Difference between revisions of "Nvidia (GPU)"
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Nvidia is a chip making company that create the Geforce line of [[GPU]]. | Nvidia is a chip making company that create the Geforce line of [[GPU]]. | ||
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== Geforce == | == Geforce == | ||
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== CUDA == | == CUDA == | ||
CUDA is a GPGPU API created by Nvidia for use in GeForce and Quadro range of cards. It allows common computer programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, to use the GPU card in your PC to boost certain parallel computing tasks. | CUDA is a GPGPU API created by Nvidia for use in GeForce and Quadro range of cards. It allows common computer programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, to use the GPU card in your PC to boost certain parallel computing tasks. | ||
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| + | ==External links== | ||
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| + | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce GeForce article on Wikipedia] | ||
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| + | *[http://www.nvidia.co.uk/page/home.html Official Site] | ||
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| + | *[http://www.nvidia.co.uk/Download/index.aspx Driver download site] | ||
[[Category:Hardware]] | [[Category:Hardware]] | ||
[[Category:Graphics]] | [[Category:Graphics]] | ||
Revision as of 00:50, 19 March 2012
Introduction
Nvidia is a chip making company that create the Geforce line of GPU.
Geforce
The GeForce line of graphics cards were introduced in 1999 with the GeForce 256.
GeForce Naming Scheme
- GeForce 7 series to 9 series
With earlier series of cards the names are broken up into a 4 digit model number, with an occasional suffix on the end. As an example we can use the GeForce 8600GTS. The first digit is the series the card belongs to, in this case an 8 series. The second digit, the 6, is to signify the cards power range within that series. A 6 signifies a mid-range power, 8 for high end enthusiast card, and a 4/5 for low-end cards intended mainly for multimedia uses. The "00" are meaningless. The suffix can indicate minor changes from the base card, such as overclocking or additional RAM. As in this example the 8600GTS comes with a 675mhz core, compared to the 8600GT with a 540Mhz core. The GS suffix indicates a inferior version of the base card (e.g. 7600 GS performs poorer than 7600 GT).
- GeForce 100 Series and beyond
With the 100 series introduced in 2009 Nvidia changed their naming scheme for GeForce cards. This time they come with a small fixed prefix, and a 3 digit model number. As an example we can use the GTX 460. It is much the same as the older models, the first digit signifying the series, in this case the 400 series. The second digit signifies the power range, once again a middling card signified by the "6". And the "0" is once again meaningless, though may occasionally updates to a card may lead to a card coming with a 5 instead of the common 0. Though in this case the GTX465 is a weaker card.
Furthermore there are only three prefixes: GT (low end) < GTS (mainstream) < GTX (performance and high end).
As said, a card has now a fixed prefix, e.g. there is no GTS 460. Occasionally the suffix "Ti" can indicate a more powerful version (e.g. GTX 560 Ti > GTX 560).
PhysX
PhysX is a physics API created by Ageia but bought by Nvidia and integrated into the GeForce line of cards from 8-series onwards.
CUDA
CUDA is a GPGPU API created by Nvidia for use in GeForce and Quadro range of cards. It allows common computer programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, to use the GPU card in your PC to boost certain parallel computing tasks.