graphics card

Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 Still Headed for a May 23 Release

Paul Lilly — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:33:48 +0000

Rumors point to the GTX 780 launching next week.

Near the beginning of the month, news and rumor site Fudzilla reported that Nvidia was planning to launch its GeForce GTX 780 graphics card on May 23 at 6:00 AM PDT. That date is now only a week away, and so far, things are looking good. Withing naming anyone, Fudzilla says it's now heard from "multiple sources" that the May 23 launch date is accurate, at which time Nvidia's hardware partners will debut reference clocked cards.

As with most video cards these days, overclocked versions will inevitably pop up, though most of them will come out "several weeks" after the initial launch.

Reference cards are said to be using a GeForce Titan cooler quality since it's a high quality design. You may even spot overclocked cards using the same cooler, though vendors typically like to slap on their own cooling solutions, which often do a better job than reference at whisking away heat and run quieter to boot.

According to Fudzilla, the GTX 780 part based on reference specs should sell for around 500 Euros. That's about $645 USD, though PC component pricing doesn't always follow a straight currency conversion from one market to the next.

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AMD Levels Up Never Settle Reloaded Bundle

Paul Lilly — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000

You asked, AMD listened.

Two questions AMD tells us it's always getting asked by customers in regards to its sweet Never Settle game bundles are, "Can you add more games?" and "Why do I have to choose between Crysis 3 or Tomb Raider?" Lucky for you, these questions haven't fallen on deaf ears, as AMD is adding bonus games to its Never Settle Reloaded program as part of a limited-time offer.

It's officially called "Level Up with Never Settle Reloaded," but who cares about the title. What you really want to know is what kind of gaming loot AMD is bundling with its graphics cards, and we have the skinny. Short and sweet, AMD's updated promotion adds Tomb Raider to the Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, HD 7970, HD 7950, and HD 7790 graphics cards, and Crysis 3 to the Radeon HD 7870 graphics card.

Here's a tidy breakdown of the updated promotion (Level Up games bolded):

Radeon HD 7970 and 7950: Crysis 3, Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
Radeon HD7870 GHz Edition: Crysis 3, Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
Radeon HD 7790: Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

The Level Up promotion goes into effect immediately at participating retailers and is valid "while supplies last." In addition, AMD is still giving away games as part of its regular Never Settle bundle. They include:

Radeon HD 7990: Crysis 3, Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, Far Cry 3, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Hitman: Absolution, Sleeping Dogs, Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Radeon HD 7850: Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
Radeon HD 7770: Far Cry 3, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

So, who plans on upgrading?

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Powercolor Slaps a Passive Cooler to Radeon HD 7850 Graphics Card

Paul Lilly — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:33:36 +0000

Do you hear anything? No? Good!

Looking for a challenge for your next PC build? Try piecing together a quiet system that will hardly let you know it's running without jamming your ear to the side of the case. Not only is it entirely possible to build such a system, but you can build a quiet PC that's still powerful enough to play games, it just takes a little research. One component that could help you along the way is Powercolor's new SCS3 HD7850, a passively cooled Radeon HD 7850 graphics card.

The card uses G-shape heat pipes that Powercolor says provide the same cooling effect as dual U-shape heat pipes, but with an enlarged surface. It's also armed with solid copper cooling base that fully covers the GPU and lots of aluminum fins to whisk heat away from the card.

Powercolor opted for high quality components to further enhance reliability, such as a Ferrite Core Choke and solid capacitors. As for standard specs, the card's core clockspeed is 850MHz, and its 1GB of GDDR5 memory runs at 1200MHz on a 256-bit bus.

Unfortunately there was no mention of price or availability.

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Purported Pictures of Nvidia GTX 780 and GTX 770 Emerge

Pulkit Chandna — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:52:34 +0000

The 700-series graphics cards share the same cooling solution

The rumored Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 and GTX 770 graphics cards, which were said to be arriving in late May as of last week, have allegedly had their pictures leaked to the Web. The said pictures were posted on a Chinese forum on Monday.

Aesthetically, both cards are identical, save for the shoddy engravings of their names. Based on the leaked pictures, both cards seem to share the same NVTTM cooler found on the GTX Titan. But that is where the similarities end.

While the GTX 780 is said to be a GK110-based part (known internally as Titan LE), the GTX 770 is rumored to be a slightly higher-clocked variant of the GTX 680 that will be based on the GK104-425 core just like the archetype.

