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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 Gaming Performance Previewed – AMD Calls It “Unappealing”, On Par With A Rade

Gregster

Gregster

Gregster

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It’s no secret that NVIDIA is going to launch their GeForce GTX 960 graphics cards on 22nd January. The word has been out for a while and we have seen the specifications along with several AIB manufactured cards that use the custom and reference designs. Videocardz, who have their launch post published for the GeForce GTX 960 have previewed the performance of NVIDIA’s first GM206 GPU based graphics card which shows its gaming performance across several titles at 1080P which should be the recommended resolution for this graphics card.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 Graphics Card Performance Preview

To start off, NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 960 is the first to feature the latest GM206 graphics processing units which is a very skimmed down core compared to the GM204 core. As far as specifications are concerned, the GM206 based GeForce GTX 960 features 1024 CUDA cores, 64 Texture mapping units and 32 Raster operation units. It is clocked at 1127 MHz base and 1178 MHz boost clock. The graphics card also comes with a 2 GB GDDR5 video ram which operates along a 128-bit bus that is clocked at 7.00 GHz (1753 MHz QDR), pumping out 112 GB/s of cumulative bandwidth. The GeForce GTX 960 graphics card will feature a TDP of 120W that will be provided by a single 6-Pin connector while display outputs include Dual-DVI, HDMI 2.0 and a single display port. Technology such as DirectX 11.3 and DirectX 12 API support will be available. Lastly, the card features a single SLI goldfinger that limits it to only 2-Way SLI configuration however that’s expected from a marketing perspective of this budget card.
The price of this card will be determine its competition, the only figure I believe that the card would retail at is around $199 US. Currently, AMD has their Radeon R9 280 selling at that price point after some very aggressive price cuts during the initial Maxwell launch (GeForce 900 series). With a good deal popped in their cards, AMD can counter the GeForce GTX 960 by simply marketing the Radeon R9 280 however they seem to be pointing to the Radeon R9 285 as direct competition to the GeForce GTX 960, before I talk more on the performance front, let’s hear what AMD has to say about the upcoming launch:

We’re all aware of rumors swirling around an upcoming product launch this week. What does this product offer?
•A value oriented 128-bit memory interface
•A maximum 2GB frame buffer
•Questionable performance uplift over its predecessor, that launched over a year and a half ago
If this all sounds unappealing…it’s because it is. Better products already exist and are widely available in the market from AMD. The AMD Radeon™ R9 280 Series graphics are still gamers’ first choice, in this class, with features including, but not limited to:
•More memory bandwidth, with 256-bit (and higher) parts
•Beyond HD gaming experience with MSAA and AF, for superior performance
•Smooth game play at 4K resolutions in top-10 games like DOTA2, CS:GO, TF2, LoL and more
•Support for AMD technologies like Mantle, Eyefinity, TrueAudio (R9 285) and Freesync (R9 285)
•A starting price of 179 €.


Read more: http://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-...-unappealing-par-radeon-r9-285/#ixzz3POM73S7U

Read more: http://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-...-unappealing-par-radeon-r9-285/#ixzz3POKZO7wT
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So, AMD think it is unappealing (fair enough) and the price will be $199 - That puts it at ~£157. It could well be a winner for 1080P gaming. Not a beast by any standard and I was expecting a little more.
 
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The fact that GTX960 peforms virtually on par with 280X with less than half the TDP, one third of the bus size & two thirds of the memory is testament to how far ahead Nvidia are and probably the reason why AMD are making so little profit.

For me when performance is roughly at the same level, TDP/heat/noise are far more important than some paper specs.
 
It's not good value for money. I got my 290 for £170 after selling the 3 games that come with it. I would take the 290 any day over a 960. I was expecting a bit more from this card. To me it's to watered down.
 
Agreed, GTX 960 and Radeon 285 are both unappealing.

960 is behind the 770 and 285 behind the 280X. These cards are just crap at anything above £150 price point. I bet Nvidia price 960 @ £200. For a 2GB GPU that can't beat a 770. Urm no thanks Nvidia. AMD want nearly £200 for a 2GB GPU that can't beat the 280X.. Urm yeah no to that one as well..

Can we please get something high end next !! Current price to performance has not changed in ages.. We need a big jump in performance..
 
~>Dg<~ said:
just shows how good 7950s were.

im glad i kept one :p
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Let's not forget the 7950 cost £350+ at launch.

If the GTX 960 comes in at £150 in the UK, that's a great lil budget card. If it's £200 then you're better of with a R9 290, like way way way way better off.

290 is value / performance king atm, that is all..


Hurry up and release a proper high end card plz !!!
 
I am kinda drifting away from the enthusiast market and looking to hold what I have for as long as possible. Whilst GFX are great and smooth gameplay is paramount (G-Sync FTW!!!), I can't help but feel that chuffing up for another 28nm GPU leaves me feeling flat. If I was starting out and wanted a basic card, something like this would do a treat for 1080P and you can probably pop it under the TV in a tiny box and never have to worry about heat.

Maybe the market is just stale and needs a boost of something.
 
Gregster said:
I am kinda drifting away from the enthusiast market and looking to hold what I have for as long as possible. Whilst GFX are great and smooth gameplay is paramount (G-Sync FTW!!!), I can't help but feel that chuffing up for another 28nm GPU leaves me feeling flat. If I was starting out and wanted a basic card, something like this would do a treat for 1080P and you can probably pop it under the TV in a tiny box and never have to worry about heat.

Maybe the market is just stale and needs a boost of something.
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The market is pretty stale but with 3 Titans and the 6gb of Ram you should be good for awhile if Nvidia keep up with good sli support.
 
Boomstick777 said:
Let's not forget the 7950 cost £350+ at launch.

If the GTX 960 comes in at £150 in the UK, that's a great lil budget card. If it's £200 then you're better of with a R9 290, like way way way way better off.

290 is value / performance king atm, that is all..


Hurry up and release a proper high end card plz !!!
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Depends really how it compares to the 280 and how they price it. You can get the 280, 280x and 290 for £140, £180, £215 respectively. Love to see more benchmarks!
 
So basicasly the same performance as the GTX760 and R9 280 which can be had as low as £130 recently. Meh. Think I will need to look at spending £200+ to get a decent boost over my GTX660 which cost me £135 20 months ago with a free pre-release copy of Metro:Last Light worth nearly £30.
 
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