EVGA has launched the first GeForce GTX 980 with an all-in-one liquid and air cooler, with the card dubbed the GTX 980 Hybrid. The custom cooling option is claimed to reduce temperatures by a full 25 degrees Celsius when compared to a reference GTX 980, allowing EVGA to substantially overclock the card out of the gate.

The GTX 980 Hybrid features a base clock of 1291MHz and a boost clock of 1393MHz, with the vendor stating that there will be plenty headroom left for further overclocking. The card comes with 4GB GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit interface and a bandwidth of 7010MHz. The liquid-cooled portion directs heat away from the GPU, while the included air cooler is used to cool the memory and VRM sections of the video card.

This isn’t the first AIO liquid-cooled video card, as that distinction goes to AMD’s Radeon R9 295X2, but this is the first time we’re seeing this system used on the GTX 980. Based on Nvidia’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) new Maxwell architecture, the GTX 980 features the GM2014 GPU with 2048 CUDA cores.

The GTX 980 is listed on EVGA’s website for US $649.99/€779,00. If you’re interested in just getting the cooler, EVGA is offering it for $99.99.

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After serving up a few details regarding the card at the Game Developers Conference earlier this month, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) has officially launched its latest offering in the Titan series, the Titan X. The card will be priced at $999 and will be available in the month of May.

The specs on offer with the Titan X match what the last round of leaks predicted, with the card featuring a 28nm GM200 GPU that offers 3072 CUDA cores, 192 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 3MB of L2 cache along with 12GB of GDDR5 memory with a 384-bit memory interface. Base clock for the card is at 1002MHz, with a boost clock of 1078MHz.

Nvidia has stated that there is more than sufficient headroom available for overclocking the Titan X, and the card will reach frequencies of 1200MH without any hassles. The GM200 silicon is basically an enhanced version of the GM204 GPU that was introduced with the GTX 980. We see a 50% increase in bandwidth, CUDA cores and ROP count, with the end result being a card that features a maximum TDP of 250W.

The cooler itself is similar to what we’ve seen in earlier-generation Titan cards, although this time around the metal shroud has a black coat of paint. Nvidia is once again touting that the Titan X is the fastest single-GPU solution available in the world today, with the card billed more as a luxury gaming video card than an entry-level compute card, like the Kepler-based GTX Titan and GTX Titan Black. For that reason, its pricing at $999 may turn out to be the only sore point given that cards like the GTX 980 in SLI can outperform the Titan X.

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Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO Jen Hsun Huang gave the world another look at the GPU successor to Maxwell at its GPU Technology Conference Conference (GTC 2015) in San Jose Tuesday.

Pascal was first announced as a mystery GPU between Maxwell and Volta at last year’s GTC. Tuesday’s announcement gives us the first concrete details of Pascal.

Huang said that Pascal, which is set to arrive in 2016, would have a ten-fold overall average improvement over Maxwell, and a four times boost in mixed-precision workloads. As far as performance per watt, it will offer a two-fold performance over Maxwell. However he later cautioned this was “CEO Math” and actual performance may vary.

Pascal will use a suite of new technologies, including 3D-stacked memory and NVLink (Huang says it will offer a five-fold improvement over PCI-E). It will be built on TSMC (TPE: 2330) 16nm FF+ (FinFet plus — the follow-up to FinFET)  process node. It will also use High Bandwidth Memory, allowing a three-fold improvement of bandwidth for its 32 GB of RAM.

Cards with Pascal will likely be marketed towards CUDA workstations, or perhaps as some sort of competitor to Intel’s (NASDAQ: INTC) Xeon Phi co-processors. Game developers have a tough time pushing the limits of current generation cards as it is.

Pricing and availability of Pascal-based cards will be available later this year or early next year.

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Nvidia has announced the latest video card in the GeForce 900 series, the GeForce GTX 960. With the GTX 980 and GTX 970 targeting high-end and mid-tier segments, it is now time for Nvidia to turn its attention to the entry-level segment with the GTX 960.

Based on the Maxwell architecture, the GTX 960 is designed to enable full-HD gaming, with the GTX 980 and GTX 970 targeting beyond full-HD resolutions. The GTX 960 is aimed as the successor to the GTX 660 and GTX 760, but with better performance and lowered power consumption. With pricing starting at $200 for the card, it is clear that Nvidia is looking to deliver great performance at an affordable price with the GTX 960.