According to reports, the GTX 780 will cost somewhere between $699 and $759 and feature a GK110 core with 2496 CUDA cores, 208 TMUs, 40 ROPs, 5GB GDDR5 memory and 384/320-bit memory interface. The GTX 770 is expected to cost around $400 and pack a GK104-425 core with 1536 CUDA cores, 128 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 2GB GDDR5 memory and 256-bit memory interface.

Images Courtesy: Chiphell

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Nvidia Rumored to Release GeForce GTX 780 Graphics Card on May 23

Paul Lilly — Fri, 03 May 2013 17:49:03 +0000

The GPU wars are heating up.

Analysts can talk all they want about the demise of desktops and the rise of tablets, we're not buying it. And you know what? Neither are discrete graphics card makers. If they were, Nvidia wouldn't be getting to release a GeForce GTX 780 video card, which if the latest web chatter is true, will be launching in just a few weeks. After that, Nvidia has another GTX 700 Series card to unleash.

According to Fudzilla, the GTX 780 part is scheduled to launch on May 23, 2013 at precisely 6:00 AM PDT. Exactly one week later to the minute, Nvidia will follow that up by launching its GeForce GTX 770 graphics card, both of which will be sold by top tier vendors.

The GTX 780 is based on the GK110 architecture found in Nvidia's Titan cards, and the GTX 770 is based on GK104 425, which Fudzilla says is an improved version of the original 28nm part.

Other than those details, we don't know much about either card, though we expect both to be at least marginally faster than the 600 Series they're replacing.

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First Radeon HD 7730 Graphics Card Spotted in the Wild

Paul Lilly — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:56:03 +0000

MSI's Radeon HD 7730 breaks cover and gets benchmarked.

A rather active user on the Chinese-language forum Coolaler posted several pictures of an MSI Radeon HD 7730 graphics card. As far as we can tell, the entry-level card's model was supposed to have been kept a secret, as identifying information on the retail box was replaced with a red censor strip, but it's tougher to hide such things from software. In addition to the model number, there are also some benchmark numbers to share.

The forum user who posted the pictures also tossed up a few benchmark comparisons between the Radeon HD 7730 and HD 6670. Here's how it shook out between the two:

Radeon HD 7730, 3DMark Vantage Performance: 10,764
Radeon HD 6670, 3DMark Vantage Performance: 5,366
Radeon HD 7730, 3DMark 11 Entry: 4,539
Radeon HD 6670, 3DMark 11 Entry: 2,477
Radeon HD 7730, 3DMark 11 Performance: 2,609
Radeon HD 6670, 3DMark 11 Performance: 1,428
Radeon HD 7730, 3DMark Fire Strike: 1,680
Radeon HD 6670, 3DMark Fire Strike: 878
Radeon HD 7730, Cloud Gate: 11,959
Radeon HD 6670, Cloud Gate: 7,042
Radeon HD 7730, Ice Storm: 101,701
Radeon HD 6670, Ice Storm: 63,660

Those are some big gains across the board, and in some cases, the Radeon HD 7730 benched almost twice as fast as the Radeon HD 6670.

The entry-level part is a 128-bit card with 1GB of memory clocked at 1,125MHz and a core clockspeed of 800MHz. Most of the other details are still a secret, including price and release date.

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Nvidia GeForce 320.00 Beta Drivers Increases Performance Up to 20 Percent

Paul Lilly — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:17:54 +0000

Free performance gain, if you don't mind beta software.

If you like to live on the edge by installing pre-release software, risks be damned, and own an Nvidia-based graphics card, today's your lucky today. Nvidia just released new 320.00 beta drivers for GeForce graphics cards, and if you install them, the GPU maker says you can enjoy performance gains up to 20 percent. Most of the gains won't be quite as high, though several titles receive a shot in the arm from the new drivers.

The examples Nvidia shared all pertain to GeForce GTX 660 graphics cards and include the following gains for single card setups:

Up to 20 percent in Dirt: Showdown
Up to 18 percent in Tomb Raider
Up to 8 percent in StarCraft II
Up to 6 percent in Sniper Elite V2
Up to 6 percent in Metro 2033
Up to 6 percent in Far Cry 3
Up to 6 percent in Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Up to 5 percent in F1 2012

Nvidia also added several new SLI profiles, including ones for Alien Fear, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, Dead Island: Riptide, Dragon Sword, and a bunch more.

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PowerColor Shows Off Passive Radeon HD 7850 Graphics Card

Paul Lilly — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 17:54:28 +0000

A passively cooled Radeon HD 7850 could be the centerpiece of a home theater PC (HTPC).

