NVIDIA’s engineering team was given a challenge: deliver a desktop GPU which integrates full system I/O and discrete-level performance in one-half the size of previous integrated graphics solutions.
MacDailyNews Take: Who issued that challenge, Steven P. Jobs?
The result: a 16-core CUDA-capable graphics architecture that enables mainstream PC users to play the latest top-selling PC games and enjoy silky-smooth, high-definition Blu-ray video playback—all without breaking the bank.
NVIDIA Introduces the GeForce 9400 and 9300 motherboard GPUs for desktop PCs on the Intel platform.
“These new mGPUs give NVIDIA a big advantage over other integrated graphics chips,” said Dr. Jon Peddie of Jon Peddie Research, in the press release. “By doing so much parallel processing on a single chip, they can accelerate the new visual computing applications people are getting, and at a reasonable price. The GeForce 9400 and 9300 mGPUs set a new standard for what users should expect from today’s more mainstream desktop systems.”
“We’ve combined the power of three different chips into one highly compact and efficient GPU,” said Drew Henry, general manager of MCP business unit at NVIDIA, in the press release. “In doing so, we’ve redefined the level of performance people can expect from a motherboard solution to enrich visual computing experiences for mainstream systems. You can now have the performance of a discrete GPU in a small form factor PC.”
GPUs have long been essential platforms for rendering real-time images to computer screens, but software developers and system manufacturers have only recently begun using their parallel processing power to deliver a new level of performance for a variety of visual computing applications, including Adobe Creative Suite 4 and BadaBoom. Badaboom is a video transcoding application to speed up application performance and free up the PC for doing other tasks in parallel.
The new NVIDIA GeForce 9-Series motherboard GPUs feature:
• 16-cores for processing DirectX 10 games and CUDA-accelerated applications
• High-quality video playback with NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology, which offloads 100% of all video processing from the CPU to the GPU
• Support for advanced audio and video connectivity, including uncompressed LPCM 7.1 audio, dual-link DVI, and HDMI
• Support for NVIDIA Hybrid SLI Technology, which boosts performance up to 70% above the motherboard GPU
• Single-chip design with much smaller footprint than competing chipsets makes it ideal for small form factor and ultra-slim media center PCs
Motherboards featuring GeForce 9-Series motherboard GPUs are shipping this month from industry-leading motherboard partners including: ASUS, ECS, EVGA, Foxconn, Galaxy, Gigabyte, J&W, MSI, Onda, Zotac, and XFX.
More information on the GeForce 9-Series mGPUs here.
Aviv Hadar writes for MacBlogz, “The higher end GeForce 9400 is the desktop version of the same GPU that Apple unveiled at the recent notebook media event. Both processors have been developed for the Intel platform, so Apple continuing to utilize its new fruitful relationship with NVIDIA makes sense. As previously reported, Apple is clearly impressed with what NVIDIA has brought to the table. Integrated NVIDIA GPU’s should continue making their way into more Apple products, especially if Apple wants to get rid of the notoriously negative gaming stigma that has plagued them for so many years.”
Full article here.