Zotac GeForce GTX 960 AMP! Edition

Zotac is offering the GTX 960 in standard and overclocked variants, with the factory overclocked version dubbed the AMP! Edition. The Zotac GTX 960 continues on from the rest of the GeForce 900 series when it comes to low power consumption and high overclocking headroom, but this time the focus is on the budget segment.

Zotac’s GTX 960 AMP! Edition is a non-standard design from the vendor, and includes a custom backplate as well as 90mm fans, which Zotac calls IceStorm. There are other additions that give the card the ability to clock to over 1,500 MHz.

The GTX 960 AMP! Edition comes with a 1,266 MHz core clock and a 1,329 boost clock. Other vendors have also launched factory overclocked variants of the GTX 960, but Zotac’s variant offers the highest clocks.

Boasting a 128-bit wide memory bus and a 2GB GDDR5 memory at 7 Gbps, Zotac’s card can achieve a memory bandwidth of 112GB/s, and has 1024 CUDA cores. The numbers are exactly half of what is offered by the standard variant of the GTX 980, which boasts 2048 CUDA cores, 4GB GDDR5 video memory and a 256-bit wide memory interface.

While the numbers may seem low, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is stating that users would be able to deliver a higher bandwidth by undertaking a lossless texture compression technology that significantly reduces memory bandwidth usage. An effective bandwidth figure of 144 GB/s was quoted.

Unlike the GTX 980 and GTX 970, the GTX 960 is not based on the GM204 silicon. Nvidia has instead announced the GM206 GPU, which has a smaller 228mm² die size than the 400mm² size of the GM204. A GPU with smaller die makes sense considering the GTX 960 is aimed at maximizing efficiency.

Here’s where the GTX 960 slots in with the rest of the GeForce 900 series:

In terms of connectivity, the GTX 960 AMP! Edition has three DisplayPort 1.2 connectors that can handle 4K resolutions (4096 x 2160 and 3840 x 2160) at 60Hz. There’s also a dual-link DVI-I that can drive QHD (2560 x 1600) resolutions, but the port that is most interesting is HDMI 2.0, which finally offers 4K resolutions (4096 x 2160) at 60Hz. The display controller can simultaneously support as many as four displays. The controller can even drive a 5K (5120×2880) screen. 

Power consumption has been one of the major areas of focus with Maxwell, and that continues with the GTX 960 as well, which has a max TDP of 120W. The low power utilization means that the card comes with a single 6-pin connector. DirectX 12 compatibility means that the GTX 960 now comes with OpenGL 4.4.

The GTX 960 AMP! Edition comes with a slew of additions from Zotac, including the new 90mm fans called IceStorm. Originally debuted on the overclocked variants of the GTX 980 and GTX 970, the dual 90mm fans work in conjunction with the 6mm copper heatpipes and the aluminum fin stack to maximize airflow. The custom backplate, with its gunmetal structure, gives the card added rigidity.

Zotac is introducing a new idle mode which will see the fans switch off if the temperature falls below 59° C, or when the TDP is under 13W. The option, called Freeze, is designed to minimize noise levels when not under load.

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It looks like Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is set to continue the Titan series, as evidenced by the leaked PCB shots of what is alleged to be the upcoming GTX Titan-X. The pictures reveal that the card will be based on a new GM200 GPU, and will feature a staggering 12 GB of GDDR5 video memory along with the Maxwell architecture.

The reported specs include 3072 CUDA cores, a 384-bit wide  memory interface and 96 ROPs. The manufacturing process is said to be 28nm, which means that we are still some ways off from the 20nm video cards. The card is detailed to feature one 6-pin and 8-pin power connector.

With the Titan-X, it looks like the goal is to enable gaming at 5K (and beyond) resolutions with a single card. While there are no benchmarks yet, earlier leaks suggested that we may see a performance increase to the tune of 50% from the GTX Titan Black. Nvidia has already shown the vast strides it has made with Maxwell through the GTX 900 series, so it isn’t too outlandish to assume that we’ll see similar gains with the Titan-X.

There’s no confirmation as to when we’ll see the Titan-X, but the leak does mention that Nvidia is looking to launch the card sometime in the first quarter of 2015. If previous generation pricing of the Titan series is anything to go by, the Titan-X will be priced above $1,000.

