MSI Teases New GTX 970 Graphics Card

[N.Broekhuijsen]

MSI is teasing its new GTX 970 graphics card.

MSI Teases New GTX 970 Graphics Card : Read more

 

[Blaise170]

From the specs I've seen of the Maxwell cards so far, color me unimpressed. The prospective efficiency is neat, but otherwise seems like Nvidia is holding back.

 

[TechyInAZ]

Huh? What happened to the 800 series? Did Nvidia just jump a generation like intel did from X79 to X99?

 

[Blaise170]

Huh? What happened to the 800 series? Did Nvidia just jump a generation like intel did from X79 to X99?

They didn't want people to get confused since they released the 800M series for laptops along with the 700 series of desktop cards. So to keep consistency, they decided to skip 800 and go straight to 900 and 900M.

 

[dovah-chan]

The reason I assume why they are using the 900 series nomenclature is so as to not get people confused with the 800M series (which is kepler based).

 

[TechyInAZ]

Still weird to me since all the mobile GPUs have a M at the end. But thx for the info.

 

[dgingeri]

I know I must have missed something. What happened to the 800 series?

 

[hardcore_player]

we're not going to see a huge performance leap till Pascal architecture hit the shelve in 2016 .
Pascal is NVIDIA’s latest GPU architecture and is being introduced in between Maxwell and Volta . In the process it has absorbed old Maxwell’s unified virtual memory support and old Volta’s on-package DRAM.
Pascal will have a 3D memory and NV-link which will greatly improve performance and consume less power .
i wounder what would they call the Pascal GPU's .....definitely not GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 ......

 

[Jeffrey Barone]

Ah shucks I was going to buy one for my laptop good thing for the model numbers lol like seriously if the model numbers confuse people they are just stupid

 

[Jeffrey Barone]

Ah shucks I was going to buy one for my laptop good thing for the model numbers lol like seriously if the model numbers confuse people they are just stupid

 

[B4vB5]

Niels, would like to know whether or not the 970/980s will have HDMi 2.0 ports?

Kinda hoping but not holding my breath, sadly...

 

[N.Broekhuijsen]

Niels, would like to know whether or not the 970/980s will have HDMi 2.0 ports?

Kinda hoping but not holding my breath, sadly...

I haven't seen any mention of HDMI 2.0 yet, although given that there are already HDMI 2.0 monitors on the market it wouldn't surprise me all too much if the cards do end up having it. That said, there's always DisplayPort to get 4K@60Hz, which most 4K desktop monitors will have. For TVs...

 

[oxiide]

From the specs I've seen of the Maxwell cards so far, color me unimpressed. The prospective efficiency is neat, but otherwise seems like Nvidia is holding back.

Word on the street is they've had trouble getting their 20 nm node into a state where it can be used in a product. The first Maxwell cards will apparently be 28 nm, like the 750/750 Ti. I wouldn't say they're holding back; for the competitive edge it would give them I'm sure they'd be releasing it if they had it.

Besides, everything eventually comes back to power efficiency. You could use that efficiency to release a cooler and quieter card than the last generation, but more efficiency also allows a greater performance ceiling at a similar power draw.

 

[TechyInAZ]

From the specs I've seen of the Maxwell cards so far, color me unimpressed. The prospective efficiency is neat, but otherwise seems like Nvidia is holding back.

Word on the street is they've had trouble getting their 20 nm node into a state where it can be used in a product. The first Maxwell cards will apparently be 28 nm, like the 750/750 Ti. I wouldn't say they're holding back; for the competitive edge it would give them I'm sure they'd be releasing it if they had it.

Besides, everything eventually comes back to power efficiency. You could use that efficiency to release a cooler and quieter card than the last generation, but more efficiency also allows a greater performance ceiling at a similar power draw.

It's nice that they are targeting efficiency, since I prefer a lower power draw over better performance.

 

[RCguitarist]

And now you'll be able to get 85FPS as opposed to the measly 70fps the 780 can provide in modern games. Whoop-Dee-do!

 

[dovah-chan]

And now you'll be able to get 85FPS as opposed to the measly 70fps the 780 can provide in modern games. Whoop-Dee-do!

