Wednesday, March 7th 2012
GeForce GTX 680 Features Speed Boost, Arrives This Month, etc., etc.
Here are some key bits of information concerning the upcoming GeForce GTX 680, a performance single-GPU graphics card based on the 28 nm GK104 GPU by NVIDIA. The information, at face value, is credible, because we're hearing that a large contingent of the media that finds interest in the GPU industry, is attending the Game Developers Conference, where it could interact with NVIDIA, on the sidelines. The source, however, is citing people it spoke to at CeBIT.
First, and most interesting: with some models of the GeForce 600, NVIDIA will introduce a load-based clock speed-boost feature (think: Intel Turbo Boost), which steps up clock speeds of the graphics card when subjected to heavy loads. If there's a particularly stressing 3D scene for the GPU to render, it overclocks itself, and sees the scene through. This ensures higher minimum and average frame-rates.
Second, you probably already know this, but GK104 does indeed feature 1,536 CUDA cores, which lend it a strong number-crunching muscle that helps with shading, post-processing, and GPGPU.
Third, the many-fold increase in CUDA cores doesn't necessarily amount to a linear increase in performance, when compared to the previous generation. The GeForce GTX 680 is about 10% faster than Radeon HD 7970, in Battlefield 3. In the same comparison, the GTX 680 is slower than HD 7970 at 3DMark 11.
Fourth, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 will very much launch in this month. It won't exactly be a paper-launch, small quantities will be available for purchase, and only through select AIC partners. Quantities will pick up in later months.
Fifth, there's talk of GK107, a mid-range GPU based on the Kepler architecture, being launched in April.
Next up, NVIDIA is preparing a dual-GPU graphics card based on the GK104, it is slated for May, NVIDIA will use Graphics Technology Conference (GTC), as its launch-pad.
Lastly, GK110, the crown-jewel of the Kepler GPU family, will feature as many as 2,304 CUDA cores. There's absolutely no word on its whereabouts. The fact that NVIDIA is working on a dual-GK104 graphics card indicates that we won't see this chip very soon.
Source:
Heise.de
First, and most interesting: with some models of the GeForce 600, NVIDIA will introduce a load-based clock speed-boost feature (think: Intel Turbo Boost), which steps up clock speeds of the graphics card when subjected to heavy loads. If there's a particularly stressing 3D scene for the GPU to render, it overclocks itself, and sees the scene through. This ensures higher minimum and average frame-rates.
Second, you probably already know this, but GK104 does indeed feature 1,536 CUDA cores, which lend it a strong number-crunching muscle that helps with shading, post-processing, and GPGPU.
Third, the many-fold increase in CUDA cores doesn't necessarily amount to a linear increase in performance, when compared to the previous generation. The GeForce GTX 680 is about 10% faster than Radeon HD 7970, in Battlefield 3. In the same comparison, the GTX 680 is slower than HD 7970 at 3DMark 11.
Fourth, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 will very much launch in this month. It won't exactly be a paper-launch, small quantities will be available for purchase, and only through select AIC partners. Quantities will pick up in later months.
Fifth, there's talk of GK107, a mid-range GPU based on the Kepler architecture, being launched in April.
Next up, NVIDIA is preparing a dual-GPU graphics card based on the GK104, it is slated for May, NVIDIA will use Graphics Technology Conference (GTC), as its launch-pad.
Lastly, GK110, the crown-jewel of the Kepler GPU family, will feature as many as 2,304 CUDA cores. There's absolutely no word on its whereabouts. The fact that NVIDIA is working on a dual-GK104 graphics card indicates that we won't see this chip very soon.
105 Comments on GeForce GTX 680 Features Speed Boost, Arrives This Month, etc., etc.
So, who knows, it could be GTX 780 vs HD 8970. Or it could be nothing at all. It looks like they're both going to market hard and smart to try and outdo each other.Problems at TSMC could very well dictate how much performance we'll see from the newly born 6xx and 7xxx series.
I don't think either company will 'play their Ace' unless they have to, or see significant benefit.
With the relative performance at 2560x
They are pretty damn close.
If Nvidia is really transforming their midrange card into their flagship product, it is a grand example of the failures of a free market and the problem of duopolies. Nvidia can take what should be a $300 product and make it a $550 product and it's justified because they are pricing it according to competition. Nvidia isn't the problem btw, since AMD did the same thing (the 7770 at launch was priced stupid high) and they go back and forth over the years. It's a problem with the system...
I am just waiting for legitimate non-bias benchmarks. I plan on jumping from my HD5850 to an Nvidia offering to switch it up.
3 months late to deliver a card that performs like 7970 is definitely a fail unless they release it at $300.
With so many roadmaps and leaks that go around anything and everything tech-wise these days there tends to be little surprise left. You know a good year in advance before anything happens and it gets a little boring checking in regularly on your fav sites to see the paint drying.
Even if just for a moment you get a little bit of a curve ball thrown at you - good or bad - its a nice surprise (in part, at least.)
Ive been looking forward to a new IB build for about 9 months now and expected my new GPU to be nV, as of summer 2011 AMD was gunning for an Xmas release of the 7000 and nV had confirmed you wouldnt be seeing anything from them this (2011) year. I assumed then nV would once again be a bit late to the party, but bring with it a nice 10-20% step up from AMDs offering to make up for its late arrival. And since Im waiting on IB anyway, this didnt bother me.
News trickling out recently has actually got me scratching my head, it seems nV is falling well behind schedule and rather than releasing thermi2 to the world, its going to put out a cut down version of its actual flag ship in order to stay in the game. Obviously it'll be real benchmarks that make the sale for me on the day, but as of now, this introduction to kepler is looking like somewhat of a tit-for-tat vs AMD and the option of a slightly more matured 7900 with a custom PCB is looking like an actual option. Didnt see that coming!
What settings?
What resolution?
What drivers is the HD7970 running for the comparison? Is BF3 patched?
With the latest drivers and the 12th Feb patch I have seen around 20% boost on my HD7970 (at 3560x1920 / 6048x1080) compared to the launch drivers.
So I can conclude with the same blasé attitude that the HD7970 is 20% faster than the HD7970....
The auto OC ability sounds interesting although I would be somewhat concerned about how this affects the actual OC ability of the card. Also if the 10% faster figure includes the fact it is auto overclocking it doesn't bode particularly well for further OC ability (obviously it depends on how much it is auto OCing - if it is like 700-750Mhz then it should OC a fair bit further but if it is 700-900Mhz then that may be as far as it can go without extreme cooling).
Hears Rumors
Takes it as fact.
Why not?
Why would it be illegal to release a card with unoptimized drivers?
That IS what is done, always, with every new series of graphics cards; the driver updates are optimizations.
There's no illegality in that; AMD or NV, whoever releases first can do what they want with their drivers, as long as the cards function correctly. As long as they provide functioning products, they can do as they like, strategize their driver updates however they like, if they choose to do so.
There's nothing illegal about it.
Is it ethically questionable? Probably, but it's not illegal, which means it's allowable.
:shadedshu
EDIT: Oh and btw...just saw this... www.techpowerup.com/162021/GK104-Graphics-Card-Pictured-.html
...could be the 670 ti they're releasing and not the 680 yet o.O
well whatever the name my point stands