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The New GeForce 7900 GPUs
On March 9th, 2006, NVIDIA launched three new GeForce 7 series GPUs. Two of these GPUs are their new flagship cards - the GeForce 7900 GTX and the GeForce 7900 GT!
These new GPUs will feature a 90nm process technology, a framebuffer of up to 512MB, and support for resolutions of up to 2560x1600. They are, however, not the first NVIDIA GPU to feature the smaller 90nm process technology. That honour goes to the humble GeForce 7300 GS.
But these two new cards will replace the GeForce 7800 GTX and 7800 GT as NVIDIA's top graphics cards. Not only are they faster, they are also smaller, cooler and use less power!
Of course, that's not all that's new in these GPUs. Are they merely die-shrinked versions of the GeForce 7800 GPUs? Did NVIDIA add anything new into the die? Let's find out!
The GeForce 7900 GTX
The GeForce 7900 GTX is NVIDIA's new leading-edge GPU. Targeted at the ATI Radeon X1900 XTX and X1900 XT, the GeForce 7900 GTX will boast a lower target price range of USD 499 to USD 649.
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GPU top |
GPU interface |
The GeForce 7900 GTX is not a mere die-shrink of the GeForce 7800 GTX. NVIDIA was quite clear about that. In fact, it has fewer transistors at 278 million transistors. Take a look at its basic specifications :
| Architecture | G71 |
| Process Technology | 90 nm |
| Number of Transistors | 278 Million |
| Die Size | 196 mm2 |
| Pixel Pipelines | 24 Pixel
Pipelines |
| ROPs | 16 ROPs
- 16 colour, 16 blend |
| Core Clock | 650 MHz |
| Fillrate | 15.6 Gigapixels
/ sec. |
| Memory Interface | 4-way 64-bits
memory interface (256-bits total) |
| Memory Buffer | 512 MB
GDDR3 |
| Memory Clock | 800 MHz 1.6 GHz DDR |
| Memory Bandwidth | 51.2 GB/s |
| Vertex Units | 8 Vertex
Units |
| Vertex Clock | 700 MHz |
| Vertex Output | 1400 million
vertices / sec. |
| Power Consumption | 120 W |
| Graphics Bus | PCI Express
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| Shader Model Version | SM 3.0
|
| NVIDIA IntelliSample Technology | 4.0 |
| NVIDIA SLI Technology | Yes |
| NVIDIA Quad SLI Technology | Yes |
| NVIDIA TurboCache Technology | No |
| 64-bit Texture Filtering and Blending | Yes |
| DVI Support | Two dual-linked
DVI, both integrated into the GPU |
The GeForce 7900 GTX will also support Quad SLI. But while Dell demonstrated the Quad SLI concept with a pair of GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB cards, Quad SLI solutions will henceforth use only GeForce 7900 GTX-based cards.
Unfortunately, Quad SLI will not be available for retail sale. Instead, it will be made available only from system integrators like Dell and Alienware. However, NVIDIA did not preclude the availability of retail Quad SLI cards in the future.
For all the fuss and interest in Quad SLI, it is important to note that Quad SLI is really not for most users, even hardcore gamers. Unless you have a super-large 30" LCD display that supports the extremely high-definition resolution of 2560x1600 that NVIDIA has been touting, Quad SLI is really pointless. Hence, it makes sense for NVIDIA to push Quad SLI through system integrators.
Here's what the NVIDIA reference card looks like. As you can see, it uses a massive heatpiped aluminium cooler. There's no sign of any memory chips at the back, so evidently all memory chips were placed in the front.
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Back of the card |
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If you take a look at the picture on the right, you can see the GeForce 7900 GTX's external bracket.
As you can see, it's a dual slot solution. The lower part of the bracket houses a single HDTV-out connector and two DVI ports while the upper part has exhaust vents for the cooler.
