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NVIDIA @ GDC 2006
We recently had a conference call with NVIDIA. They wanted to keep us updated on products that were to be launched or announced at GDC (Game Developers Conference) 2006.
First and foremost is their announcement of SLI Physics. Of course, it's not a complete physics solution like AGEIA's PhysX processor but at least NVIDIA has promised it will run on their cards, from the GeForce 7600 GS upwards. Even some GeForce 6800 cards will be able to implement SLI Physics.
Still, this is just an early announcement by NVIDIA. Your NVIDIA card won't be able to run SLI Physics, not at least until sometime around the end of this year. All they currently have is a technology demo with Havok at GDC 2006. Till then, all we really have is just a press release, some details on SLI physics and lots of speculation.
If you want to find out more about SLI Physics, do check out our NVIDIA SLI Physics Tech Report.
Now, let's find out what else NVIDIA is up to at GDC 2006!
GeForce 7600 GS
So soon after launching the mid-range GeForce 7600 GT, NVIDIA has a new mid-range card - the GeForce 7600 GS!
The new GeForce 7600 GS will be a "lite" version of the GeForce 7600 GT. Although it uses the same G73 GPU, it will only run with core and memory clocks of 400MHz. It will also feature a passive cooler, as opposed to the active copper cooler in the GeForce 7600 GT. Of course, it's really up to the card manufacturer if they wish to go with an active cooler or a passive one.
This card will be priced lower than the GeForce 7600 GT and targeted against the ATI Radeon X1600 Pro. Of course, NVIDIA claims that even the GeForce 7600 GS will beat the X1600 XT.
Originally, the GeForce 7600 GT was meant to be the replacement for the GeForce 6600 GT, but as you can see, NVIDIA has repositioned the GeForce 7600 GT as a replacement for the GeForce 6800 GS, leaving the new GeForce 7600 GS as the true replacement for the GeForce 6600 GT.
GeForce 7600 Feature Comparison
Here's a comparison of key features of the two members of the GeForce 7600 series.
GeForce
7600 GS |
GeForce
7600 GT |
|
| Architecture | G73 |
G73 |
| Process Technology | 90 nm |
90 nm |
| Number of Transistors | 177 Million |
177 Million |
| Die Size | NA |
NA |
| Pixel Pipelines | 12 Pixel
Pipelines |
12 Pixel
Pipelines |
| ROPs | 8 ROPs -
8 colour, 8 blend |
8 ROPs -
8 colour, 8 blend |
| Core Clock | 400 MHz |
560 MHz |
| Fillrate | 4.8 Gigapixels
/ sec. |
6.7 Gigapixels
/ sec. |
| Memory Interface | 2-way 64-bits
memory interface (128-bits total) |
2-way 64-bits
memory interface (128-bits total) |
| Memory Buffer | 256 MB DDR2 |
256 MB GDDR3 |
| Memory Clock | 400 MHz 800 MHz DDR |
700 MHz 1.4 GHz DDR |
| Memory Bandwidth | 12.8 GB/s |
22.4 GB/s |
| Vertex Units | 5 Vertex
Units |
5 Vertex
Units |
| Vertex Clock | 400 MHz |
560 MHz |
| Vertex Output | 500 million vertices
/ sec. |
700 million vertices
/ sec. |
| Power Consumption | NA |
67 W |
| Shader Model Version | SM 3.0 |
SM 3.0 |
| NVIDIA IntelliSample Technology | 4.0 |
4.0 |
| NVIDIA SLI Technology | Yes |
Yes |
| NVIDIA Quad SLI Technology | No |
No |
| DVI Support | Single dual-linked
DVI |
Single dual-linked
DVI |
As you can see, the GeForce 7600 GT and GeForce 7600 GS are essentially the same GPU, with only differences in core and memory clock speeds, memory type and thermal solution.
