New Technology Reviews!.: NVIDIA

Samsung Galaxy R Gets Official, Powered by NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual-core [Hands-On]

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<img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="279" mce_src="http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/9084/galaxyr3540x465.jpg" src="http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/9084/galaxyr3540x465.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Galaxy R_3" width="324" />Today Samsung and NVIDIA have officially announced the next NVIDIA Tegra 2 powered Android smartphone and that is the Samsung Galaxy R. This will basically be the little brother to the Galaxy S II that we have heard so much about of late. Now this isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Galaxy R as it leaked a few weeks back and even appeared on video but this announcement makes it all official.</div>
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Samsung is the words largest smartphone maker for Android and while the SGSII has been extremely popular with their own Samsung Exynos 4210 1.2 GHz dual-core processor on board but the Galaxy R will be shipping with the NVIDIA Tegra 2 superchip instead. It will be clocked in at 1.0 Ghz so basically just slightly under the spec of the SGSII. This phone will be the little brother to the Galaxy S II with a slightly smaller screen and camera, but other than that they are extremely similar and equally awesome.</div>
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The Samsung Galaxy R Spec sheet details as followed — A NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core 1.0 Ghz processor, a 4.2″ SLCD Display (SGSII is 4.3″ and AMOLED) and the Galaxy R will also be packing a 5 MP camera with LED Flash as well as a front 2 MP shooter for video chat. Powered by NVIDIA and Android 2.3 Gingerbread users can expect a seamless and fluid experience as well as the benefit of the Samsung Touch Wiz UX pre-installed over 2.3 Gingerbread. It will also come with 8GB internal storage and 1GB RAM with optional 32GB micro-SD support.</div>
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It is super thin and extremely lightweight and from initial reports it will only be a hair thicker than the Galaxy S II bigger brother so this is basically as good as it gets, without actually getting the SGSII. The GALAXY R is currently available in Sweden, and is coming to other regions soon, including North & Eastern Europe, South East & West Asia, Middle East Asia, and China. We have reached out to Samsung and NVIDIA and currently have no further details about a possible US launch but I’d love to see it hit the streets over here.</div>
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<img alt="Galaxy R_3" class="attachment-thumbnail aligncenter" height="150" mce_src="http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/2348/galaxyr3150x150.jpg" src="http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/2348/galaxyr3150x150.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Galaxy R_3" width="150" /><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" /><img alt="Galaxy R_front" class="attachment-thumbnail aligncenter" height="150" mce_src="http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/2527/galaxyrfront150x150.jpg" src="http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/2527/galaxyrfront150x150.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Galaxy R_front" width="150" /><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" /><img alt="Galaxy R_diagonal" class="attachment-thumbnail aligncenter" height="150" mce_src="http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/8449/galaxyrdiagonal150x150.jpg" src="http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/8449/galaxyrdiagonal150x150.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Galaxy R_diagonal" width="150" /></div>
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Samsung Galaxy R Gets Official, Powered by NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual-core [Hands-On]

Today Samsung and NVIDIA have officially announced the next NVIDIA Tegra 2 powered Android smartphone and that is the Samsung Galaxy R. ...

Android Community Galaxy Tab 10.1 Tabletpalooza Giveaway Winner Announced!

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<img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="219" mce_src="http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/3436/acwinners540x365.png" src="http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/3436/acwinners540x365.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="acwinners" width="324" />The past few weeks sure have been a good time to be a fan of Android Community as we have been giving away Android Honeycomb tablets. This was our first Tabletpalooza Giveaway and trust me more will be coming soon. Thanks to NVIDIA we were able to give away not one, but five dual-core Tegra 2 tablets over the past few weeks and for that everyone should thank NVIDIA. Now for the winners…</div>
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Just to refresh everyone here was the original Week 3 Tabletpalooza Post so be sure to check that out as well as the Week 1 & 2 Winners round-up story. We had thousands of entries over at Google+ and you can see plenty of those comments over at the Google+ Giveaway Thread, we even cleared Google’s comment limit and had to open new threads a few times. We loved reading all the comments and appreciate each and every entry, but the time has come to announce the winner and that person is:</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Josh Oman</span> Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!</div>
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Congrats Josh, you are the winner of the Android Community Tabletpalooza Giveaway Week 3 of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi. I think the fact that you were willing to bow to my greatness might have influenced our decision making so congrats for being our winner!</div>
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In case you readers didn’t know this same Giveaway was also going on at the same time with our sister site Slashgear.com and here is the Week 3 giveaway details for SlashGear. While we are here I figured I’d be nice and announce the SlashGear winner at the same time so here she is:<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Kirsty Lawer</span> Congratulations!</div>
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Kirsty is the lucky winner of the SlashGear TabletPalooza Acer Iconia Tab A500 Android Tablet, everyone be sure to say congrats over on Google+ to both of our lucky winners.</div>
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Now remember one thing loyal readers, this is just <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">ONE</span> of <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">MANY</span>giveaways and we have big plans coming up very very soon so you better stay tuned right here at Androidcommunity and don’t go anywhere or you might miss the next big thing. This was a great way to end our first annual Tabletpalooza Giveaway and plan to have many more to follow. More details are coming soon for the next giveaway so stay tuned!</div>
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Again we would like to thank everyone for entering on both Android Community and SlashGear for this giveaway. We also can’t forget the amazing team at NVIDIA for not only providing amazing Tegra 2 dual-core tablets for the world, but also for sending us a few to give away to our readers and for that we want to take this moment and say, Thank You NVIDIA!</div>
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Android Community Galaxy Tab 10.1 Tabletpalooza Giveaway Winner Announced!

The past few weeks sure have been a good time to be a fan of Android Community as we have been giving away Android Honeycomb tablets. Th...

