GeForce

This article is about the Nvidia brand name. For other uses, see G force (disambiguation).

GeForce graphics processor

The GeForce logo used since 2007
Invented by	Nvidia

GeForce chip integrated on a laptop motherboard.

GeForce is a brand of graphics processing units (GPUs) designed by Nvidia. As of 2009^[update], there have been eleven iterations of the design. The first GeForce products were discrete GPUs designed for use on add-on graphics boards, intended for the high-margin PC gaming market. Later diversification of the product-line covered all tiers of the PC graphics market, from cost-sensitive, ^[1] motherboard-integrated GPUs to mainstream, add-in, retail boards. Most recently, GeForce technology has been introduced into Nvidia's line of embedded application processors, designed for electronic handhelds and mobile handsets.

With respect to discrete GPUs, found in add-in graphics-boards, Nvidia's GeForce and AMD's Radeon GPUs are the only remaining competitors in the high-end market.

Along with its nearest competitor, the AMD (ATI) Radeon, the GeForce architecture is moving toward GPGPU (General Purpose-Graphics Processor Unit). GPGPU is expected to expand GPU functionality beyond the traditional rasterization of 3D graphics, to turn it into a high-performance computing device able to execute arbitrary programming code in the same way a CPU does.

Name origin

The "GeForce" name originated from a contest held by Nvidia in early 1999. Called "Name That Chip", the company called out to the public to name the successor to the RIVA TNT2 line of graphics boards. There were over 12,000 entries received and 7 winners received a RIVA TNT2 Ultra graphics card as a reward.^[2][3]

Generations

GeForce 256 

Launched on August 31, 1999, the GeForce 256 (NV10) was the first PC graphics chip with hardware transform, lighting, and shading although 3D games utilizing this feature did not appear until later. Initial GeForce 256 boards shipped with SDR SDRAM memory, and later boards shipped with faster DDR SDRAM memory.

GeForce 2 Series 

Launched in April 2000, the first GeForce2 (NV15) was another high-performance graphics chip. Nvidia moved to a twin texture processor per pipeline (4x2) design, doubling texture fillrate per clock compared to GeForce 256. Later, Nvidia released the GeForce2 MX (NV11), which offered performance similar to the GeForce 256 but at a fraction of the cost. The MX was a compelling value in the low/mid-range market segments and was popular with OEM PC manufacturers and users alike. The GeForce 2 Ultra was the high-end model in this series.

GeForce 3 Series 

Launched in February 2001, the GeForce3 (NV20) introduced programmable pixel shaders to the GeForce family. It had good overall performance and shader support, making it popular with enthusiasts although it never hit the midrange price point. A derivative of the GeForce3, NV2A, was developed for the Microsoft Xbox game console.

GeForce 4 Series 

Launched in February 2002, the high-end GeForce4 Ti (NV25) was mostly a refinement to the GeForce3. The biggest advancements included enhancements to anti-aliasing capabilities, an improved memory controller, a second vertex shader, and a manufacturing process size reduction to increase clock speeds. Another "family member," the budget GeForce4 MX, was based on the GeForce2, with a few additions from the new GeForce4 Ti line. It targeted the value segment of the market and lacked pixel shaders. Most of these models used the AGP4x interface, but a few began the transition to AGP8x.

GeForce FX Series 

Launched in 2003, the GeForce FX (NV30) was a huge change in architecture compared to its predecessors. The GPU was designed not only to support the new Shader Model 2 specification but also to perform well on older titles. However, initial models suffered from weak floating point shader performance and excessive heat which required two-slot cooling solutions. Products in this series carry the 5000 model number, as it is the fifth generation of the GeForce, though Nvidia marketed the cards as GeForce FX instead of GeForce 5 to show off "the dawn of cinematic rendering".

GeForce 6 Series 

Launched in April 2004, the GeForce 6 (NV40) added Shader Model 3.0 support to the GeForce family, while correcting the weak floating point shader performance of its predecessor. It also implemented high dynamic range imaging and introduced SLI (Scalable Link Interface) and PureVideo capability (integrated DVD Video decoder, eliminates the need for software video decoders).

