How To Interpret Nvidia Graphics Card Numbers

The kind of choice of graphics cards in the Geforce range is dazzling, yet it can get pretty confusing too!!!

Nvidia Geforce cards use a code based system of identification and demarcation.Put simply, they use four digit numbers for their GPUs and also add suffixes, now mostly starting with 'G'.What does all this mean?!Read on and find out!
Numerical codes
Entry Level GPUs

• _200 eg: 7200 GS, 6200 GS etc.
• _300 eg: 7300 GS, 9300 GS etc.
• _400 eg: 8400 GS, 9400 GT etc.

All cards with their second digit being any of the above three types represent Nvidia's affordable, discrete multimedia type of graphics cards.

For:

1. These are for those people who don't like integrated graphics chipsets which consume RAM and other resources from their computer.
2. People who want to watch movies in great quality without wanting overwhelming power.
3. An affordable discrete graphics solution.

These cards can play most games in great quality, but newer games will run at slightly reduced Frames Per Second[FPS] and lower graphics quality.

Mid Range GPUs

• _500 eg: 8500 GT, 9500 GT etc.
• _600 eg: 8600 GTS, 9600 GT etc.

For:

1. A discrete graphics solution that does more than just watching movies...
2. A slightly tight-on-budget gamer, since it will offer fantastic gameplay for most games and great performance for more modern games too.
3. Someone who wants to play games but doesn't want a wardrobe-sized cabinet with noisy fans and advanced power supply units.
4. An above average card for a good PC.

These are very convenient, since they offer awesome power at an affordable price.They offer very good gameplay too, even for new age games.All this and [usually] very reasonable power requirements.

Top-End GPUs....

• _800 eg: 9800 GX2, 8800 Ultra etc.

For:

1. The no-compromise gamer....
2. Professional video and photo editors, 3D rendering, whatever!!!
3. Perfect gameplay with mind-boggling graphic detail, high FPS and all
4. Future-proof gaming capabilities!!!

These cards can tackle games for years, eg: the Nvidia 6800 GT can still support games as advanced as Crysis, Race Driver: Grid and so on!

iPhone 3G's Successor arrives!

The title pretty much gives the new iPhone's name- intoducing the iPhone 3G 'S'!!!
I guess Apple must have read my previous posts about the iPhone 3G or something similar, 'cos they have FINALLY given it the few remaining features needed to make it a competitive smartphone in today's world.
The most important updated feature is the camera, which has been enlarged from 2 to 3 megapixels, which is minimum for photos of printable size with good clarity.Plus they have added video recording, which should be nothing to brag about, considering the fact that almost every phone posessing a camera usually allows you to take videos.The cool feature is that you can edit the videos you take........right on the iPhone!!!
It is also supposed to have a faster processor too, so playing games will be a breeze on the new device.Loading times should also be faster, for everything from web pages to games and other applications.
It now comes with a digital compass too!
These updates make the iPhone more reasonable to buy.
If only iPhones were available in GSM.......we could put any sim card we want!I guess thats wishing for too much[sadly!].

12.1 Snapper-cum-Caller!!!!

Yep, they have done it again.Sony Ericcsson have idou announced their latest phone-the 'Idou' which will come with a 12.1 Megapixel camera!!!
It will have a 3.5 inch touchscreen display.Not a lot else said about it, so I don't know much either....[sorry!]
Anyway, we'll see it when it comes!!!

Strange Complacency in the GPU World....?!

I have only finished my board exams recently, thus I have been rather silent for a while.Somehow, the GPU leaders Nvidia and ATi have been so too.Otherwise its nothing but hard competition between the two.Nvidia is bringing out some really big GPUs but ATi has already introduced their own DirectX 10.1 ready GPUs, while Nvidia is still sticking to DX 10?!?Mysterious..........


