Introduction
Here it is, NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 750 Ti, one of the first GPUs based on its next-generation "Maxwell" GPU architecture. First reports of the chip being based on "Maxwell" hit us by surprise as we presumed that a new micro-architecture is invariably pegged to NVIDIA's foundry partner, TSMC, to launch its next-generation 20 nanometer silicon fabrication process. The fact that TSMC's 20 nm node isn't in a position to ship out such complex ASICs as graphics processors right now and that NVIDIA wouldn't want its new architecture to in any way be hit by unforeseen issues arising out of the move to a new process may have led to the decision to use the existing 28 nanometer process.
The GeForce GTX 750 Ti and the GTX 750 (also launched today) are based on the 28 nm GM107 (GeForce-Maxwell 107) silicon. This 1.87 billion-transistor GPU features a basic component hierarchy that's not too different from that of "Kepler," but sees some under-the-hood changes in the design of its key parallel processing sub-unit, the streaming multiprocessor "Maxwell" (SMM). The GTX 750 Ti is positioned between the GTX 760 and GTX 660, which is a sizable gap to fill. NVIDIA is promising some huge performance-per-watt gains with "Maxwell." Given that the GM107 is based on the same 28 nm process as the GeForce Kepler series, there's only one way NVIDIA can deliver on its promise - by developing a better overall architecture.
Palit's GeForce GTX 750 Ti StormX Dual uses a large dual-fan cooler, which does increase the size of the card to accommodate both fans. The card also comes with the highest overclock out of the box; that is, of all the GTX 750 Tis we tested today.
According to Palit, the card will retail at $155, which is only a small $5 over NVIDIA's reference-design pricing.
Palit GTX 750 Ti Market Segment Analysis | GeForce GTX 650 Ti | Radeon HD 7790 | Radeon HD 7850 | GeForce GTX 750 | Radeon R7 260X | GTX 650 Ti Boost | GeForce GTX 750 Ti | Palit GTX 750 Ti StormX Dual | Radeon R7 265 | GeForce GTX 660 | Radeon HD 7870 | Radeon R9 270X | GeForce GTX 660 Ti | GeForce GTX 760 |
---|
Shader Units | 768 | 896 | 1024 | 512 | 896 | 768 | 640 | 640 | 1024 | 960 | 1280 | 1280 | 1344 | 1152 |
---|
ROPs | 16 | 16 | 32 | 16 | 16 | 24 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 24 | 32 | 32 | 24 | 32 |
---|
Graphics Processor | GK106 | Bonaire | Pitcairn | GM107 | Bonaire | GK106 | GM107 | GM107 | Pitcairn | GK106 | Pitcairn | Pitcairn | GK104 | GK104 |
---|
Transistors | 2540M | 2080M | 2800M | 1870M | 2080M | 2540M | 1870M | 1870M | 2800M | 2540M | 2800M | 2800M | 3500M | 3500M |
---|
Memory Size | 1024 MB | 1024 MB | 2048 MB | 1024 MB | 2048 MB | 2048 MB | 2048 MB | 2048 MB | 2048 MB | 2048 MB | 2048 MB | 2048 MB | 2048 MB | 2048 MB |
---|
Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 128 bit | 256 bit | 128 bit | 128 bit | 192 bit | 128 bit | 128 bit | 256 bit | 192 bit | 256 bit | 256 bit | 192 bit | 256 bit |
---|
Core Clock | 925 MHz | 1000 MHz | 860 MHz | 1020 MHz+ | 1100 MHz | 980 MHz+ | 1020 MHz+ | 1202 MHz+ | 925 MHz | 980 MHz+ | 1000 MHz | 1050 MHz | 915 MHz+ | 980 MHz+ |
---|
Memory Clock | 1350 MHz | 1500 MHz | 1200 MHz | 1250 MHz | 1625 MHz | 1502 MHz | 1350 MHz | 1502 MHz | 1400 MHz | 1502 MHz | 1200 MHz | 1400 MHz | 1502 MHz | 1502 MHz |
---|
Price | $100 | $115 | $150 | $120 | $130 | $130 | $150 | $155 | $150 | $190 | $190 | $200 | $260 | $240 |
---|