Buying Guide: Top graphics cards for 3D gaming: 8 reviewed

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Stereoscopic 3D might seem straightforward, but you'll need a lot of boxes ticked if you want to enjoy it on your PC. As well as a 3D-capable monitor with a refresh rate of 120Hz, your computer needs a graphics card that's powerful enough to handle 3D content.</div>
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To generate 3D images, the graphics card has to produce the graphics twice, creating a slightly different image for each eye. This extra workload can put a lot of strain on the card.</div>
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Most modern cards include 3D capabilities - especially recent Nvidia cards, which support Nvidia 3D Vision - so finding one that can display 3D content isn't a problem. The trick is finding a graphics card that can display 3D without any noticeable drop in image quality.</div>
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You don't want to spend money on a card only to find that the frame rate plummets when you turn on 3D effects, leading to choppy, stuttering movies and unplayable games.</div>
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Upgrading from two dimensions isn't the only reason to buy a new graphics card. More powerful GPUs make for better graphics all round. While modern computer games benefit most from a powerful card, other applications will also show an improvement. Video editing in particular benefits from a muscular card, because many movie-making tools now take advantage of technology like Nvidia's CUDA, which hands more processing tasks to the graphics card, freeing up the PC's processor for other tasks.</div>
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Getting the right graphics card can make a huge impact on your computer, and we'll show you some of the best.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">EVGA GTX 460 1GB - £139</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />www.evga.com</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti - £176</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />http://uk.msi.com</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Zotac GeForce GTX 570 - £260</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />www.zotac.com</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Zotac GeForce GTX 580 - £385</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />www.zotac.com</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Asus GeForce GTX 590 - £580<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />http://uk.asus.com</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 - £181</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />www.sapphiretech.com</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">HIS Radeon HD 6970 - £265</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />www.hisdigital.com</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Asus Radeon HD 6990 - £501</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />http://uk.asus.com</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">EVGA GTX 460 1GB</span></div>
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Nvidia has had a long history of creating superb mid-range cards, from the 6600 GT to the incredible 8800 GT, and the GTX 460 can sit happily among such illustrious forebears. Its launch price was £200, but you can now easily pick up an overclocked 1GB version for as little as £140.</div>
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If any graphics card can be described as a hero, surely this is it. It no longer leads the market in performance, but it's not as far off the pace as you might imagine from its age. It's the oldest and slowest model in this test, but its price keeps it competitive.</div>
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When you consider that it's nearly £50 less than the cheapest HD 6870, and with performance that is just shy of the AMD card, it's quite a bargain.</div>
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Read TechRadar's full EVGA GTX 460 1GB review</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti</span></div>
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<img alt="MSI gtx 560 ti" class="aligncenter" height="315" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.msi_560gtxb-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.msi_560gtxb-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div>
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Just as the GTX 570 was beginning to replace the GTX 480, leaving the GTX 580 on its own at the head of the single-GPU pack, the GTX 560 Ti appeared to take over from the GTX 470. That's a lot of numbers, but it does make sense - especially when you look at the performance of those GTX 460s, even in today's highly competitive market.</div>
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It would make no sense for Nvidia to kill off one of its best cards, but it's not quite as simple as just another transistor-level tweak of the GTX 470's design. The GTX 560 Ti is more of a halfway house between the GTX 470 and GTX 460; it has 64 fewer CUDA cores and eight fewer ROPs than the former.</div>
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To make up for this shortfall in GPU spec, it comes out of the box with the fastest core clockspeed we've seen in an Nvidia GPU since the FX 5xxx series.</div>
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<a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/msi-geforce-gtx-560-ti-962535/review" mce_href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/msi-geforce-gtx-560-ti-962535/review" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;">Read TechRadar's full MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti review</a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Zotac GeForce GTX 570</span></div>
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<img alt="Zotac gtx 570" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20254/PCF254.w_group.spread5_1-zotac-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20254/PCF254.w_group.spread5_1-zotac-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div>
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This card represents the second tier of Nvidia's Fermi lineup. It's an impressive performer, and a little cheaper than AMD's top single card, the HD 6970. It has more in common with the Nvidia GTX 480 though, with almost the same basic GPU layout.</div>
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The GTX 570 has the same 480 CUDA cores and 60 texture units, but has 40 ROPs compared to the GTX 480's 48. The 570 also has a smaller frame buffer, at 1,280MB compared to the previous generation's 1,536MB. It packs the same transistor-level re-engineering as the GTX 580, though.</div>
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As such, it's a much more efficient, cooler graphics card, and its performance metrics will be almost as good if you're running a sub-30-inch panel.</div>
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Read TechRadar's full Zotac GeForce GTX 570 review</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Zotac GeForce GTX 580</span></div>
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<img alt="Zotac gtx 580" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.zotac_gtx580b-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.zotac_gtx580b-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div>
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Let's not beat around the bush; Nvidia's GTX 580 is the best single-GPU card on the market. It held sway over all the others across every one of the benchmarks we ran.</div>
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This is due to the GF110 GPU at its heart. Fermi has proven to be the best GPU architecture Nvidia has ever manufactured, and with this second generation (the GTX 5xx series) it's gone from strength to strength.</div>
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The first Fermi, the GTX 480, was the top card of its day, but not without issues. These were the amount of power it needed and the amount of heat it generated. For the GTX 580, Nvidia's engineers went back to the drawing board and tweaked the design right down to the transistor level, tailoring the smallest parts to give the best performance where needed, and the best efficiency where speed wasn't the goal.</div>
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Read TechRadar's full Zotac GeForce GTX 580 review</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Asus GeForce GTX 590</span></div>
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<img alt="Asus gtx 590" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.asus_gtx590b-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.asus_gtx590b-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div>
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Nvidia has been the market leader in graphic card technology for so long, when it says it's reached the pinnacle of engineering with the fastest single-PCB (printed circuit board) graphics card it's ever made, you sit up and take notice. It's quite a boast, and it sounds amazing on paper - one board with two of the most powerful GPUs Nvidia has ever made combined on it.</div>
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However, compromises have had to be made to get the chips to run happily on a single card, and to stay within the 375W limit imposed by a pair of eight-pin PCI-e connectors and the motherboard PCI-e bus. That means we don't quite have a pair of the GPUs ripped straight out of Nvidia's flagship single-GPU card, the GTX 580.</div>
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Instead of the core clock of 772MHz and a shader clock of 1,544MHz, the GTX 590 houses a pair of chips running at a seriously toned-down 607MHz core clock and 1,215MHz shader clock. The memory clock has been dropped from 2,004MHz to 1,707MHz.</div>
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Read TechRadar's full Asus GeForce GTX 590 review</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Sapphire Radeon HD 6950</span></div>
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<img alt="Sapphire hd 6950" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20254/PCF254.w_group.spread5_1-sapphire-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20254/PCF254.w_group.spread5_1-sapphire-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div>
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The Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 appears to be the finest graphics card AMD has produced in a long time. In the sub-£200 market, it's as good as you're going to get, and it's a graphics card that offers much more than any of the opposition in its price bracket. The HD 6950 comes close to the HD 6970 and the GTX 570 in its plain state.</div>
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The 2GB GDDR5 frame buffer means it can more or less keep pace with Nvidia's secondtier Fermi card, although it lags behind slightly for the most part. It does the same with the HD 6970, but that's to be expected from a card that's so much cheaper.</div>
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The sub-£200 price tag is a fantastic psychological coup, making this an affordable yet powerful option. That impressive performance is all down to the Cayman GPU. As we've already mentioned, the Cayman contains the same core as the GPU powering the more expensive HD 6970, though with a lower clockspeed and a few other components switched off at a software level. This leads to a problem...</div>
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Read TechRadar's full Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 review</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">HIS Radeon HD 6970</span></div>
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<img alt="HIS hd 6970" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.radeon_hd6970b-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.radeon_hd6970b-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div>
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AMD's fastest single-GPU model is a tough one to recommend. It's certainly the quickest AMD has released - the big problem is the second-tier card the came out alongside it - the HD 6950.</div>
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The Cayman XT at the heart of the HD 6970 is essentially the same GPU you'll find paired in the Antilles chip of the dual-GPU HD 6990. It's clocked faster than the stock specs of the Antilles, but thanks to the Antilles Unlocking Switch (also known as the Screw Your Warranty Switch by those who choose to use it), the HD 6990 can run with its GPUs at the same speed as the HD 6970.</div>
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You can get two HD 6970s for about the same as one HD 6990. So far, so good, but what of the HD 6950 we mentioned?</div>
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Read TechRadar's full HIS Radeon HD 6970 review</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Asus Radeon HD 6990</span></div>
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<img alt="HD 6990" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/AMD%20Radeon%20HD%206990/AMD%20Radeon%20HD%206990%203_4-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/AMD%20Radeon%20HD%206990/AMD%20Radeon%20HD%206990%203_4-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div>
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AMD pipped Nvidia to the post, releasing its dual-GPU, top-end graphics card a few weeks before the GeForce GTX 590. The HD 6990 is the fastest single-PCB graphics card the Texan brand has ever made, and houses two of the cores from its current fastest single-GPU card - the HD 6970.</div>
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The Cayman XT from that card has been doubled up and redubbed 'Antilles', and comes with slower clock, shader and memory speeds out of the box. You're not taking as much of a hit in clockspeed as with the GTX 590's GPUs, but that's because the Cayman XTs run a little slower than the GF110 GPUs in the GTX 580s in the first place.</div>
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There is a key difference here, and that comes from the little Antilles Unlocking Switch. Like the Cayman-powered cards that came before it (the HD 6950 and HD 6970), the HD 6990 comes with a dual-BIOS switch hardwired into the PCB. This comes with an attractive yellow warning sticker covering it, which warns you that as soon as you flick the switch, you effectively invalidate your warranty.</div>
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Read TechRadar's Asus Radeon HD 6990 full review</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">The award winners</span></div>
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Most of the cards we tested here do the job well, and upgrading your PC with any of them will give a serious performance boost. However, there are a couple that you should avoid to get the best possible 3D graphics on your PC, and there are others like the Zotac GeForce GTX 580 that stand out from the crowd.</div>
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Things become a little more confusing when you consider using multiple graphics cards in SLI or CrossFire mode. This allows two or more cards to work together to boost performance. Although it might seem slightly unintuitive, it can be cheaper to buy two graphics cards to get the same performance as one expensive card.</div>
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If you're really after the best graphics and your computer can handle it, then this is the way to go.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Editor's choice</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Zotac GeForce GTX 580</span></div>
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The GeForce GTX 580 is Nvidia's flagship card for a reason - its performance in our tests was extremely impressive, and it can handle the latest games and 3D content with remarkable ease. It might be a bit on the expensive side for a graphics card, but it's money well spent. If you have the budget and the space to spare on your motherboard, then a pair of GeForce GTX 580s will serve you well and effectively future-proof your PC for many years to come.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Verdict: 5/5</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Value award</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Sapphire Radeon HD 6950</span></div>
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While the GeForce GTX 580 has the best performance for a single card, the Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 easily wins the best value award. On its own it's a great performance card, but when you also take into account the overclocking potential of this graphics card, you have a fantastic product for under £200. Upgrading to 3D is expensive enough, so it's heartening to see such good value for money.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Verdict: 4.5/5</span></div>
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Buying Guide: Top graphics cards for 3D gaming: 8 reviewed