GeForce 7 Series 

The 7th generation GeForce (G70/NV47) was launched in June 2005 and was the last video card designed for AGP bus. The design was a refined version of GeForce 6, with the major improvements being a widened pipeline and an increase in clock speed. The GeForce 7 also offers new transparency supersampling and transparency multisampling anti-aliasing modes (TSAA and TMAA). These new anti-aliasing modes were later enabled for the GeForce 6 series as well. The GeForce 7950GT featured the highest performance GPU with an AGP interface in the nVidia line. This era began the transition to the PCI-Express interface.

A modified version of GeForce 7800GTX called the RSX 'Reality Synthesizer' is used as the main GPU in the PlayStation 3 from Sony.

GeForce 8 Series 

Released on November 8, 2006, the 8th generation GeForce (G80 originally) was the first ever GPU to fully support Direct3D 10. Built on a brand new architecture, manufactured in 80 nm, it has a fully unified shader architecture. Originally just the 8800GTX, the GTS was released months into the product line's life, and it took nearly 6 months for mid-range and OEM/mainstream cards to be integrated into the 8-series. The Die-shrink down to 65 nm and a revision to the G80 design, codenamed G92, were implemented into the 8 series with the 8800GS, the 8800GT, and 8800GTS-512. First released on October 29, 2007, almost one whole year after the initial G80 release.

GeForce 9 Series / GeForce 100 Series

The first product was released on February 21, 2008.^[4] Not even four months older than the initial G92 release, all 9-series designs, both currently-out and speculated, are simply revisions to existing late 8-series products. The 9800GX2 uses two G92 GPUs, as used in later 8800 cards, in a dual PCB configuration while still only requiring a single PCI-Express 16x slot. The 9800GX2 utilizes two separate 256-bit memory busses, one for each GPU and its respective 512MB of memory, which equates to an overall of 1GB of memory on the card (although the SLI configuration of the chips necessitates mirroring the frame buffer between the two chips, thus effectively halving the memory performance of a 256-bit/512MB configuration). The later 9800GTX features a single G92 GPU, 256-bit data bus, and 512MB of GDDR3 memory.^[5] Prior to the release, no concrete information was known except officials claiming the next generation products having close to 1 TFLOPS performance while the GPU cores still being manufactured in the 65 nm process, and reports about Nvidia downplaying the significance of Direct3D 10.1.^[6] On March 2009, several sources reported that nVidia had quietly launched a new series of its flagship GeForce products, designated GeForce 100 Series, which consists of rebadged 9 Series parts.^[7][8][9] The only official source of information on GeForce 100 Series at this time is "nVidia GeForce Family" web page and corresponding product pages.^[10] According to this web page, GeForce 100 products are not available for individual purchase.

GeForce 200 Series / GeForce 300 Series

Based on the GT200 graphics processor consisting of 1.4 billion transistors, the 200 series was launched on 16 June 2008.^[11] The next generation of the GeForce series takes the card-naming scheme in a new direction, by replacing the series number (such as 8800 for 8-series cards) with the GTX or GTS suffix (which used to go at the end of card names, denoting their 'rank' among other similar models), and then adding model-numbers such as 260 and 280 after that. The series features the new GT200 core on a 65nm die.^[12] The first products were the GeForce GTX 260 and the more expensive GeForce GTX 280.^[13] The GeForce 310 was released on November 27, 2009, which is a rebrand of GeForce 210.^[14][15] According to Nvidia, the naming for the 300 series will be allocated for DirectX 10.1 compatible GPU rebrand in the future.