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At a media event earlier today at CES, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) announced its latest mobile SoC, the Tegra X1. Building on the direction the vendor took with the Tegra K1 last year, the X1 brings the Maxwell architecture to mobile, and offers an astounding teraflop of processing power, which is a first for mobile.

With the Tegra X1, Nvidia stuck with custom ARM cores, unlike the Denver CPU cores from last year. The X1 comes with four Cortex A57 cores and four Cortex A53 cores in a big.LITTLE arrangement that features cluster migration instead of global task scheduling and a custom interconnect. AS for custom cores, Nvidia has stated that the main reason for sticking with stock cores was so that it could get the SoC out in the market early. While there is no confirmation of the same, it is possible that we may see a Denver-variant of the X1 sometime later in the future. 

Nvidia provided benchmarks of the Tegra X1 conducted on a reference design board with 4 GB RAM and a large heatsink. Here are the synthetic benchmark scores for the tablet:

The vendor also showcased high-definition content playback, with the X1 handling 4K playback at 60fps without any issues whatsoever. Power efficiency was also touted by Nvidia, with the iPad Air 2 consuming 2.6 watts, versus 1.5 watts for the X1. It will be a while before we see retail tablets featuring the Tegra X1, but for now it looks like 2015 will be an exciting year for Nvidia in the mobile segment.

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Keeping with its tradition announcing mobile-focused products at the Consumer Electronics Show, Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO Jen Hsun Huang announced the Tegra X1 at the company’s keynote Sunday.

The Tegra X1 has a 256-core GPU and an eight-core CPU onboard, and is able to pump out a teraflop of computing power. Like its desktop Maxwell cousins, it supports DirectX 11.2 and OpenGL 4.5. Also it will be able to support DirectX 12 when that API is officially unveiled with Windows 10. For its CPU, it has 64-bit ARM Cortex A57 and A53 cores in a Big.LITTLE configuration — much like the Snapdragon 810.

Calling the new mobile SoC the most efficient and powerful on the market, Huang said that the Tegra X1 is on par
for performance with the Xbox One — albeit in much different power envelope. At last year’s Nvidia keynote
at CES 2014, Huang made similar claims when comparing the Tegra K1 with the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

On stage, Nvidia demoed Unreal Engine 4 running on a Tegra X1 with on a reference design phone to show off the power of the chip.

Tegra’s new market

As Nvidia has shifted focus away from marketing Tegra to tablets and smartphones, partially because of market saturation and partially because of Nvidia’s inability to get solid hardware wins, the use-case Huang pitched for the Tegra X1 was automotive: next-generation infotainment, navigation and eventually self-driving systems will require a lot of computing power.

“Surely you don’t need it for phones,” Huang said on stage, referencing comments he made to the press last year about re-focusing Tegra. “Your future cars will be the most advanced computers in the world.”

For automotive, Nvidia offers the Tegra X1 in two packages. The Nvidia Drive CX is a “digital cockpit computer”, powering next-generation infotainment systems. The more impressive product, the Drive PX, is what Nvidia hopes will power self-driving cars. Powered by two Tegra X1s, the chip links into 12 HD cameras placed throughout the vehicle and is able to build an “environment model”, learning the hazards of the road — such as signs, pedestrians and other vehicles — in order to autonomously drive.

While the hardware on offer certainly looks enticing, it remains to be seen if Nvidia can steer clear of the pitfalls encountered by the earlier-generation Tegra chips. Power efficiency was always a major reason for Nvidia’s failure to secure a key hardware win in the mobile segment with the Tegra 4, and then the Tegra K1. This time around, Nvidia has mentioned that it is able to deliver significantly more performance than than last year’s Tegra K1 while drawing less power. Nvidia showcased as much during the pitted the iPad Air 2 next to a reference design tablet running the X1. The overall result was that the GPU was found to indeed draw less power, but whether Nvidia is able to sustain the same at a system-wide level can only be determined once the SoC starts becoming available in retail hardware.

There’s no question that Nvidia has managed to achieve class-leading performance when it comes to mobile SoCs with the Tegra X1. The question is now whether it can deliver a decent power efficiency. If it is able to do so successfully, the X1 may just turn out to be the hardware powering your next gaming tablet.

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During today’s Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) earnings call for Q3 with very good numbers, Nvidia’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang indicated that the company was already actively discussing licensing its GPU technologies in the mobile space to certain partners.