Stereoscopic 3D might seem straightforward, but you'll need a lot of boxes ticked if you want to enjoy it on your PC. As well as a ...

Nvidia: SLI being snapped up for Sandy Bridge Mobos

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//images/nvidia-sli-logo-200-200.jpg"><br /><P>Nvidia has announced that its Scalable Link Interface (SLI) technology has been snapped up for license by several of the world's leading manufacturers for their Sandy Bridge motherboards.</P><br /><P>Intel, ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI and EVGA have all taken out licenses to use it on Intel P67 Express Chipset-based motherboards designed for the upcoming Intel Sandy Bridge processors. </P><br /><P>Anyone who buys an SLI-certified P67-based motherboard with a Sandy Bridge processor will be able to have a single or a dual combination of NVIDIA GeForce GPUs, including the recently released GeForce GTX 580 GPU and GTX 570 for extra gaming power.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Ultimate gaming PC?</STRONG></P><br /><P>Joel Christensen, General Manager of Intel Client Board Division at Intel Corporation, said: "The combined processing prowess of Sandy Bridge and NVIDIA SLI technology will provide consumers with the building blocks for the ultimate gaming PC platform.</P><br /><P>"Both Nvidia and Intel continue to share a combined passion for furthering the PC as the definitive platform for gaming, and this combination will surely be attractive to anyone building or purchasing a brand new PC in 2011."</P><br /><P>Gamers who have a certified Nvidia SLI mothered will be able to add a second GeForce GPU to their PC, which can possibly double their graphics performance.</P><br /><P>The GeForce GPUs also include Nvidia's PhysX technology and support for NVIDIA 3D Vision technology that offers stereoscopic 3D on up to three displays.</P>

Nvidia: SLI being snapped up for Sandy Bridge Mobos

Nvidia has announced that its Scalable Link Interface (SLI) technology has been snapped up for license by several of the world's leading...