If you go poking around Facebook long enough, you're apt to run into teaser shots of unreleased products just like we did. Over on one of PowerColor's pages (the company has several), we spied a couple of photos of a passively cooled Radeon HD 7850 graphics card (SCS3), which to the best of our knowledge hasn't been done before. PowerColor didn't post any accompanying specs, though we suspect it will stick with the reference design.

The last thing a passively cooled card needs is overclocked parts and/or higher voltages, both of which generate additional heat. If we're correct in assuming PowerColor's card is based on AMD's reference design, it will feature an 860MHz engine clock and 2GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 1,200MHz on a 256-bit bus.

It looks to be a dual-slot card with at least five heat pipes directing thermals through more than two dozen aluminum fins running horizontally across the card, plus several more on top. With no active cooling to speak of, you'll want to make sure your case has good airflow if you're considering a card like this.

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Costly DRAM is Driving Up Graphics Card Prices

Paul Lilly — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:48:41 +0000

Even with prices going up, it's still a great time to be a PC gamer.

Are you planning to build a gaming PC for the summer? If so, you might want to get started early in order to get the most bang for your buck. Yesterday we told you that desktop DRAM pricing is on the rise as contract chip prices have already jumped 50 percent in 2013, spiking 20 percent in March alone, and now we're hearing that graphics cards are getting more expensive.

Once again, you can blame memory chip makers. According to Digitimes and its sources within the graphics card business, several video card vendors have increased retail prices for products made with DDR3 memory in the DIY market. Prices are up 10-15 percent, the news and rumor site says.

Those same sources say it's unlikely graphics card pricing will drop in the next six months, though it's not all bad news. To help offset the rising retail costs, vendors are getting more aggressive in their promotions, some of which we've already seen. AMD, for example, has given away some sweet triple AAA titles as part of its ongoing Never Settle bundles. It's been rumored that the next Never Settle bundle will include Battlefield 4.

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Asus Launches Space Saving GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU Mini

Paul Lilly — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:06:54 +0000

The first and only small form factor GeForce GTX 670.

Graphics cards aren't just getting more powerful by the generation, they've also grown in size over the last several years. Depending on your case, you might even need to remove a drive cage to accommodate a longer graphics card, though that's not likely to be a problem with Asus' new GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU Mini. Living up to its "Mini" nomenclature, Asus claims it's the only small form factor (SFF) GTX 670 money can buy.

As such, it's designed primarily for SFF systems with mini ITX motherboards. It does take up two slots, though it measures just 17 centimeters, which is 7.13 centimeters shorter than the reference design for a GTX 670 card.

Asus said it re-engineered the DirectCU cooler to fit SFF cases. It's obviously shorter than the company's standard cooler, but to make sure it still cools effectively, Asus placed a vapor chamber directly on top of the GPU. This design leads to a 20 percent (or 7.5C) reduction in temperatures versus a reference GTX 670, Asus claims.

No word yet on price or availability.

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AMD's Next Never Settle Bundle Rumored to Include Battlefield 4

Paul Lilly — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:13:57 +0000

Look for a new batch of games in AMD's next Never Settle bundle.

As if gamers with aging GPUs need another reason to upgrade their graphics card, game bundles from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) have been providing extra incentive, and more importantly (for AMD), tempting users away from Nvidia. The next "Never Settle" bundle from AMD may include Battlefield 4, which would make perfect sense after the Sunnyvale chip designer demoed the title running on a new Malta Radeon HD 7990 graphics card.

Citing un-named sources, Fudzilla says Ubisoft's upcoming Watch Dogs is another likely candidate for the refreshed bundle offer, along with an unknown third title. Adding a bit of intrigue to the mystery, the site's sources claim the third game hasn't even been announced for the PC just yet. This is wishful thinking, but wouldn't it be great if that title ended up being Grand Theft Auto V?

AMD's original Never Settle bundle included up to three free games, including Far Cry 3, Hitman: Absolution, and Sleeping Dogs. It was a tiered offer that rewarded Radeon HD 7900 purchasers with all three games, and one or two titles for lower series graphics cards.

Just last month, AMD announced a Never Settle Reloaded bundle that rewarded Radeon HD 7800 Series owners with Tomb Raider (2013) and Bioshock Infinite, and 7800 Series owner with Bioshock Infinite and Crysis 3.

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Nvidia Gives Cost Conscious Gamers a 'GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost'

Paul Lilly — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 18:49:13 +0000

Meet the newest sub-$200 graphics card from Nvidia.