While Huang did not say how many partners they were working with or at what stage they were in the discussions, he did say the following, “Our licensing discussions are very active. And we have many in important stages.”

That statement was a response to an analyst question about the success of Maxwell and if it was bringing any potential progress on the licensing front. Currently, Nvidia is the sole user of its mobile GPUs and mobile GPU IP, however, with the success of Maxwell in desktop, there is a very good chance that some companies would become interested in utilizing it for their SoCs. Afterall, if you look at some of our Maxwell reviews, you can see that Nvidia is getting much more performance out of their GPUs while using the same process (28nm) as the previous generation and simultaneously reducing power. These advancements eventually trickle down to Nvidia’s mobile products as the company’s product roadmaps have indicated in the past.

Currently, the Tegra K1 utilizes Nvidia’s Kepler architecture, which was originally launched in desktop and laptop GPUs back in 2012 and then perfected in 2013 with the GTX Titan. Following the Kepler release in 2012, Nvidia announced the Tegra K1 (formerly known as Tegra 5) with Kepler in the beginning of this year and has been shipping Tegra K1 SoCs since the summer. So, a realistic timeframe to see Maxwell GPU IP in mobile is very likely going to be towards the tail end of 2015 or the beginning of 2016, so that isn’t necessarily going to be as quick as the mobile refresh cycle usually is. However, with each generation of SoC Nvidia has vastly improved the speed of GPU architecture implementation so there’s no knowing exactly how soon we could see an Nvidia GPU in something like a MediaTek.

It will be interesting to see how Nvidia will balance their GPU IP licensing with customers if they are also simultaneously competing with them. After all, ARM and IMG license both CPUs and GPUs, but neither of them actually produce their own products that compete with their licensees. There is also a chance that Nvidia may be trying to muscle weaker companies into licensing their technology because of the strength of their patents, which may be why Nvidia recently sued Samsung and Qualcomm.

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After launching its Maxwell-based desktop GPUs last month, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is bringing the GM204 silicon to notebooks with the  launch of the GTX 980M and the GTX 970M. During the launch of the desktop GTX 980 and GTX 970, Nvidia touted features like increased power efficiency, a new anti-aliasing technology called MFAA and a downsampling feature that renders content from 4K to 1080k, all of which would be ideal for the notebook form factor.

Architectural enhancements

Nvidia’s tweaks with Maxwell include redesigned Streaming Multiprocessors, which in conjunction with efficient clock-gating and better compiler-based scheduling deliver double the performance per Watt as a Kepler-based card. It is no wonder, then, that Nvidia is claiming desktop-level performance with the GTX 980M and 970M. Both cards are still fabricated using a 28 nm process, but the inherent architectural improvements allow Nvidia to deliver much better efficiency and performance at the same time.

The introduction of the GTX 980M and the GTX 970M diminishes the gap that exists between Nvidia’s desktop and mobile GPUs. Over the last three years, Nvidia’s mobile offerings delivered around 50 to 55% of what was achieved by their desktop counterparts, but with the GTX 900 series, Nvidia claims that users will get around 75% of the performance as a desktop 980M. Considering that the GTX 980 in itself is the fastest single card solution available today, the performance delivered by a GTX 980M should then be at par or better than most desktop GPUs in the market today.

As far as the two cards are concerned, Nvidia cites a performance divide of around 30% between the GTX 980M and the GTX 970M. While the increased performance will allow gamers on notebooks to play at resolutions beyond 1080p, although there is a clear dearth of notebooks that offer 4K panels. For users on 1080p displays, Nvidia solution is Dynamic Super Resolution, a technology that samples a game at higher resolutions and then scales down to lower resolutions, resulting in much better visuals.

While Nvidia isn’t disclosing TDP, it is possible that the GTX 980M will be around 110W given that it delivers 75% of the performance of the desktop GTX 980. Nvidia has managed to significantly reduce the power consumption with Maxwell, and the same should be reflected in its mobile offerings.

As for how fast the current-generation cards are when seen against Nvidia’s earlier offerings, the vendor states that the GTX 980M is around 40% faster than the GTX 880M, and twice as fast as the GTX 680M. The GTX 970M is similarly 40% faster than the GTX 870M and twice as fast as the GTX 860M. We’ll have more detailed benchmarks during our review, but for now here’s a look at the figures shared by Nvidia:

The GTX 980M and 970M also feature Battery Boost, which is also tweaked to allow for more untethered gaming. When removed from a power source, Battery Boost throttles the GPU so that users get just the amount of performance they need to run games at their desired frame rate target. The enhancements mean that gamers can now play titles like League of Legends, GRID 2, and Tomb Raider for twice as long when not connected to a power source.