Review: Nvidia GeForce GTX 570

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/computing/upgrades-and-peripherals/graphics-and-multimedia/graphics-cards/nvidia/images/GeForce_GTX_570_3qtr-200-200.jpg"><br /><P>Always spoiling for a fight here comes Nvidia's latest card, the GeForce GTX 570, just as we're hearing what AMD is planning.</P><br /><P>When the rather impressive GTX 580 tipped up out of the blue the other month we were promised it was going to be the vanguard of a whole new range of 500 series GeForce cards based on this revised Fermi chip. And true to its word here comes the obvious next iteration, the GTX 570.</P><br /><P>This whole 500 series though has been something of a surprise to everyone and, in the light of what could turn out to be a rather catastrophic delay to AMD's HD 69xx cards, I think it's probably surprised a fair few people inside Nvidia itself.</P><br /><P>The 500 cards probably weren't meant to be released this year, but when the rumblings started to filter through that AMD would be getting its new generation of cards out of the door pre-holidays it looked like Nvidia wanted to spoil the party.</P><br /><P>Unfortunately for AMD though it wasn't so much a party as an awkward get together of a few socially inept gimps with nothing to say and nothing to recommend them. What I'm trying to say is the proposed AMD GPU launch actually turned out to only be the rather poorly performing Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850 series of cards and the GTX 580 rocked up and almost unnecessarily pushed Nvidia further ahead in the performance race.</P><br /><P>The GeForce GTX 570 follows on from the GTX 580 much in the same way as the GTX 470 followed the inaugural Fermi, the GTX 480.</P><br /><P>The difference here is that the GTX 580 was a much higher spec card than the GTX 480 was at the time and because of the trickle down effect this new card actually has more in common with that first Fermi card than the GTX 470.</P><br /><P>The GTX 580 came in with the full CUDA core count of 512 in sixteen of its Streaming Multiprocessor (SM) blocks with a dedicated Polymorph engine in each and 64 texture units. In GPU terms the GTX 570 effectively strips away one of those SMs leaving this latest card with 480 CUDA cores in 15 SMs and 60 texture units.</P><br /><P>In essence almost the same configuration as was in the GTX 480.</P><br /><P><img alt="Nvidia geforce gtx 570 review" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/upgrades-and-peripherals/graphics-and-multimedia/graphics-cards/nvidia/images/GeForce_GTX_570_F-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>The difference comes in the shape of the number of render output units (ROPs); both the GTX 480 and GTX 580 came with a count of 48 ROPs while the GTX 470 and GTX 570 come in with a still-chunky 40 each.</P><br /><P>The GTX 570 is also clocked higher than either of the two top-end 400 series Fermi cards, making it rather more of a direct replacement for the GTX 480 than the GTX 470.</P><br /><P>That said the memory configuration is where things have been held back to stop this card just getting into the silly performance territory, where it might actually hurt the sales of its more expensive big brother.</P><br /><P>With 1,280MB of GDDR5 running on a 320-bit memory bus it's not going to have the same high-resolution grunt as the GTX 580. Still, in all but our high-res Metro 2033 benchmark the GTX 570 managed to either beat or hit exactly the same numbers as that first ever Fermi card.</P><br /><P>And that's really nothing to sniff at.</P><br /><P>Considering the other three cards in these comparative benchmarks are all £400-odd cards the figures we're getting out of the GTX 570 are impressive. </P><br /><P>The GTX 570 is actually happily trading blows with the GTX 480, a card that until a couple of months ago was the pinnacle of single-GPU performance. For less than £300 it's arguably making itself more relevant than the GTX 580.</P><br /><P>All these figures are taken at the maxed out resolution of our 30-inch screen, 2560x1600 and represents the current top end of gaming resolutions. </P><br /><P><STRONG>DirectX 11 Tessellation Performance</STRONG><BR><EM>Heaven 2.0 – FPS: higher is better</EM><BR>Nvidia GTX 570 – 22<BR>Nvidia GTX 580 – 25.9<BR>Nvidia GTX 480 – 21.7<BR>AMD HD 5970 – 20.8</P><br /><P><STRONG>DirectX 11 Gaming Performance</STRONG><BR><EM>Metro 2033 – FPS: higher is better</EM><BR>Nvidia GTX 570 – 3<BR>Nvidia GTX 580 – 14<BR>Nvidia GTX 480 - 13<BR>AMD HD 5970 – 1</P><br /><P><EM>DiRT 2 – FPS: higher is better</EM><BR>Nvidia GTX 570 – 64<BR>Nvidia GTX 580 – 75<BR>Nvidia GTX 480 - 59<BR>AMD HD 5970 – 72</P><br /><P><EM>AvP – FPS: higher is better</EM><BR>Nvidia GTX 570 – 22<BR>Nvidia GTX 580 – 27<BR>Nvidia GTX 480 - 23<BR>AMD HD 5970 – 31</P><br /><P><EM>LP2 – FPS: higher is better</EM><BR>Nvidia GTX 570 – 32<BR>Nvidia GTX 580 – 36<BR>Nvidia GTX 480 - 30<BR>AMD HD 5970 – 31</P><br /><P><STRONG>DirectX 10 Gaming Performance</STRONG><BR><EM>Just Cause 2 – FPS: higher is better</EM><BR>Nvidia GTX 570 – 30<BR>Nvidia GTX 580 – 34<BR>Nvidia GTX 480 - 31<BR>AMD HD 5970 – 39</P><br /><P><EM>Far Cry 2 – FPS: higher is better</EM><BR>Nvidia GTX 570 – 66<BR>Nvidia GTX 580 – 76<BR>Nvidia GTX 480 - 66<BR>AMD HD 5970 – 82</P><br /><P><EM>Crysis Warhead – FPS: higher is better</EM><BR>Nvidia GTX 570 – 25<BR>Nvidia GTX 580 – 21<BR>Nvidia GTX 480 - 17<BR>AMD HD 5970 – 27</P><br /><P>So there you have it. Not content with bringing out a card that knocks its previously top-spec GPU into that special bin of obsolescence, Nvidia has brought out a more mainstream card that beats it too.</P><br /><P>You can buy GTX 480s now for just over the £300 mark, but with a RRP of £290 this GTX 570 is remarkably still cheaper.</P><br /><P>Essentially it is a very slightly cut-down GTX 580, built on exactly the same PCB (it's even got some of the same ID numbers on our reference sample) you can see where Nvidia has removed components to cut the cost and the performance.</P><br /><P>It's the GPU's core configuration that's as close as makes no odds to the outgoing GTX 580 that makes this card such a star performer, only the cut down memory configuration holds it back and only then at the very high end of the resolution scale.</P><br /><P>Intriguingly it's even knocking on the door of AMD's multi-GPU marvel, the Radeon HD 5970, in some benchmarks. Again though it's that relative paucity of memory that holds it back against the weightier card.</P><br /><P>The GeForce GTX 570 also comes with that self same impressive vapour-chamber cooling technology that managed to keep the GTX 580 below the first Fermi's windy roar. It's not necessarily that cool running, regularly topping the 80degreeC mark under load, but it still remained softly-spoken throughout testing.</P><br /><P>So it's not looking at all good for AMD in light of the fact that we still haven't seen chip nor board of the Cayman GPU-powered HD 69xx cards. The only one of AMD's cards that achieves any sort of relevance compared with the GTX 570 at the moment is weirdly the recently decommissioned HD 5870.</P><br /><P>It can't really come close in DirectX 11 games, but at least it stays within touching distance in DX10 titles. The HD 5970 is the closest in straight performance metrics but is still a £400+ card, pricing itself out of the market.</P><br /><P>The real competition then comes from within and, wouldn't you know it, it's that miniature marvel the GTX 460 1GB that is muscling in on the GTX 570's act. And it's the SLI performance again that is really making a difference.</P><br /><P>The sheer performance of twin GTX 460s really sticks it to the newest Fermi in everything bar the Lost Planet 2 benchmark. And when it's just in one game you can be sure that it's more down to the game engine itself than the card.</P><br /><P>At the moment a pair of those cards will also be cheaper than a single GTX 570, only by about £15 compared to Nvidia's current RRP, but that's still a tangible difference. And only likely to increase once the board partners start putting their own margins on top.</P><br /><P>The saving grace is that not everyone will have an SLI-certified motherboard thanks to Nvidia's approach to licensing the hardware or a PSU powerful enough, or with cables enough, to power them.</P><br /><P>And that only makes us more intrigued to see the GTX 560 once that tips up early next year. Though Nvidia might want to hold off on that one a little longer in case it impacts its own sales too much.</P><br /><P>But for now in single card terms this is looking like a very sweet spot indeed. With no AMD-shaped competition yet available this £300 card looks like a much more attractive proposition than the GTX 580. The actual difference in benchmark framerates between the two top-end Nvidia cards would be pretty tough to see with the naked eye. So why spend the extra £100?</P><br /><P>Well, if you had a 2560x1600 monitor and were fanatical about Metro 2033 maybe, but for the rest of us the GTX 570 is currently hitting a decent balance between outright performance and value for cash.</P><br /><P>Roll on the GeForce GTX 560 then, eh?</P><br /><P><STRONG>We liked</STRONG></P><br /><P>Because it's based on the GTX 580's improved architecture and cooling design it's actually as fast, and sometimes faster, than the previous generation's GTX 480. The fact it can hit those speeds without going louder or being more power hungry is impressive.</P><br /><P><STRONG>We disliked</STRONG></P><br /><P>There's not a lot to dislike really. At the moment the sub-£300 pricing looks good, but the board partners are likely to put the price up once they get their own spins of the card out the door. </P><br /><P>The performance of twin GTX 460 1GB cards takes a bit of the shine off the card though considering they can be picked up for less cash than the single card alternative.</P>