Captain Planet frowns upon thee

 

[B4vB5]

Niels, would like to know whether or not the 970/980s will have HDMi 2.0 ports?

Kinda hoping but not holding my breath, sadly...

I haven't seen any mention of HDMI 2.0 yet, although given that there are already HDMI 2.0 monitors on the market it wouldn't surprise me all too much if the cards do end up having it. That said, there's always DisplayPort to get 4K@60Hz, which most 4K desktop monitors will have. For TVs...

Thanks for the answer Niels, please keep us posted if you hear of ANY gfx card with HDMi 2.0 out ports!

There are indeed DP1.2+ ports for 4k@60 which is what I am after without the 4:2:0 solution. But the monitors so far are either too small (Samsung U28D590D / Asus PB287Q, both at 28) or too expensive (Dell 32UP14 at 32+IPS), so I am going for the HDMi TV's. And I don't need gaming, just desktop real estate to replace 2x27's at 1080p each.

Sadly with DP1.2 port, there is only the Panasonic TX-50AXW804(50 inch, comes in 65 too at the price of a car), which are twice as expensive for a 50 inch as a 55 inch Samsung UE55HU6900 with HDMi 2.0 port.

And those 1100 euros saved can easily pay for the very nice gfx card or even two good ones in SLI/Xfire with the HDMi 2.0 ports needed!

 

[SkyBill40]

I've always been a fan of MSI and have built three rigs with their equipment without a single issue. Despite my 660Ti OC 2GB Power Edition card still going strong and allowing me to play almost everything maxed out, it may be time to consider replacing it with something else. I'd thought about the 780 Lightning but, seeing that the new stuff is just around the bend, will likely wait and see what shapes out.

This looks like a solid card and the lower wattage, coupled with the 4GB of RAM, makes for a nice combination. It's all just a matter of at what price.

 

[SchizoFrog]

I don't get what the moaning is about. Early test figures and estimates point to the 970 performing between the 780 and the 780Ti and should cost about the same as current 770 GPUs. That seems pretty good value to me however things get even better when you factor in that these early scores will be based on STOCK performance and not potential overclocks. Maxwell has already shown that not only is it very efficient but that it overclocks extremely well so we could possibly have a GPU for £250 that matches or even beats a £470 GPU? I would be impressed with that.

 

[ferooxidan]

I understand if the reason was to avoid confusion for the customer because the notebooks already have 800M series, but logically if Nvidia launch their new gpu as 800 series then average customer would think "oh, there you are 800 series for desktop". By leaping the number can only means they wanted to upgrade notebook gpu with 900 series with the same new feature and tech as the desktop version. That can only mean....... thank God i held back and didn't buy the gorgeous MSI GS60 Ghost Pro! Haha it would be sucks when Nvidia update the notebook series with "newer" Maxwell.
On the bad side, since 800M powered notebook's price still exensive, when 900M is released then it will be even more epensive! darn

 

[The_Icon]

Such a small card, amazing piece of engineering. Now if only Nvidia is price competitive and I my future GPU will be their brand.

 

[FunSurfer]

I really really hope that this 900 series unified virtual memory technology will ease the pain of PCs running bad next-gen consoles ports.

 

[icemunk]

We need some dramatics jumps in the discrete GPU market, with 4K popping up all over the place, and even 5K monitors showing up; if anyone's going to continue to want to run triple monitor eyefinity/3d surround gaming at max resolution - today none of these cards can do it. Not even the 295X2.

 

[Steveymoo]

Hopefully the 980 will not just be a re-badged 780ti. Not holding my breath though.

 

[xenol]

Even though the performance isn't exactly something to write home to, the fact is that power consumption of a GPU is the limiting factor in GPU design, unless you're all okay with current trends making the possibility of future graphics cards require 8x2 and 6x1 plugs and three slots to cool it off for a single GPU

Plus the fact that Maxwell is supposedly going to offer high-end performance for much less. Sure, those with the 700 series will skip this but people who have high end cards from previous generations will certainly have incentive to upgrade. But honestly though, I don't really recall many people making the upgrade jump from one generation to the next. It's usually they wait until the one after the next.