All of this is geared at a growing market, as Nvidia mentions that over the last three years, the gaming notebook segment has witnessed a 5x increase. With Maxwell, gamers on notebook can look forward to playing visually intensive games like Battlefield 4 and Metro: Last Light at resolutions of 2560 x 1440 and on ultra settings.

Nvidia has a strong foothold in the mobile GPU segment, and with the launch of the GTX 980M and the GTX 970M, it is poised to consolidate its position in this category. With numerous design improvements, increased performance and greater power efficiency figures, Nvidia has a clear winner on its hands with its Maxwell mobile GPUs. As for availability, several mainstream vendors like MSI and Asus have already started selling gaming notebooks laden with GTX 900M series cards, as have boutique vendors like Digital Storm, Origin and others.

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Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is highly coveted by gamers in India, but its high-end offerings have been prohibitive in terms of price.

In a market that is inundated with budget offerings, the $900 (Rs. 54,000) asking figure for cards like the GTX 780 Ti has meant that gamers looking for a high-end solution have largely had to look to the likes of the R9 290X, which costs a full $175 (Rs. 10,500) less.

That is no longer the case with Nvidia’s latest offerings in the GeForce GTX 900 series. The GTX 980 will be available at a retail price of $750 (Rs. 46,000), with the final price set to be lower than that. Considering the amount of features it offers, the GTX 980 will be an enticing option for buyers looking to upgrade their rigs. The GTX 980 is the fastest single video card solution available now, and easily outdoes what AMD (NYSE:AMD) has to offer in the R9 290X. 

For those that are looking for a mid-tier video card, the GTX 970 is set to launch in the country for $455 (Rs. 28,000), which is great value for money. The GTX 970 in early benchmarks blew past the R9 290, and in certain cases outdid the R9 290X. While there is a market in India for cards like the GTX 980, it will be the GTX 970 that most gamers will be looking to buy. Retailer listings for the GTX 970 indicates that the reference design will be in the vicinity of $450 (Rs. 27,750), with factory overclocked editions running up to as much as $650 (Rs. 33,000).

With Maxwell, Nvidia has managed to deliver better overall gaming and computational results while utilizing lesser wattage. The low power consumption leaves a lot of room for overclocking, a fact Nvidia touched upon during the announcement of the card. The best testament of Nvidia’s pricing is the fact that AMD reduced the price of the R9 290X in other markets by a full $100, bringing the price of the card to $449. Nvidia has been the one to reduce the prices of its cards after every new AMD announcement for a while now, so it must feel have felt nice for the Santa Clara-based giant to know that AMD is now the one who has to slash prices of its cards to match Nvidia.

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After months of rumors, the GeForce GTX 980 is official, and now hardware vendors are launching their own versions of the card. The rumors indicated that while GTX 970 would come in overclocked variants, the GTX 980 would be available only as a reference card, at least initially. This, thankfully, is not the case, as Zotac has three variants of the card: a standard reference variant, an overcooking edition and an extreme edition that is catered to the enthusiast gamer segment.

All cards feature Zotac’s FireStorm customization utility, although the overclocked editions get more bells and whistles in the form of a custom cooler, more durable design and visible gains in performance.

The standard version of the GTX 980 has core clock of 1126 MHz with a boost clock of 1216 MHz, and includes 2048 CUDA cores, 4 GB GDDR5 video memory, 256-bit wide memory interface and a memory clock of 7010 MHz. For the base variant, Zotac is not including any modifications form the reference design, which is evident when you take a look at the card. The cooler stack is identical to that of the GTX 780 Ti.

In terms of display connectors, Zotac’s cards have one HDMI 2.0, which has a max output of 4K, as well as three DisplayPort 1.2 ports, also able to output at 4K. There is a dual-link DVI that allows you to scale to QHD resolutions.

The omega variant of the card features a new cooler fan stack that Zotac calls IceStorm, as well as an exterior design that is called ExoArmor. The omega version clocks in at 1202 MHz core, and 1304 MHz boost. With a maximum power consumption figure of 200W, the card has two 8-pin power connectors, similar to that of the extreme edition of the card.