Review: Nvidia GeForce GTX 570

Always spoiling for a fight here comes Nvidia's latest card, the GeForce GTX 570, just as we're hearing what AMD is planning. When t...

Buying Guide: The best Nvidia graphics cards you can buy

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/EVGA%20GTX%20460%20FTW/EVGA%20GTX%20460%20FTW-200-200.jpg"><br /><P>With AMD stealing Nvidia's thunder a tad recently, the big N seems a little dazed by having the carpet pulled out from under it so mercilessly. </P><br /><P>It's not all bad, though: combine Nvidia's own CUDA and PhysX with its ventures into 3D and it's clear that it will once again come into its own in the next few years.</P><br /><UL><br /><LI><a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/graphics-cards/15-best-graphics-cards-in-the-world-today-654141">15 best graphics cards in the world today</A></LI><br /><LI><a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/graphics-cards/the-best-amd-graphics-cards-907851">The best AMD graphics cards you can buy</A></LI></UL><br /><P>It's also catching up with AMD big time by releasing a range of affordable but powerful cards, ranging from £100 to almost £400. We've pulled together six of the best from the green beast.</P><br /><P><STRONG>1. MSI GeForce GTS 450 Cyclone - £103</STRONG></P><br /><P><img alt="MSI geforce gts 450 review" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/MSI%20GTS%20450%20Cyclone/GTS%20450%20Cyclone-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>We asked for a GTS 450 close to £100, and we got it: it's currently just £3 over the mark. MSI has constructed a rather beefy card, too, with a humongous fan dominating it, which delivers cool performance from a single PCI power connector. In benchmarks terms it's what we expected from a GTS 450: good performance, but the £150 GTX 460 beats it. But it's a small card without much power draw, which makes it perfect for an SLI or media centre set-up.</P><br /><P><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/msi-gts-450-cyclone-904170/review">Read our MSI GeForce GTS 450 Cyclone review </A></P><br /><P><STRONG>2. Asus GTS 450 TOP - £113</STRONG></P><br /><P><img alt="Asus gts 450 top review" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/Asus%20GTS%20450%20TOP/GTS%20450%20pic-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>Since time began, Nvidia and AMD have been stuck in the graphics card race, and this is Nvidia's attempt to out-do AMD in the budget stakes. It's not a bad little card, too, with a decent overclock and rock-solid core performance. It competes almost directly with AMD's similarly-priced 5770, adding Nvidia's own CUDA and PhysX to the DirectX 11 mix. Asus' overclocked "Top" edition beat the 5770 in our benchmarks by a hair's breadth - something the original GTS 450 wasn't capable of.</P><br /><P><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/asus-gts-450-top-715663/review">Read our Asus GTS 450 TOP review</A></P><br /><P><STRONG>3. EVGA Superclocked GTX 460 768MB - £129</STRONG></P><br /><P><img alt="EVGA superclocked gtx 460 review" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/768-P3-1360-TR_XL_1-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>There's a difficult balancing act in the GTX 460, between the 1GB versions and the 768MB cards, such as this EVGA effort. EVGA has made up for the comparative lack of memory by "Superclocking" this card, which means it's got a little more power where it's needed. The result is some fairly impressive benchmarks, although it doesn't offer quite as much overclocking headroom as a full 1GB card. If you're happy with the decent </P><br /><P><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/evga-superclocked-gtx-460-768mb-704353/review">Read our EVGA Superclocked GTX 460 768MB review</A></P><br /><P><STRONG>4. EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1GB FTW Edition - £219</STRONG></P><br /><P><img alt="EVGA geforce gtx 460 review" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/EVGA%20GTX%20460%20FTW/EVGA%20GTX%20460%20FTW-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>EVGA's other GTX 460 - the 1GB FTW edition - sits at the other end of the scale to its cheapo 768MB card. The FTW is a wonderful card, too, delivering the best out of box GTX 460 performance we've seen, with a decent price tag to boot. It's not a great overclocker (that accolade goes to MSI's GTX 460 HAWK), and it does get rather toasty, but it's a solid graphics card you can slap straight into your PC without having to get your hands dirty with all those overclocking shenanigans.</P><br /><P><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/evga-geforce-gtx-460-1gb-ftw-edition-900025/review">Read our EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1GB FTW Edition review</A></P><br /><P><STRONG>5. Zotac GeForce GTX 470 - £291</STRONG></P><br /><P><img alt="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Zotac%20GTX%20470/GTX%20470%20Zotac%201.jpg" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Zotac%20GTX%20470/GTX%20470%20Zotac%201-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>Sitting firmly between the GTX 460s and 480s, the Geforce GTX 470 is essentially a trimmed 480, but it's still a perfectly capable high end card. It packs a definite graphical grunt, sailing through all but our Metro 2033 benchmarks. It doesn't take too much power (a single PCI-e connector is all that's required), and it's also fairly small. Our biggest gripes are the price and its higher-than-average noise levels, but it's still a killer card, and far cheaper than its GTX 480 forefather.</P><br /><P><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/zotac-geforce-gtx-470-686665/review">Read our Zotac GeForce GTX 470 review</A></P><br /><P><STRONG>6. Zotac GTX 480 AMP! - £392</STRONG></P><br /><P><img alt="Zotac gtx 480 review" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20242/PCF242.w_rev2.gtx480-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>GTX 480s are infamous for getting as hot as the surface of the sun, hence the need for not one, but two, industrial coolers on Zotac's take on the card. This allows Zotac to up the clocks a little, giving a four per cent increase on stock performance and an AMP! moniker. Not all that great, but what really impressed us about the GTX 480 AMP! is the extra headroom on top of this - we managed to get the overclock up to 20 per cent. It's incredibly pricey, but it's one of the best cards out there, and able to handle everything we threw at it with aplomb.</P><br /><P><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/zotac-gtx-480-amp--698040/review">Read our Zotac GTX 480 AMP! review</A></P><br /><P><STRONG>7. Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 review - £399</STRONG></P><br /><P><img alt="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/GTX%20580%203qtr-218-85.jpg" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/GTX%20580%203qtr-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>So why not eschew the outgoing 480 and plump for the 580? In terms of performance, the GTX 480 was a very good card. In single-GPU metrics, it was the fastest card available, despite AMD's launch of its second-generation DX11 cards: the <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6870-902549/review">Radeon HD 6870</A> and <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6850-902866/review">HD 6850</A>. With the 580, there's been no strange reordering of Nvidia's card nomenclature to match what we've seen from its competitors. What's more, this new graphics behemoth is also heralding the approach of the 500 series of second-generation Fermi cards, with the lesser-lights of the card family filtering through fairly soon after. Watch this space.</P><br /><P><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/nvidia-geforce-gtx-580-906690/review">Read our Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 review</A></P>

Buying Guide: The best Nvidia graphics cards you can buy

With AMD stealing Nvidia's thunder a tad recently, the big N seems a little dazed by having the carpet pulled out from under it so merci...

