Tuesday, October 25th 2011
Revised GF110-based GTX 560 Ti On The Way: a GTX 570 In Disguise?
Those on a budget looking to upgrade their graphics cards might do well to wait a little while, NVIDIA is preparing an upgraded GTX 560 Ti. The current model is based on the GF114 GPU which has 384 CUDA cores, 32 TMUs, a 256-bit memory interface and 1GB VRAM. However, the new model discards the GF114 GPU and replaces it with the beefier GF110 GPU that's used on the GTX 570 & GTX 580 cards. As one would expect, this GPU will be cut down compared to its bigger brothers, featuring 448 CUDA cores, 56 TMUs, a 320-bit memory bus and likely 1280MB VRAM. Another improvement comes in the form of two SLI connectors, allowing 3-card setups to be built, but the cost compared to using more powerful cards must of course be considered before such a build is attempted. The new card will be called the "GTX 560 Ti (448 Core)", which follows a similar convention that was used with the GTX 260 when NVIDIA upgraded it to the GTX 260 (216 Core). Given that the memory bus and memory size are now the same as that of the GTX 570, it brings with it the intriguing possibility that such cards may be unlocked to full GTX 570 performance by enterprising enthusiasts who are not afraid of risking their warranty in their unending quest for better performance.
The new card will of course be faster, but will also use a bit more power and is expected to compete with overclocked HD 6950 2GB cards. For those who are not experts in remembering model numbers and specifications separating very similar products and are thus confused by the various models currently on offer, all looking superficially the same of course, this new variant will unfortunately only increase their distress. Hopefully, the older and weaker models will soon disappear, bringing some sanity to the marketplace. As it stands though, there will now be four base models to choose from: GTX 560, GTX 560 Ti, GTX 560 Ti (OEM) and now, GTX 560 Ti (448 Core), so buyers should do their homework and look carefully at product naming and descriptions before putting down their hard-earned money on a GTX 560-based card. This is especially important, as it's expected to look the same as the old version. No word on pricing or release date yet, but one hopes that it would cost about the same as the current GTX 560 Ti, or come down in price shortly after.
Sources:
VR-Zone, TweakTown
42 Comments on Revised GF110-based GTX 560 Ti On The Way: a GTX 570 In Disguise?
Though I'm seeing this as more a way to breach or evolve the conventional mindset of what's now a market segment that's not $100-200 (which had been a mainstream/gamer), while advance "Enthusiast class" well above $350. It isn’t about right today, but a longer-term strategy to broaden what both Nvidia/AMD have been try for a while, open a new segment with a spacious berth; the "gamer rank" for lack of a better name. The mainstream is still the lions share (in this economy), while entry cards will be curtailed at least with AMD as APU’s take on more of that.
Thier hope is to progress pricing back-up that had eroded in the 4850/GTX260 price war. I'd consider that when the next generation (28Nm) 560/6870’s come to market we could see prices for those a $230-250 and may not ever drop back to below $200 until they‘re EoL. Though given the world’s economic woes still in 2012, it might not come to pass. If yields are good and power is down, so less stringent PCB power sections… a 256-Bit card can pull-in plenty of profit at $200.
But the biggest point that I have had is that most people compare the two at stock clocks to get that the GTX560 is such a better card. Even if you take a very bad example of a GTX460 and it only gets to 900MHz, and the GTX560 gets to 1000MHz, the difference only works out to about 11% clock speed difference. So in modern games, maybe 5FPS, it isn't the "ZOMG the GTX560 is so much better" that everyone says it is, and IMO isn't worth the much higher price premium that the GTX560 commands. I'd save the money and go with a GTX460 and be happy knowing that when it really comes down to it, there won't be any real noticeable performance difference.
And if everything is coming from the PCB, then that is my point, if they start using the old PCB again, like they have with the GTX570s.
565 and 570SE still both make a lot more sense than "560Ti 448", though. I'm not sure that part of the problem isn't the relative flexibility of the new naming scheme, but even with that considered, they've been a lot less consistent in what various naming differences mean about differences between cards than they ought to have been.Yes, it's far from just Nvidia GPUs that are guilty of this. Look at multiple Intel CPUs called the e6800, for example, and the whole 5970>6970, 5770=6770 thing on the AMD side.
The naming schemes on both sides suck, and it is because both sides are just trying to out do the other in marketing. Coming out with what looks like a totally new generation of cards that is really essentially identical to the last generation but with a stepping update looks better on paper and the consumers will jump at buying the latest and greatest.
GTX580 -> 485 GTX
GTX480 -> 480 GTX
GTX570 -> 485 GTS
GTX470 -> 480 GTS
GTX560 (448) -> 485 GT
GTX465 -> 480 GT
GTX560 Ti -> 465GTS
GTX460 -> 460 GTS
GTX560 -> 465 GT
GTX460 SE -> 460 GT
GTX550 Ti -> 455 GT
GTS450 -> 450 GT
etc.
This does make it seem like there are a lot of very similar cards out there, but that's because there are.
Under the new system, however, the best bet in my opinion is to leave the 580 with it's own number, so that it keeps its distance from non-flagship products, and go with 580/570/570SE or to bring back the Ultra name, and go for 580Ultra/580/580SE.
BFG
6800 ULTRA
OVERCLOCKED
on it was amazing, if Nvidia released a new "Ultra" card, id buy it for sheer nostalgia, aside from knowing that ultra means it's the fastest one at the time.