Nvidia is touting the GTX 980 as the fastest video card in the world, and early benchmarks indicate that this is the case, with the card easily outpacing the R9 290X. Another win for Nvidia is the power consumption figures, with the reference design card touted to max out at 165W. We will be testing Nvidia’s figures in detail in a review, so stay tuned for more on the series 9xx video cards.

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Now that the Maxwell-based Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) 9xx series is official, hardware vendors are starting to offer their custom variants. Zotac, known for its overclocked video cards, is catering to all segments of gamers by offering three video cards based on the GeForce GTX 970 — a reference design, an enthusiast overclocked model that features higher clocks, and an extreme edition that features three cooling fans.

Zotac GeForce GTX 970

The reference GTX 970, which Zotac is referring to as the Zotac GeForce GTX 970, has dimensions of 204 mm, which should allow it to fit in most mid-tower enclosures with ease. The rumors surrounding the GTX 9xx series and HDMI 2.0 turned out to be spot on, as Zotac’s card features a HDMI 2.0 that can output 4K at 60 Hz in addition to two dual-link DVI that can output a quad-HD resolution of 2560 x 1600, and a DisplayPort 1.2 that can also handle a 4K output.

The stock GTX 970 has a base clock of 1076 MHz, boost clock of 1216 MHz, 1664 CUDA cores and 4 GB GDDR5 video memory on a 256-bit memory interface. The card features two 80 mm fans, and is quite energy efficient, with a maximum power consumption figure quoted at 145W. As such, the card features two 6-pin power connectors.

Every manufacturer is looking to differentiate its offerings from other vendors in this space, and Zotac is doing so by offering something called Power+, which the vendor claims is a more efficient way of power delivery, which is achieved by using high-quality capacitors that are claimed to last times longer than what is the industry standard.

Zotac is also offering quick customization by way of a utility called FireStorm, through which you can monitor real-time statistics, set profiles and overclock the video card with ease. 

In addition to Zotac-exclusive features, the DirectX 12-enabled GTX 970 comes with Nvidia’s suite of technologies that include Nvidia G-Sync, GameStream and GameWorks among others.

Zotac GeForce GTX 970 AMP! Omega Edition

The Omega edition falls in between the standard variant and the extreme overclocked version. While the reference design is a dual-slot card, the omega and extreme editions take up three card slots. With a length of 268 mm, the omega edition should not have any issue fitting into cabinets. Both the omega and extreme editions have the same display connectors, which include one HDMI 2.0 and three DisplayPort 1.2, both with 4K output, as well as a dual-link DVI that can handle resolutions of 2560 x 1600.

Being a factory overclocked model, Zotac’s GTX 970 omega edition comes with base clocks of 1102 MHz and boost clocks of 1241 MHz, with other specs similar to that of the standard GTX 970. The overclocked model is not as power efficient with a maximum power consumption of 171W, but it is still far and beyond better than anything else we’ve seen in this category thus far. For instance, the R9 290 hits 300W with not much effort. To accommodate for the increased power draw, the omega edition comes with two 8-pin power connectors.

While the stock Zotac GTX 970 featured standard 80 mm fans, the omega edition comes with two 90 mm fans that feature grooved fan blades, which Zotac claims assists in better air flow. In addition, the GTX 970 Omega edition comes with a more durable frame surrounding the card, which Zotac is calling ExoArmor. The card also comes with the Power+ and FireStorm utilities, and in addition features a dedicated power controller that communicates with the video card via an internal bus. This bus has a micro-USB out, which when connected to an internal USB header on the motherboard allows you to access a wealth of settings that can be changed in real-time using FireStorm. Brands like Corsair have been doing this since last year with power delivery systems and coolers, so it should be interesting to see how this feature works in real world conditions.

The new cooling fans and the overclocking potential means that the Zotac GTX 970 is a worthy contender for gamers looking to invest in a mid-range card that offers the most bang for the buck.

Zotac GeForce GTX 970 AMP! Extreme Edition

As the name indicates, the extreme edition is designed with enthusiast gamers in mind, and comes with a host of features that are not present in the first two cards. Let’s first delve on the design: the GTX 970 extreme edition is aptly named, as the card looks beastly with the three cooling fins and the gunmetal color scheme. When it comes to dimensions, the GTX 970 extreme edition has a length of 300 mm, which means that you have to check your enclosure (or invest in a new one) to accommodate the card.