Nvidia talks up GTX 580 vs AMD Caymen Islands

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/GTX%20580%203qtr-200-200.jpg"><br /><P>Nvidia has just launched it's newest, second generation DirectX 11 graphics card, the <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/nvidia-geforce-gtx-580-906690/review?artc_pg=1">GeForce GTX 580</A> and it thinks it's got an outright winner on its hands over AMD.</P><br /><P>Competitor AMD is rumoured to be launching its top-end GPUs at the end of this month after letting its uninspiring <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6870-902549/review">Radeon HD 6870</A> and <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6850-902866/review">HD 6850</A> into the wild in October.</P><br /><P>So who will win in this latest graphics deathmatch?</P><br /><P>According to Tom Petersen, Director of Technical Marketing at Nvidia, there's only going to be one winner.</P><br /><P>TechRadar asked him if the GeForce GTX 580 was still going to be the fastest card. "When Caymen comes out? Oh, I don't think it's going to be close."</P><br /><P><img alt="GF 110" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/GeForce_GTX_580_3qtr-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>"I have as much information as we have at Nvidia, but I think we're going to win," he continues. "If you believe their information that's become available so far we should win."</P><br /><P>That's confident stuff considering just how secretive AMD has been about its latest top-end graphics cards.</P><br /><P>The <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6000-what-to-expect-902180">Radeon HD 6970 and HD 6950</A>will include radically different architecture compared with its recent below-par releases.</P><br /><P>That's important because the rumours are that we're looking at twice the geometry performance of the previous generation of AMD GPUs.</P><br /><P>But as Petersen says, "ATI's been spectacularly secretive with Caymen Islands, so I can only guess."</P><br /><P>We shouldn't be guessing for too much longer though, and we'll have the full in-depth for you as soon as it hits our test benches.</P><br /><UL><br /><LI><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/nvidia-geforce-gtx-580-906690/review?artc_pg=1">Read our Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 review</A></LI><br /><LI><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6870-902549/review">Read our Radeon HD 6870 review</A></LI></UL>

Nvidia talks up GTX 580 vs AMD Caymen Islands

Nvidia has just launched it's newest, second generation DirectX 11 graphics card, the GeForce GTX 580 and it thinks it's got an out...