GeForce 400 Series / GeForce 500 Series

Nvidia announced^[16] and released^[17] the GeForce GTX 470 and GTX 480, the first cards based on the new Fermi architecture codenamed GF100, and the first to utilize 1GB or more of newer GDDR5 memory. They were released on April 7, 2010. Later that year, Nvidia introduced the GeForce GTX 465 as a cutdown, cheaper version of the GF100 chip to target at mainstream users. The GTX 465 was quickly replaced by the GTX 460, based on the GF104 architecture, which featured lower power consumption and better performance. Soon after, Nvidia released mainstream versions of Fermi architecture, also known as GF106 and GF108, for consumers as well as OEMs. NVIDIA also released a flagship GPU based on a revised GF100 architecture (GF110), called the GTX 580, that featured higher performance/power efficiency than the GTX 480. Nvidia also recently released two updates to the GTX470 and GTX460, the GTX570 and GTX560 Ti, both of which also feature better performance than their predecessor. They have now phased out the GTX480 and GTX470, while keeping the GTX460 in production as a lower budget high end card. Then came the GTX590, a combination of 2 GTX 580's on one single card. The GTX 590 is Nvidia's most powerful graphics card to date.

Future development

• In September 2010, nVidia officially revealed general information regarding two future lines of GeForce cards, codenamed "Kepler" and "Maxwell". The Kepler architecture, which Nvidia states will be available in Q1 2012, will be the successor to Fermi and will be produced on a 28 nm fabrication process. Maxwell, the probable successor to Kepler, is currently expected to be available in 2014.

Variants

mGPUs

Beginning with the nForce 4, nVidia has included onboard graphics solutions in their motherboard chipsets. These onboard graphics solutions are called mGPUs (motherboard GPUs).^[18] As technology progressed, Nvidia developed a break-through mobile GPU called the NVidia ION graphics processor. The ION GPU can deliver 1080p video without lag or video tearing. ION video evidence

Mobile GPUs

Since the GeForce2, Nvidia has produced a number of graphics chipsets for notebook computers under the GeForce Go branding. Most of the features present in the desktop counterparts are present in the mobile ones. However these GPUs do not perform as well as their desktop counterpart. Nvidia later rebranded their mobile chipset for the GeForce 8 based GPUs the GeForce 8M series. In 1st Quarter 2009 the GeForce 200M series were released. However these cards are actually based on the G92 core also found in 8 and 9 series GPUs, as opposed to a true GT200 core, mainly for power consumption reasons.

Nomenclature

With the release of the GeForce 100 series of cards, nVidia cards started using a suffix to designate their category. The GTX, GTS, GT and G suffixes were announced.^[19] The first digit in the name of a card represents its generation, while the second and third digits represent the performance of the card relative to others in the family.

The company followed a naming scheme similar to that shown below for the GeForce FX series until the GeForce 9 series.

Number range (steps of 50)	Category	Suffixes1	Price range2 (USD)	Shader amount3	Memory			Outputs	Example products
					Type	Width	Size
000-550	Mainstream	SE, LE, GS, GT	≤$100	≤25%	DDR, DDR2	25%-50%	~25%	VGA/DVI	GeForce 9400GT, GeForce 9500GT
600-750	Performance	GSO, GTS, GTO	$100–$175	25%-50%	DDR2, GDDR3	50%-75%	50%-75%	VGA/DVI Two DVI	GeForce 9600GT, GeForce 9600GSO
800-950	Enthusiast	GTX, Ultra, GX2	≥$175	50%-100%	GDDR3, GDDR5	75%-100%	50%-100%	VGA/DVI Two DVI DVI/HDMI	GeForce 9800GT, GeForce 9800GTX

Since the release of the GeForce 100 series of GPUs, NVIDIA changed their product naming scheme to the following:

Prefix	Target	Number Range	Price range2 (USD)	Shader amount3	Memory			Outputs	Example products
					Type	Width	Size
No prefix, G, or GT	Business, HTPC	00-40	≤$100	≤25%	DDR2, (G)DDR3	25%-50%	~25%	VGA/DVI	GeForce 210, GeForce GT 220, GeForce G 405, GeForce GT 440
GT, GTS	Video Games, Multimedia	40-50	$100–$175	25%-50%	(G)DDR3, GDDR5	50%-75%	50%-75%	VGA/DVI Two DVI	GeForce GT 240, GeForce GTS 250, GeForce GTS 450
GTX	Enthusiast	50-95	≥$175	50%-100%	GDDR3, GDDR5	75%-100%	50%-100%	VGA/DVI Two DVI DVI/HDMI	(200 Series) GeForce GTX 260/275/280/285/295, (400 Series) GeForce GTX 460/465/470/480, (500 Series) GeForce GTX 550 Ti/560/560 Ti/570/580/590