The GTX 970 extreme edition is clocked at 1203 MHz base/ 1355 MHz boost, and has 1664 CUDA cores, 4 GB GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit interface, with a memory clock of 7200 MHz. All this with a power consumption of 176W, which is delivered through two 8-pin connectors.

The three cooling fan solution, dubbed IceStorm, features three anti-rotational 90 mm fans that are designed to maximize air flow. Although the card is factory overclocked, the design allows for a lot of overhead when it comes to even further overclocking, which we’re sure enthusiast gamers would take full advantage of.

A unique feature in the GTX 970 is the LED lighting scheme, which is called LIGHT.id. If you’ve got a windowed side panel and are inclined to show off your hardware, the red color scheme is ideal for you. The card also has a green color scheme when in 2D mode. If you want to, you can disable the feature via the FireStorm utility.

The extreme edition also comes with a dedicated OC+ button that allows you to fine-tune your card settings, and all the other features available in the omega and the standard versions.

All three cards come with a five year warranty, with US and Canadian customers getting an addition two year extended warranty. Pricing information will be available closer to launch.

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With Nvidia’s alleged reveal of the GTX 980 and GTX 970 said to occur later this week, we are starting to see several benchmark scores emerge online. The latest listing was found on CompuBench, an OpenCL and RenderScript benchmark that tests the parallel compute performance of GPUs.

CompuBench’s benchmark comprises of several tests, each targeting a specific area of the GPU, like physics, processing and throughput. In the face detection test, the GTX 980 and the GTX 970 received scores of 142.522 mPixels/s and 123.183 mPixels/s, outdoing AMD’s R9 290X, which managed a score of 112.814 mPixels/s.

The GTX 980 and GTX 970 continued their dominance in the physics test as well by scoring 1138.728 mInteraction/s and 1027.749 mInteraction/s respectively, which is almost twice as high as the 659.31 mInteraction/s achieved by the R9 290X.

Nvidia’s upcoming cards did not score higher than AMD’s offerings in all tests, however, as the TV-L1 Optical Flow benchmark revealed. The R9 290X scored 31.805 mPixels/s, while the GTX 980 netted 22.104 mPixels/s, and the GTX 970 18.854 mPixels/s. While the Nvidia Maxwell-based cards scored twice as high in particle simulation tests, AMD’s R9 290X managed to net a higher score in the ocean simulation test, winning out with a score of 2260.994 Frames/s over the 1679.863 Frames/s achieved by the GTX 980.

If you’re looking to get a card for mining Bitcoin, it looks like AMD is still the vendor to choose, with the R9 290X netting 692.259 mHash/s to the 531.343 mHash/s obtained by the GTX 980. The GTX 970, meanwhile, got a score of 474.153 mHash/s. These are all compute tests, and while the GTX 980 and GTX 970 seem to be able to hold their own against the best of AMD, it will be interesting to see the advantages they offer when we look at graphics benchmarks, which is what the cards will excel at. Nvidia is rumored to launch the GTX 980 and GTX 970 later this week at the Game24 gaming event, with a third video card in the series, dubbed the GTX 960 set to debut sometime next month. 

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MSI Germany has teased a render of a card running the hardware vendor’s new TwinFrozr V cooling solution. While the card in question has not been confirmed to be the GTX 970, it is believed that the TwinFrozr design will launch alongside Nvidia’s upcoming video card. The render reveals a two-tone design featuring a red and black color scheme for the cooler.

In the Facebook post, MSI mentioned that the new TwinFrozr V enabled cards will come with “fantastic new features”, not elaborating on what features the manufacturer will offer. From what’s known thus far, the GTX 970 will be based on the 28 nm GM204 silicon, and will feature 1,664 CUDA cores138 TMUs and 32 ROPs across a 256-bit wide memory interface along with 4 GB video memory. The card is said to be based on the Maxwell architecture, with leaks referencing core clocks of 1051 MHz and boost clocks of 1178 MHz. While the image shared by MSI is a render, the folks over at VideoCardz have managed to snag an image of what appears to be the actual card: 

As for pricing, a retailer has revealed that the GTX 980 will likely be available for around $730, with the GTX 970 estimated to be in the vicinity of $450. The GTX 970 is said to take on the likes of AMD’s R9 290, while the GTX 980 is said to be the successor to the GTX 780 Ti, and will be the fastest single-card solution from Nvidia. Earlier rumors suggested a $400 retail tag for the GTX 970, and $500 for the GTX 980, so the prices quoted by the retailer do seem inflated. There is no way to confirm the prices, so we advise you take the information with a grain of salt. 