Review: Nvidia GeForce GTX 580

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/GTX%20580%203qtr-200-200.jpg"><br /><P>Coming almost out of nowhere is Nvidia's latest, greatest graphics card to date, the GeForce GTX 580.</P><br /><P>This new card has been extrapolated from the age-old adage, 'if it aint broke, don't fix it.'</P><br /><P>Nvidia's inaugural DirectX 11 card, the <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/nvidia-geforce-gtx-480-679629/review">GeForce GTX 480</A>, was a little broken and so Nvidia has been beavering away for the most part of this year trying to fix it.</P><br /><P>Now, in terms of performance, the GTX 480 was still a very good card. In single-GPU metrics it's still the fastest card available despite AMD's launch of its second generation DX11 cards, the <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6870-902549/review">Radeon HD 6870</A> and <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6850-902866/review">HD 6850</A>.</P><br /><P>Well, that was until this new chip tipped up anyway.</P><br /><P>The broken part of the GTX 480 came from what Nvidia itself promised for the first Fermi GPU. Originally the GF 100 was touted as having a full compliment of 512 CUDA cores, but when the GTX 480 hit our test benches however the GF 100 GPU inside it was sporting only a cut-down 480 cores.</P><br /><P>Rumours abounded that this was all down to poor chip yields from the silicon wafers with the full core count. Cutting that count to 480 then increased the numbers of usable chips in each wafer and made for a far more viable card.</P><br /><P>Nvidia though is still denying that there were any yield problems with the GTX 480. But as Tom Petersen, Nvidia's Technical Marketing Director told me at the GTX 480 launch, it wasn't "the perfect chip".</P><br /><P>The GF 110 housed in the GTX 580 though could well be the perfect Fermi chip, with the full 512 core-count and the same Streaming Microprocessor configuration as the GTX 480.</P><br /><P>But we weren't expecting the next generation of Fermi cards to be coming quite so soon. Nvidia has kept this one quiet for a long time and it wasn't until last week that we actually found out what it was up to.</P><br /><P>So spoiling the launch of AMD's latest cards, as well as getting the jump on its high-end <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6000-what-to-expect-902180">Caymen-powered cards</A> too, is something that Nvidia will be feeling rather proud of today.</P><br /><P>With this launch the GTX 580 is retiring the GTX 480 and is slotting in exactly the same place and price-point as its outgoing sibling. So no worries about the strange re-ordering of Nvidia's card nomenclature that we've seen from competitors then.</P><br /><P>With AMD having replaced the HD 5870 with a slower card, in the shape of the increasingly clunky-looking HD 6870, Nvidia was at pains to point out that this is a "100 per cent replacement for the GTX 480". Tom Petersen suggests stock of the GTX 480 will rapidly disappear and demand will be replaced by this new GTX 580 shaped card.</P><br /><P>This new graphics behemoth is also heralding the approach of the 500 series of second generation Fermi cards, with the lesser-lights of the card family filtering through fairly soon after.</P><br /><P>So is this new card a worthy successor to what was already the fastest single-GPU graphics card out there? Or is it just a hefty, hot, atavistic GPU from the green side of the graphics divide?</P><br /><P><img alt="NVIDIA geforce gtx 580" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/GeForce_GTX_580_3Qtr_Open-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>The big change is obviously the addition of the final Streaming Microprocessor (SM) that was removed from the GF 100 chip in order to garner yields large enough to make the GTX 480 a viable card.</P><br /><P>This means an extra 32 cores and one extra Polymorph engine added to the GTX 580's architectural make up.</P><br /><P>Essentially then it's the same chip as the one which powered the inaugural Nvidia Fermi card some seven months ago, though with the culled parts reintegrated into the final card.</P><br /><P>Running with a core and shader clock of 772MHz and 1,544MHz respectively it's also clocked higher than the GTX 480's 700/1,400MHz setup. The memory speed has also been upped to a jot above the 4GHz mark at 4,008MHz, a boost of some 312MHz.</P><br /><P>It still comes with the same 1.5GB of GDDR5 graphics memory, running on a 384-bit memory bus, that the GTX 480 had. With the possibility of AMD's top-end Caymen-powered cards coming with a 2GB memory block as standard that could be a sticking point in big-screen gaming terms.</P><br /><P>But there have also been some improvements in the GPU's make up to improve performance. These include improvements designed to boost the card's power in some texture-heavy applications and another which will, according to Nvidia, improve the Z-cull efficiency, namely the speed it analyses three dimensional depth on the GPU.</P><br /><P>But that's not the whole story. If this were simply a slightly faster GTX 480 we wouldn't be quite so interested; mostly because as fast as that card was, it was also an incredibly hot and rather loud beastie.</P><br /><P>The new GTX 580 though basically isn't. I was sat chatting in a quiet room with twin GTX 580s in SLI running at full load without having to shout to be heard.</P><br /><P>The key to this is the vapour-chamber tech Nvidia is now using in its reference cooler design.</P><br /><P><img alt="NVIDIA geforce gtx 580 - vapour chamber" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/GeForce_GTX_580_Vapor_Chamber_Cooling_Design-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>Instead of the standard heat-sink/fan array there is now a small pool of liquid in a chamber sitting atop the GPU. Once this heats up it turns to vapour, transferring the heat away from the chip, hits the condenser and turns back into liquid again. The heat is then transferred into the heatsink on top of that where the fan moves air across in the usual fashion.</P><br /><P>This GTX 580 is then quieter than any of Nvidia's last three top-end graphics cards.</P><br /><P>Power consumption too has been improved compared to the juice-hungry GTX 480. This is down to the improvements the green technicians have made at the transistor level. The key has been the use of low-leakage transistors on non-timing sensitive, pathways and higher-speed ones on critical paths, where speed is of the essence.</P><br /><P>Essentially what this all boils down to is a graphics card that is at once, faster, cooler, quieter and less power-hungry than the card it's replacing.</P><br /><P>You listening AMD?</P><br /><P><img alt="NVIDIA geforce gtx 580" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/GeForce_GTX_580_Back-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><STRONG>Test System:</STRONG></P><br /><UL><br /><LI>Intel Core i7 930 @ 2.8GHz</LI><br /><LI>Asus P6X58D-E</LI><br /><LI>6GB Corsair DDR3 @1,333MHz</LI><br /><LI>Ikonik Vulcan 1,200W PSU</LI><br /><LI>Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit</LI></UL><br /><P><EM>All the results below were taken at 2560x1600 and at the highest settings possible with 4x Anti-Aliasing turned on.</EM></P><br /><P>As you can see below the GTX 580 has the edge in pretty much any benchmark you care to throw at it. Only the combined might of the GTX 460 in SLI trim and the more expensive HD 5970 are in any position to make the latest Nvidia card sweat. And only then in a few, older benchmark tests.</P><br /><P>AMD's top card can manage a performance win in only one DirectX 11 benchmark, and Alien vs Predator is not a particularly striking example of DX11 implementation.</P><br /><P>The distance the HD 5970 lags behind in Heaven and Metro 2033 is more telling.</P><br /><P>In the legacy benchmarks the twin GPUs and extra graphics memory of the HD 5970 and GTX 460 in SLI do give them the lead against the GTX 580 though. But still each of those have their drawbacks against the newer card.</P><br /><P>Would you really want to pay more for the venerable HD 5970 just to have better performance in older games, but worse in future titles?</P><br /><P>Unlikely.</P><br /><P>The out-going GTX 480 though is resoundingly beaten across the board, on average by a little over 17% over the eight tests.</P><br /><P>We haven't included the figures for the now defunct Radeon HD 5870 as it's been replaced by the new HD 6870. But then we haven't included those figures here as they're nowhere near the GTX 580 in terms of placement or performance.</P><br /><P><STRONG>DirectX 11 Tessellation Performance</STRONG></P><br /><P><img alt="NVIDIA geforce gtx 580 - benchmarks" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/580%20Heaven2-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><STRONG>DirectX 11 Gaming performance</STRONG></P><br /><P><img alt="NVIDIA geforce gtx 580 - benchmarks" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/580%20Metro2-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><img alt="NVIDIA geforce gtx 580 - benchmarks" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/580%20D22-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><img alt="NVIDIA geforce gtx 580 - benchmarks" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/580%20AvP2-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><img alt="NVIDIA geforce gtx 580 - benchmarks" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/580%20LP22-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><STRONG>DirectX 10 Gaming Performance</STRONG></P><br /><P><img alt="NVIDIA geforce gtx 580 - benchmarks" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/580%20JC22-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><img alt="NVIDIA geforce gtx 580 - benchmarks" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/580%20FC22-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><img alt="NVIDIA geforce gtx 580 - benchmarks" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/580%20Crysis2-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><img alt="NVIDIA geforce gtx 580" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/GeForce_GTX_580_3Qtr_Open-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>Forget all the architectural shenanigans though, the real proof is in the performance pudding. So how does Nvidia's new flagship card stand up to our test-benches scrutiny?</P><br /><P>The answer is, very well indeed.</P><br /><P>In sheer performance terms alone the GTX 580 averages a boost of 17.5% at the top-end compared with the standard GTX 480 across our suite of benchmarks. Only in Metro 2033 and Just Cause 2 does the percentage framerate gain drop below a 10% boost. And in DiRT 2 we hit a 27% increase on the GTX 480, almost making the projected 30 per cent boost Nvidia had spoken about pre-launch.</P><br /><P>AMD's bizarre naming switch-around with the HD 5870 and HD 6870 aside this is almost exactly the sort of performance figures we would expect to see from a card being sent out to replace another, older generation of GPU. And given that it's based on the same Fermi architecture we didn't really expect a huge leap in performance.</P><br /><P>But this boost is still very significant.</P><br /><P>What is important is that with the increased clockspeed and extra CUDA cores this is a card that is now outperforming AMD's best card, the dual-GPU HD 5970 in all but one of our DirectX 11 benchmarks.</P><br /><P>That's something the GTX 480 couldn't boast at launch, and it leaves AMD in a little bit of hot water.</P><br /><P>There are a couple of benchmarks, such as the Just Cause 2 and Far Cry 2 results, that put the twin-GPU card on top, but they're older generation technology. In the DirectX 11 benchmarks the GTX 580 shows its performance chops.</P><br /><P>And also shows it's a more long-lived card.</P><br /><P>Compared with AMD's top single-GPU card, the HD 5870, it's Britney Spears vs. Goliath out there, and there's no pointy stones lying around either. The HD 5870 was a way behind the GTX 480 but now it staggers around in the GTX 580's wake like some punch-drunk little Disney Mouseketeer.</P><br /><P>It's looks every inch the retiring technology that it is.</P><br /><P>When it comes to the improved power efficiency though, it's not quite as impressive as we'd hoped. There are definite drops in both temperature and in the system power drawn from the wall, but measuring the total system power between a GTX 480 and a GTX 580 setup we only saw a drop off of around 5 per cent under full load.</P><br /><P>Likewise running the GPU at 100% saw only a 6 per cent difference in the peak temperature reading over time.</P><br /><P>What is significant though is that it has achieved drops in both heat generation and power draw, while still managing to be quieter than either of the last three top-end Nvidia GPUs. 'It's the quietest high-end GPU we've done in about years,' says Petersen.</P><br /><P>Generally you'd expect a boost in performance, coupled with better power efficiency and hence lower temperatures, to be linked to a shrink in the manufacturing process. The fact that Nvidia has managed to do this with essentially the same chunky chip design as the overpowered, overheating GF 100 of the GTX 480, is thoroughly impressive.</P><br /><P>The only slight fly in the ointment is possibly the impressive SLI performance of the <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/zotac-geforce-gtx-460-1gb-702150/review">1GB GTX 460</A>.</P><br /><P>It's only in Metro 2033 that the real gulf in technology is that evident. For the most part you are looking at single figure percentage drops in performance and when you're see a drop from 34 fps to 32 fps that's a difference few gamers are really going to be able to notice.</P><br /><P>That SLI pairing is also £100 cheaper than the single GTX 580 too.</P><br /><P>That said you'd need an SLI-certified motherboard and a heftier power supply than you would with a single card. And despite how good multi-GPU setups have become in terms of reliability and support, a single, powerful card is a lot more of a safe bet.</P><br /><P><img alt="NVIDIA geforce gtx 580" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/GTX%20580%203qtr-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>So here it is, the fastest DirectX 11 graphics card around today. No caveats here, there's none of the GTX 480's distraction over the dual-GPU HD 5970, this is as fast as it currently gets.</P><br /><P>AMD will argue that the HD 5970 is still a faster card, but only if you select your tests carefully.</P><br /><P>The really impressive thing is that performance boost has come in a cooler, quieter, less power-hungry package. Granted the power and temperature drops aren't quite as significant as we might have hoped, but the fact it's come without having to follow a die-shrink is definitely worth noting.</P><br /><P>It's a simple sell as well. The GTX 480 is being completely replaced by this new card, essentially the card it should have been all along, and comes in at the same price-point too.</P><br /><P>Still, that's £400 for a graphics card, but with the safe knowledge that it's the fastest, most future-proof thing on a single PCB right now.</P><br /><P>And that timing is significant too.</P><br /><P>The GTX 580 has sneaked up quietly, stealing the HD 6870 and HD 6850's weak rumbles of thunder. Those cards though were just caught up in the crossfire, what the GTX 580 is really gunning at is the supposedly imminent launch of AMD's new top-end cards, the Caymen GPU-powered HD 69xx cards.</P><br /><P>The rumours are they'll appear towards the end of November, but then there's also been rumours that there's some delay which is keeping stock away from AMD's board partners. </P><br /><P>So with Nvidia setting out its stall in this fashion the onus is definitely on AMD to produce something special to try and beat the GTX 580, though speaking with the green company they think this latest Fermi card has got the top-end GPU battle sewn up for the foreseeable.</P><br /><P>The only slightly sticky point for the GTX 580 is the SLI performance of cheaper cards. A twin GTX 460 setup will come incredibly close to the top-end card's figures and for £100 less. Pair up a couple of <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/zotac-geforce-gtx-470-686665/review">GTX 470</A>s and they will spank it for the same price.</P><br /><P>So if you're sitting there with a GTX 460 and wondering whether it's time to go the whole hog and buy a GTX 580 have another think if you would be better served paying £250 less and just getting another GTX 460 for your rig.</P><br /><P>Still, that's only if you've got a PSU beefy enough to cope with SLI and a certified motherboard too.</P><br /><P><STRONG>We liked:</STRONG></P><br /><P>The increased clocks, reengineered parts and reintegrated GPU components all add up to some impressive performance metrics. A new top-end card though should deliver that, what we weren't necessarily expecting though was that all to come alongside quieter, cooler and less thirsty running too.</P><br /><P><STRONG>We disliked:</STRONG></P><br /><P>There's really not a lot to dislike about the GTX 580. Nvidia has addressed pretty much all the issues we ever had with the GTX 480 it's directly replacing. The only issue is that it's bloody expensive, but then bringing this card out for less than £400 would turn the GPU industry on its head.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Final word:</STRONG></P><br /><P>With no new top-end AMD cards to put the GTX 580 up against there is no clear competition for what is now the fastest DX11 card available. Even the twin-GPU HD 5970 has met its match. Until the Caymen cards make an appearance, this is as good as it gets.</P><STRONG>Related Links</STRONG><br /><UL><br /><LI><a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/techradar-s-reviews-guarantee-622749">TechRadar's Review Guarantee</A></LI><br /><LI><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards">Read more graphics card reviews</A></LI></UL>

