Introduction to the GeForce FX
 |
| Angled Profile of the GeForceFX |
When ATI released its Radeon 9700 Pro, it kicked the crap out the top video cards and took names, namely NVIDIA. But now, NVIDIA aims to turn the tables with the new NV30 or commonly called GeForce FX. The NV30 will come with full Directx 9 support and DDR2.
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| DX8 Vs DX9 |
NVIDIA is maintaining a cloak of secrecy behind the capabilities of the NV30 but our editor was able to obtain a much coveted press kit at Comdex. In short, here are its proposed specifications compared with the others:
 |
| Side view of the GeForceFX |
|
|
ATI
Radeon 9000 PRO |
NVIDIA
GeForce4 Ti4600 |
ATI
Radeon 9700 PRO
(R300) |
NVIDIA
GeForce
FX
(NV30) |
|
Chip
Technology |
256-bit |
256-bit |
256-bit |
At least
256-bit |
|
Process |
0.15
Micron |
0.15
Micron |
0.15
Micron |
0.13
Micron |
|
Transistors |
- |
63
Million |
- |
125+
Million |
|
Memory
Bus |
128-bit
DDR |
128-bit
DDR |
256-bit
DDR |
? |
|
Memory
Bandwidth |
8.8
GB/s |
10.4
GB/s |
19.8
GB/s |
~16-32
GB/s |
|
AGP
Bus |
1x/2x/4x/8x |
1x/2x/4x |
1x/2x/4x/8x |
1x/2x/4x/8x |
|
Memory |
64/128MB |
128MB |
128/256MB |
? |
|
GPU
Clock |
275
MHz |
300
MHz |
325
MHz |
~500
MHz |
|
Memory
Clock |
275 MHz (550
DDR) |
325 MHz (650
DDR) |
310 MHz (620
DDR) |
~500 MHz (1 GHz
DDR2) |
|
Textures per Texture
Unit |
6 |
4 |
8 |
8-16? |
|
Vertex S.
Version |
1.1 |
1.1 |
2.0 |
2.0+ |
|
Pixel S.
Version |
1.4 |
1.3 |
2.0 |
2.0+ |
|
DirectX
Generation |
8.1 |
8.0 |
9.0 |
9.0 |
|
FSAA
Modi |
SuperSampling |
MultiSampling |
MultiSampling |
IntelliSampling |
|
Memory
Optmizations |
Hyper Z
II |
LMA
II |
Hyper Z
III |
Z and Colour
Compression |
|
Display
Outputs |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Chip Internal
Ramdacs |
2 x 400
MHz |
2 x 400
MHz |
2 x 400
MHz |
2 x 400
MHz |
|
Special |
TV Encoder On-Chip;
FullStream |
- |
TV Encoder On-Chip;
FullStream |
DVC
VMR
Cg Tools |
|
Estimated
Price |
$100
USD |
$200
USD |
$350
USD |
? |
GeForce FX Die
The GeForce FX die in the 0.13u process. This die will feature an estimated 125+ million transistors and that's compared to the Radeon 9700 at 110+ million transistors! NVIDIA seems to going for a core clock speed of at least 500MHz but that is still yet to be finalized. It will also feature a flip chip GPU design which will have clearer signals and an external power connector. NVIDIA is also using a new heat flow system. The GeForce FX GPU is cooled by this weird looking HSF which exhausts directly out the back of your case. With so many transistors and a hulking HSF, I gurantee you'll need a new power supply at least 400W to support having one of these in your rig.
GeForce FX Memory
The GeForce FX will run on Samsung's DDR2 chips. The difference from DDR to DDR2 is huge! With DDR, the current max frequency is 620 MHz, with DDR2, the max frequency is 1000+ MHz. The GeForce FX boasts 1000MHz @ 2ns and a theoretical bandwidth of 16-32GB/s depending on the memory bus. To date the ATI Radeon 9700 Pro uses 620 MHz @ 2.9ns with a bandwidth of 19.8GB/s.
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