• cf. Nvidia's Performance Graph here.
• This scheme is only applicable to the GeForce FX series to the GeForce 9 series. GeForce4, GTX200, and other cards follow a similar pattern.
• ¹: Suffixes indicate its performance layer, and those listed are in order from weakest to most powerful. Suffixes from lesser categories can still be used on higher performance cards, example: 8800 GT.
• ²: Price range only applies to the most recent generation and is a generalization based on pricing patterns.
• ³: Shader amount compares the number of shaders pipelines or units in that particular model range to the highest model possible in the generation.

See also

• Comparison of Nvidia graphics processing units
• Nvidia Optimus
• Graphics card
• Graphics processing unit
• Radeon
• Video In Video Out (VIVO)

References

1. ^ http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_family.html
2. ^ "Winners of the Nvidia Naming Contest". Nvidia. 1999. Archived from the original on 2000-06-08. http://web.archive.org/web/20000608011648/http://www.nvidia.com/namingcontest. Retrieved 2007-05-28. 
3. ^ Taken, Femme (1999-04-17). "Nvidia "Name that chip" contest". Tweakers.net. http://tweakers.net/nieuws/1967/nVidia-Name-that-chip-contest.html. Retrieved 2007-05-28. 
4. ^ Brian Caulfield (2008-01-07). "Shoot to Kill". Forbes.com. http://www.forbes.com/home/technology/forbes/2008/0107/092.html. Retrieved 2007-12-26. 
5. ^ "NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX". http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_9800gtx.html. Retrieved 2008-05-31. 
6. ^ DailyTech report: Crytek, Microsoft and Nvidia downplay Direct3D 10.1, retrieved December 4, 2007
7. ^ "Nvidia quietly launches GeForce 100-series GPUs". 2009-04-06. http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2009/03/23/nvidia-quietly-geforce-100-series/1. 
8. ^ "nVidia Launches GeForce 100 Series Cards". 10-03-2009. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/news/3728. 
9. ^ "Nvidia quietly launches GeForce 100-series GPUs". 2009-03-24. http://www.wiyule.com/2009/03/24/nvidia-quietly-launches-geforce-100-series-gpus/. 
10. ^ "NVIDIA GeForce Family". nVidia. http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_family.html. Retrieved 2009-04-04. 
11. ^ "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 Video Card Review". Benchmark Reviews. 2008-06-16. http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=179&Itemid=1. Retrieved 2008-06-16. 
12. ^ "GeForce GTX 280 to launch on June 18th". Fudzilla.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20080517141551/http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7364&Itemid=1. Retrieved 2008-05-18. 
13. ^ "Detailed GeForce GTX 280 Pictures". VR-Zone. 2008-06-03. http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/Detailed_Geforce_GTX_280_Pictures/5826.html. Retrieved 2008-06-03. 
14. ^ HEXUS.net - News :: NVIDIA kicks off GeForce 300-series range with GeForce 310 : Page - 1/1
15. ^ Every PC needs good graphics
16. ^ http://twitter.com/NVIDIAGeForce/status/8523402386
17. ^ Update: NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 400 Series Shows Up Early - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News
18. ^ "NVIDIA Motherboard GPUs". NVIDIA. http://www.nvidia.com/object/main_mobo_gpus.html. Retrieved 03-22-2010. 
19. ^ GeForce Graphics Processors

External links

• Performance and Specs of all the latest GeForce cards
• GeForce product page on Nvidia's website
• GeForce powered games on Nvidia's website