Review: Nvidia GeForce GTX 580

Coming almost out of nowhere is Nvidia's latest, greatest graphics card to date, the GeForce GTX 580. This new card has been extrapolate...

Nvidia steps up DirectX 11 graphics war with GTX 580

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/NVIDIA%20GeForce%20GTX%20580/GTX%20580%203qtr-200-200.jpg"><br /><P>Nvidia has formally announced its GeForce GTX 580 DirectX 11 card - a release designed to counter AMD's recently-released <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6870-902549/review">Radeon HD 6870</A>. </P><br /><P>Read our <a href="http://www.techradar.com/906775">Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 review</A> now on TechRadar.</P><br /><P>The card is still based on Nvidia's original DirectX 11 GPU architecture called Fermi, but it fixes the flaws we found with the first-generation card - the <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/nvidia-geforce-gtx-480-679629/review">GTX 480</A>. </P><br /><P>The new GTX 580 has a 772Mhz clock and a full 512 processing cores alongside 1.5GB of DDR5 memory. </P><br /><P>Nvidia is sure not to be too happy over the handling of the announcement - details leaked before the launch courtesy of some of the company's own OEM partners. </P><br /><P>Nvidia had previously been cagey about its future intentions and we only recently found out that it was planning on releasing this card at this point in time.</P><br /><P>With this launch, Nvidia is discontinuing the GTX 480 and is putting the new card at the older card's price point and market positioning. </P><br /><P>You can see what performance the new card puts out in our GTX 580 review, but it certainly seems Nvidia has bitten back at AMD somewhat - after all, the guys in the red corner replaced the HD 5870 with a slower card in the form of the HD 6870. As it always does, this one will run and run. </P><br /><UL><br /><LI><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd-radeon-hd-6870-902549/review">Read our AMD Radeon HD 6870 review</A></LI><br /><LI><a href="http://www.techradar.com/906775">Read our Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 review</A> </LI></UL>

Nvidia steps up DirectX 11 graphics war with GTX 580

Nvidia has formally announced its GeForce GTX 580 DirectX 11 card - a release designed to counter AMD's recently-released Radeon HD 6870...

NVIDIA DX11 GPU claims the fastest so far, wait for AMD

NVIDIA DX11 GPU claims the fastest so far, wait for AMD