Zephyr GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ITX, looks like a small form-factor GeForce RTX 3060 Ti in white. Taking a closer look at the pink fan, you might notice that the PCB is also pink - which is a first.

The "Sakura and Snow" color scheme of white and pink is the main drawcard alongside the mini-ITX form factor, which means this GPU could be slotted into pretty much any build. Unfortunately, Zephyr is an unknown quantity outside of China, so we don't think this one will get a wide release.

UPDATE: NVIDIA has confirmed the June 29 launch date for the GeForce RTX 4060 and is now listing the date on the GPU's product page.

With rumors pointing to a potential early release for the new GeForce RTX 4080 8GB from July to late June, today comes confirmation from Videocardz.com, citing release plans and embargo information from NVIDIA's partners, that this is indeed the case.

According to the leaked info, reviewers will get their hands-on the new mainstream GeForce RTX 40 Series GPU around June 21, with MSRP model reviews set to drop on June 28, with non-MSRP model reviews coming on June 29. And with that, the global launch for the GeForce RTX 4060 is happening on June 29, before July though pretty much on the cusp.

GIGABYTE is refreshing its GeForce RTX 4090 WINDFORCE graphics card with the new GeForce RTX 4090 WINDFORCE V2 24G, and the most interesting change looks to come from moving the 12VHPWR power connector to the backside of the GPU. It's still a part of the board but is now positioned facing outward with ample space for cabling via a single cable or a 12VHPWR to 8-pin adaptor.

For those looking at the GeForce RTX 4090 and rightfully concerned about having to bend cables, this design should alleviate those fears, and we wouldn't be surprised if it becomes GIGABYTE's standard design for massive GPUs going forward. And as an added bonus, the new V2 WINDFORCE RTX 4090 is smaller than the original - coming in at under 3 slots!

No matter the model, the GeForce RTX 4090 is a monster in terms of the 4K performance it delivers and the physical size of the cooling it requires - so it's great to see this revision shrinking the overall size of the GPU. Dimension-wise, the new V2 is 331 x 136 x 55.5mm compared to the original's 331 x 150 x 70mm.

At Computex 2023, one of the big recurring stories and advances that we witnessed first-hand from all the major players was a shift towards cable management and making fundamental design changes to motherboards, graphics cards, cases, and even fans to minimize the number of cables you see and make the whole building process smoother and more manageable.

At first glance, the new GeForce RTX 4070 AX eSports and GeForce RTX 4060 Ti iChill X2 White from Inno3D look to follow in the footsteps of concept GPUs that pretty much remove the PCIe power connectors.

The clever design touch puts the connector on the back for a hidden approach to make new PC builds cleaner with no noticeable cables plugging into the GPU. Having the power cables routed via the back of the GPU is an excellent idea, and based on the number of companies looking to make significant changes to how cables connect to GPUs, it's the sort of design idea we can see becoming more prevalent as time goes on.

Some more troubling news from the GPU world, with many GIGABYTE GeForce RTX owners - covering the GeForce RTX 30 Series (Ampere) and potentially GeForce RTX 40 Series (Ada Lovelace) too - reporting catastrophic cracking on the PCB.

With the cracking close to the power connectors, the graphics cards are non-functioning and in need of critical repair or replacement. This is troubling because GIGABYTE is an established and trusted brand in the PC gaming space, which has seen its graphics cards, motherboards, and other hardware components receive critical acclaim and commercial success.

In Australia, my homeland, it's one of the go-to brands for GPUs and motherboards for new builds - so a widespread PCB cracking issue is not the sort of news you want to hear about.