Under AMD's leadership, ATi GPUs have become much more popular, faster and affordable, all at the same time!Nvidia's latest GTX 295 graphics card comes with a crazy 1792 MB [896 x 2GPUs in one card,1.7GB] of pure graphics memory but it STILL uses GDDR3 speed to address all this memory.Comparatively, ATI has only got 512MB memory on their HD4870 graphics card, but it runs at a scorching GDDR5 speed, allowing it to reach teraflops!Moreover, it supports DX 10.1 which none of Nvidia's GPUs can.The 4870 supports OpenGL version 4.1 while the 295 supports only 2.1.Then again, all this for just 512MB graphics memory?That is REALLY upsetting isn't it?

ATi can sit back and relax for a while, since they only need worry about increasing their graphics memory but Nvidia has a lot to catch up on.

Once they do, ATi could have a lot to think about....

Nvidia's GTX Range Expanding!

Nvidia's Geforce GTX series has got some more to offer!
The new GTX 295 is a The GTX 295 is a really big GPU, considering the fact that it has two graphics processing cores on a singe graphics card!!!As I had earlier wished in one of my articles, dual core graphics cards are fast becoming a reality !This means that most of the constituents are also double.What I mean is- each core has 896MB of memory, so a single card holds 1792MB of solid Graphics memory!!!Like most Nvidia cards, it uses GDDR3.As usual,it supports directX 10.Nvidia's PhysX technology of course is present,so games should look stunning.Strangely, it supports only OpenGL 2.1, The GTX 275 itself supports 3.0, the ATi HD 4870 supports 4.1 ??!!
Other less powerful GPUs in the GTX range, apart from the first two GTX 260 and GTX 280 which started it all include:
GTX 285
Single core, powerful card.Has 1GB memory at GDDR3.Supports DX 10.
GTX 275.Again OpenGL 2.1!
Single core card.Has 896 MB memory at GDDR3.Supports DX10. OPENGL3.0?!?
Can't wait for the DX 10.1 ready cards to arrive!I'll keep everyone informed as much as I can!

7 Is a Lucky Number!

Tomorrow is my science modal exam but I stole a few seconds so that I could finally announce this-
INTEL HAS LAUNCHED IT'S FIRST REAL CONSUMER QUAD-CORE DESKTOP PROCESSOR!!!!!!!!!
The new 'i7' series of processors are real quad-core processors!
It ranges from 2.66 to 2.93Ghz..............and that is just for the 'normal' i7[ie-not the extreme version!!!]
It features 8MB cache.Each core is made of 45-nm transistors, like the Core2 Quad.The difference is-unlike the core2 quad, which uses 2 dual core processors in a single package, the i7 is a real quad-core processor, with 4 cores on a single block of silicon.
Think the regular i7's speed is cool?Guess what?
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The extreme edition speed is- 3.2 Ghz!X4!!!!
All i7s feature HT technology!!
Yes, makes your computer think it has 8 cores!!!
HT technology also improves performance by letting more applications connect to the same core, keeping the cores well occupied.
This will be some Phenomenal competition for AMD's-well, Phenom!!!
This processor has more than enough to satisfy any gamer out there.You video editors should be especially happy, it encodes video like lightning, faster than any other processor in the market.
Lets see it keep coming!

'i'ronic to the iPhone

I apologise for my earlier post about the iPhone, I guess some factors have managed to change my opinion about the iphone- for worse.
Yes, the iPhone looks like its got almost every feature imaginable in a high-end, expensive phone but all its features are pretty elementary.
Take the camera for example, that's what is most upsetting on the 'upgraded' iPhone 3G, since it first of all retains the predecessor's 2 megapixel sensor, which is nothing much considering the fact that most smartphones come with atleast 3.2MP.The worst part-it still cannot even record video!?
The iPhone 3G got GPS but even this is basic since it does not have voice navigation.
Even though it has got 3G, it has no secondary video call camera in front.
All these features are absolutely necessary in a good phone.I still love the multitouch facility, accelerometer and all that though....!!!
Hope Apple would fix all this by introducing an iPhone 3.5G or something, 3.5G technology should hit the world soon!
Just keep waiting till then....I guess!