The spate of GTX 970 leaks are the clearest indication yet that we’re close to an official announcement. While a launch date has not been confirmed by Nvidia, it is believed that the chip vendor will leverage its 24-hour gaming event, Game24, to unveil the GTX 970 and the GTX 980. Nvidia’s gaming event is scheduled to kick off September 18, which is when we should know more about the upcoming cards.

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Nvidia’s next-generation video card launch details may have been indadvertedly leaked by a Gigabyte executive. In an interview with Expreview, the executive claimed that Nvidia will unveil the GeForce GTX 880 in the month of September, with Gigabyte coming out with a custom card based on the reference design, dubbed the GTX 880 G1.Gamer. 

Details of the card are scant at this moment, but it is estimated that Gigabyte’s GTX 880 will feature a thermal cooler that can handle loads as high as 650W, and will feature a silent cooling solution that makes little to no noise when running in idle load. Also rumored is a 256-bit interface, along with 4GB GDDR5 video memory.  The first about the card leaked online in June. The GPU that will power the card is allegedly called GM204, and will be manufactured using a 28 nm process. Difficulties in shifting to large scale manufacturing are said to be a limiting factor in launching cards on the 20 nm process.

Additional information based on Zauba database listings suggests that Nvidia is currently in the testing phase with the GTX 880. Nvidia has a facility in Hyderabad that works on integrating the software drivers for its video cards, so it is likely that reference designs of the GTX 880 have been sent to the facility for testing. 

More details regarding the launch of the GTX 880 will likely be divulged at Gamescon, which is being held later this week. 

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As always, there are going to be a plethora of rumors about the next GPUs coming from AMD and Nvidia, so it comes as no surprise that new details are leaking about Nvidia’s next generation of GPUs based on Maxwell. Nvidia has already launched the Maxwell architecture with the incredibly efficient and modular GTX 750 Ti. However, this is their one and only Maxwell part and there are lots of people wondering when we’ll see the mid and high-end parts.

So, today’s rumor, about the GeForce GTX 880 and GTX 870 are clearly feeding off of this desire for information and likely enlighten when and what we can expect to see from Nvidia. The first and foremost important detail is that their sources claim that the GeForce GTX 880 and GTX 870 will be launching in the fourth quarter of 2014, most likely in October or November. This would give Nvidia ample time to prepare for the fall/winter game release rush and to have a new and exciting product for the holiday season.

Also, as expected this part will still be based upon the 28nm process from TSMC as the countless rumors of TSMC’s 20nm delays seem to never end. While we all believe that both AMD and Nvidia would love to manufacture their latest generation of high-end GPUs on TSMC’s 20nm process, it simply does not appear to be ready for their multi-billion transistor chips. Let’s remember that Nvidia’s GK-110 is actually a 7.1 billion transistor chip and there is a very strong liklihood that a Maxwell part like what we would expect to be the GM-110 is very likely going to be a GTX 9 series part and not a GeForce GTX 880.

As we saw from Nvidia in the past, they generally launch a cut-down version of the architecture first like the GTX 680 (GK104) and then once their process is more mature and their thermals/yields are manageable, then you’ll see a GTX 780 Ti (GK110) that fully follows the ‘full-blown’ architecture design without any compromises. A lot of sites are referring to the Maxwell batch of GPUs as GM204 and GM-210 however there is no reason to believe that Nvidia would do this, especially since the GTX 750 Ti is a GM107 chip. If the process hasn’t changed and the architecture is the same, I don’t see any reason why the GeForce GTX 880 could not be a GM-104 with its full-blown successor being a GM110 or GM210 if they decide to go with the 20nm die shrink (very likely).

However, some of the rumors continually refer to the high-end GPUs as GM204, which leads some people to believe that we may see more than just higher performance out of a GeForce GTX 880 or GTX 870 part. Realistically, though, I don’t really see this being possible and those parts may be reserved for professional or HPC applications that will get released shortly after the GeForce GTX 880.

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