Nvidia (GPU)

Nvidia is a chip making company that create the Geforce line of graphics cards.

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 over-clocking or additional RAM. As in this example the 8600GTS comes with a 675mhz core, compared to the 8600GT with a 540 MHz core. The GS suffix indicates an 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).

SLI

Scalable Link Interface (SLI) is a brand name for a multi-GPU technology developed by NVIDIA for linking two or more video cards together to produce a single output. SLI is an application of parallel processing for computer graphics, meant to increase the processing power available for graphics.

PhysX

PhysX is a physics API originally created by Ageia and integrated into the GeForce line of cards from the 8-series onward. It allows the Nvidia CPU to perform physics calculations instead of the CPU, allowing for enhanced realism and CPU performance.

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.

Optimus

Nvidia Optimus is an optimization technology created by Nvidia to save battery life by automatically switching the power of the graphics processing unit (GPU) off when it is not needed and switching it on when needed again. The technology mainly targets mobile PCs such as notebooks. When the GPU power is off, the driver redirects graphics commands to the integrated graphics chip (e.g. Intel GMA). Currently only Windows 7 is officially supported, however the open source project Bumblebee brings support to Linux.

Optimus Troubleshooting

Several issues have been noted when it comes to using integrated Nvidia graphics cards alongside an integrated Intel GPU. (Note: Some of these suggestions are difficult and may brick your computer. Perform them only if you know what you are doing)

• In case the Nvidia graphics fails to show up in the device manager, install the latest BIOS available from your computer or motherboard manufacturer
• Install the latest drivers for your integrated GPU, NVidia GPU, and Motherboard may help to eliminate some problems.

External links

• GeForce article on Wikipedia
• Official Site
• Driver download site