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Posted 09/27/08 at 05:46:56 AM by Justin Kerr

Do you know the difference between a 9800 GTX and GTX+? How about an 8800 GTS 1st and 2nd generation? Well if you’re confused don’t worry, your not alone. Now finally after many years of dazzling and confusing customers, Nvidia is looking to make some permanent changes to help deal with the dizzying array of identifiers. The company is hoping that by years end it will have better control over card’s surnames in an attempt to give users a clear idea of the performance they can expect. Using this approach the GTX term would be reserved for the highest-end gaming cards with GS and GT being reserved for mainstream boards. Last but not least, gamers on a budget will be able to choose from a clearly labeled G series. This is clearly a follow up to the Radeon’s addition of the HD line and with any luck will help users figure out what kind of performance they can expect from a given card without scouring the web for comparisons. Rumor has it the 9400 GT will also be rebranded as the G100, and the 9500 GT through 9800 GT will become the GT120 to GT150 series.

I think you’ll agree these changes are long overdue.

Comments: 6
TAGS: graphics, videocard, nvidia, gpu, geforce, 9400, 9500GT, rebranding

Ask the DoctorThe Hunt For Vista Drivers

Posted 09/08/08 at 01:36:43 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

Ask the Doctor Logo Some time ago I purchased a Dell E1705 laptop with almost all the options. I was very happy with the laptop and its GeForce 7900 GS. It allowed me to play just about any game on the market. Everything was great until I upgraded my machine to Vista, but I can’t find any Vista drivers for my 7900 GS.

I’ve been waiting for more than a year now, and there’s still nothing from nVidia or Dell. So I was wondering: Do you know how I can get my card to work right? I would even take homemade drivers at this point if I knew where to find some!

—Chris Lingle

Doctor's orders after the jump.

Comments: 8
TAGS: vista, dell, nvidia, geforce, Drivers, ask the doctor, 7900, e1705

ReviewsBFG GeForce GTX 280 OC 1GB

Posted 08/05/08 at 04:17:23 PM by Will Smith

Sporting almost the same configuration as the reference design we previewed last month, BFG’s GeForce GTX 280 delivers amazing performance with the second-generation DirectX 10 chipset from Nvidia. It soundly spanks ATI’s new 4870, as well as all but the dual-GPU graphics solutions from the previous generation—and even against those, the GTX 280 wins all but a few benchmarks. The real question we’re asking is, Do we need this much power?

Comments: 11
TAGS: gaming, videocard, nvidia, geforce, hardware, BFG, build-a-pc, GTx 280

NewsNew Nvidia Mobile GPUs Improve Performance, Save Power

Posted 07/22/08 at 10:35:39 AM by Paul Lilly

When it comes to graphics, killing two birds with one stone means squeezing out better performance from a newly released GPU while also reducing the power draw, and that's exactly what Nvidia has done. The 9800M and 9700M graphics cores are Nvidia's newest additions to its Geforce Mobile line, bringing desktop-like performance to the laptop.

The 9800M comes in three models, with the 9800M GTX taking residence at the top of the heap. Boasting the same G92 core that was so popular on the desktop, the 9800M GTX comes clocked at 500MHz and uses 112 shaders running at 1,250MHz each. Combined with a 256-bit memory interface, that translates into 420 gigaflops of processing power, putting it nearly on par with its desktop counterpart, the 8800 GT. And for the hardcore mobile gamers, the flagship model is SLI capable. As for the rest of the cards:

9800M GT: G94, 500MHz core clock, 96 shaders (1,250MHz), 256-bit, 360 gigaflops
9800M GTS: G94, 600MHz core clock, 64 shaders (1,500MHz), 256-bit, 288 gigaflops
9700M GTS: G94, 530MHz core clock, 48 shaders (1,325MHz), 256-bit, 190.8 gigaflops
9700M GT: G96, 625MHz core clock, 32 shaders (1,550MHz), 128-bit, 148.8 gigaflops

All of the new cards support Nvidia's HybridPower technology, which promises to both reduce noise and extend battery life.

Comments: 0
TAGS: graphics, nvidia, gpu, geforce, OEM, build a pc, rigs, 9800m, 9700m, hybrid power

NewsNvidia wants to be your CPU, and Intel Wants To Be Your GPU?

Posted 06/22/08 at 01:03:44 PM by Justin Kerr

Intel Vs Nvidia

Followers of the ongoing soap opera between Intel and Nvidia know no love has been lost between the two tech titans over the years. When AMD and ATI merged back in July of 2006 the internet was abuzz with rumors that an Intel/Nvidia merger couldn’t be far behind. As time pressed on and this possibility began to seem increasingly less likely, a competitive culture began to form between the two companies. The saber rattling has reached deafening proportions of late, and a seemly endless stream of jabs has dominated the headlines. Any merger pushed through now might require barbed wire to separate the water coolers. Both organizations seem determined to earn a slice of the other’s market share, and for once they seem willing to do it the hard way, though innovation. As Intel’s pushes into accelerated graphics with its Larrabee platform, Nvidia wants us to believe the CUDA API for its graphics cards will allow video accelerators to dominate the CPU.

What is CUDA, and will it allow your GeForce to replace your CPU? More after the jump.

Comments: 0
TAGS: nvidia, geforce, hardware, CUDA

ReviewsPNY XLR8 GeForce 9800 GTX

Posted 06/18/08 at 06:44:20 PM by Michael Brown

If you’re already gaming with a G92-based 8800 GTS, there’s very little reason to move up to a G92-based 9800 GTX such as PNY’s XLR8. The architecture in both GPUs is nearly the same, with 128 stream processors, a 256-bit interface, and 512MB of GDDR3. Slightly faster clock speeds yield only a modest bump in performance. That’s not to say the 9800 brings nothing to the table, but you’ll have to decide for yourself whether its offerings are worth the price.

Comments: 0
TAGS: videocard, graphics card, pny, geforce, GTX, hardware, 9800, 9800gtx, build a pc, geforce 9 series

FeaturesHands-On with Nvidia's New GeForce GTX 280!

Posted 06/16/08 at 08:00:00 AM by Michael Brown

Watching the ongoing race between AMD and Nvidia to build the ultimate graphics processor reminds us of the tale of the tortoise and the hare. AMD has played the hare, aggressively bounding ahead of Nvidia in terms of process size, number of stream processors, frame buffer size, memory interface, die size, and even memory type. Yet Nvidia always manages to snag the performance crown. The GeForce 200 series is but the latest example. We lay hands on the smokin’-fast GeForce GTX 280. Could this be the graphics processor to finally tame Crysis? We reveal what makes the card unique and how its architectural advances translate in the benchmarks!