Sure, we'd all love to game on multiple top-shelf graphics cards, and while we're making a money-is-no-object wishlist, a toilet made of gold would be pimp as well. Most of us can't afford such luxuries, so we sit our backsides on porcelain and game on less expensive graphics cards. Luckily there are options, and if you have less than $200 to spend on a GPU, Nvidia hopes you'll consider its new GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost.

The new part is based on Kepler and equipped with 768 CUDA cores. There are two models available, one with 1GB of GDDR5 memory ($149) and another with 2GB of GDDR5 memory ($169). Either way, the memory is clocked at 6008MHz and shovels data through a 192-bit bus.

Nvidia claims the GTX 650 Ti Boost offers up to 40 percent better performance compared to the non-Boost variant introduced last year. It also includes features typically reserved for higher end cards, such as support for Nvidia's GPU Boost technology (hence the name of the card).

The GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB is available now, with availability of the 1GB model expected in early April.

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AMD Catalyst 13.3 Beta 3 Driver Boost Performance in SimCity and Far Cry 3

Paul Lilly — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:30:06 +0000

The latest graphics card driver from AMD offers double digit performance gains in some instances.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) no longer offers monthly Catalyst driver updates like it used to, instead choosing to dish out new drivers when it makes sense to do so. Now is apparently one of those times. AMD Catalyst 13.3 enters its third beta as it nears release, and if you're itching to upgrade your software, the latest beta build will reward you with performance gains and fixes in a handful of titles.

The latest drivers are supposed to improve performance in SimCity by up to 16 percent, though AMD didn't mention under what scenarios, such as specific resolutions and graphics settings, and whether or not that best-case gain is when running a Crossfire configuration or a single graphics card. You can also expect Far Cry 3 to run up to 5 percent faster, according to the release notes.

As far as fixes go, Catalyst 13.3 improves latency performance issues in Tomb Raider and Hitman Absolution, and resolves slight corruption seen in Tomb Raider with TressFX enabled for both Crossfire and single GPU configurations, AMD says.

Bear in mind that beta software can be buggy, so if you're running a mission critical system, it's best to let others play the part of guinea pig.

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GPUBoss Adds Commenting Feature, Launches to the Public

Paul Lilly — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 14:19:47 +0000

GPU comparison website helps nail down the exact graphics card you're looking for.

Last week we gave you heads up about GPUBoss.com, a new website that offers to do for graphics cards what CPUBoss.com does for processors, which is make it easy to sort through the available options and compare different models from a number of criteria. You can actually choose from over 40 criteria to find the video card that best fits your needs, and can sort by price, brand, gaming performance, noise, power, and performance per dollar. It's a pretty handy website and it's now open to the public.

A new feature the GPUBoss team added to the website since last week is the ability to use Disqus to comment on graphics cards. It's not a key feature of the site, though it could become one if enough people end up using it. Of course, the real draw is being able to sort through scores of graphics cards without feeling overwhelmed.

"One feature that makes GPUBoss different from existing hardware sites is the way it takes spec-heavy information and displays it in a more visual, easy-to-read format," GPUBoss explained to Maximum PC. "For example, looking up the AMD Radeon 7970 gives you an initial summary of how the graphics card performs for gaming and general computing, as well as how noisy it is and how much power it uses. But this is just the tip of the iceberg - enthusiasts can dig deeper through an array of beautifully rendered data to see a visual breakdown of those benchmarks and features."

Now that it's live, give GPUBoss a once over and let us know what you think, or check out CPUBoss if you're in the market for a processor.

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Nvidia GeForce 314.14 Beta Drivers Now Available to Download

Paul Lilly — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:23:38 +0000

GeForce GTX 680 owners will see performance gains in several titles using Nvidia's latest drivers.

Nvidia on Monday made available new beta drivers for GeForce graphics card owners. The GeForce 314.14 drivers, while not yet officially certified, are said to increase performance by up to 23 percent for GeForce 400, 500, and 600 series GPUs in several PC games versus the GeForce 314.07 WHQL-certified drivers. Naturally, results will vary depending on your particular setup.

For example, GeForce GTX 680 owners can expect up to 23 percent better performance in Sniper Elite V2 and up to a 9 percent boost in Sleeping Dogs. Those running two GeForce GTX 680 cards in SLI will see:

Up to 22 percent in Sniper Elite V2
Up to 14 percent in Sleeping Dogs
Up to 9 percent in StarCraft II
Up to 5 percent in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Deux Ex: Human Revolution, and Just Cause 2
Up to 4 percent in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Batman: Arkham City

The new driver package also updates the SLI profile for Resident Evil 6 and adds an SLI profile for Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army.

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