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Nvidia Geforce 'Maxwell' Thread

When we reviewed Nvidia’s new Maxwell GTX 750 Ti, we highlighted how the chip’s power efficiency could make it a serious headache for AMD in the near future. Leaked benchmarks from the upcoming GTX 860M, point to the terrifying truth of that statement: While most high-end laptop GPUs have a TDP of 75W, the 860M displaces just 45W. Perhaps even more interestingly, if the chip is as capable as these tests indicate, it could make a potent upgrade for smartphones, tablets, and other ultra-mobile devices in the 20nm 2015/Tegra K1 timeframe as well.

First we’ll discuss laptops and desktops, since that’s what we have performance figures for. According to leaked information, the GeForce GTX 860M has 640 CUDA cores, 40 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 16 ROPs. At first glance, that would put it well behind the current GTX 760M, which has 768 cores, 64 ROPs, and 16 TMUs. It’s further dwarfed by the GTX 770M, which offers a 960:80:24 configuration.

Appearances, however, can be deceiving. In 3DMark 11′s Performance Preset, the GTX 860M reportedly puts up a score of P5339, as compared to the GTX 770M’s P5023. (P stands for Performance.)

GTX-770M wGTX-860M

The tables turn a bit in the Extreme Preset, where the GTX 770M’s score of X1747 narrowly wins past the GTX 860M’s X1662. This mirrors what we saw in desktop tests, where the GTX 650 Ti Boost was occasionally significantly faster than the GTX 750 Ti in tests that were memory bandwidth-bound or scaled extremely well with Kepler’s 192-core SMX architecture.

The real kicker, however, is the claimed 45W TDP envelope for the new Maxwell. This would make sense, given that the desktop variant has a 60W TDP and Nvidia can bin the mobile parts for superior power consumption. If it’s true, this puts AMD in a very tight spot with respect to the laptop market. AMD’s 28nm GCN parts are well-aligned against Kepler in terms of rated TDPs — the GTX 770M is reportedly a 75W part. At 45W, Mobile Maxwell is in a class of its own.

The road ahead

Nvidia is holding back for 20nm before it launches a full spread of Maxwell products on the desktop, and that’s likely true in mobile as well. The 860M is probably positioned to catch the sweet spot of the midrange space — and since it offers nearly top-end performance, it’s going to do that extremely well. No word on whether or not the 860M supports SLI configurations (the desktop variant doesn’t), or when we’ll see products actually shipping with the new GPU inside them.

One of the most exciting facets of this architecture, however, is the performance it should offer in a handheld. Tegra 4 may not have lit up the sales charts, but the Tegra K1′s mobile GPU architecture really ought to shine, especially when it comes to highlighting the performance benefits that CUDA and GPU physics can bring to the table in mobile games.

Next year, we’ll presumably see a 20nm version of Tegra K1 with more Project Denver-derived CPU cores and an integrated Maxwell GPU. Given that improvements to TDP and smaller dies directly translate to better experiences in handhelds (since every modern environment is TDP constrained), Nvidia should be able to deliver a killer upgrade 10-12 months from now.

This kind of debut in laptops could spur additional interest in licensing the company’s graphics technology. We haven’t heard of anyone signing up for a Kepler license to date, but power efficiency turns heads these days. If Maxwell keeps delivering like this, it’s going to attract attention — possibly from companies like MediaTek or RockChip, who are hungry to differentiate themselves and gain market share against giants like Qualcomm or Samsung.
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http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/1...nt-amd-and-nv-graphics-cards-by-a-huge-margin

From Matt's best mate Joel Hruska :p

I know it is talking about mobile GPU's but that has to be worrying for AMD.
 
^^ The Maxwell architecture is very impressive, that Nvidia 860M has 640 cores and putting out that type of performance with such a low TDP.

Looking forward to seeing the unveiling of the GTX 880 ;) and then AMD's response. Have a feeling a lot of people are going to want to upgrade..
 
More fuel to the rumor mill, a user on the EVGA forum asked about Titan Black Edition step up, this was the reply.

Hello NotoriousChucky,

The Titan Black and Titan cards may not make it on the Step Up list, since they are considered specialty cards are are on a limited quantity. Currently the highest model on the list is the GTX 780 Ti (03G-P4-2881-KR). You may want to keep an eye on the list during next 90 or so days to see if that list is updated or changes in anyway. You can see the list here: http://www.evga.com/support/stepup/ Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.
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Something is coming I tells ya..

http://forums.evga.com/FindPost/2118924
 
Step up program time limit is 90 days. So probably mentioned 90 days for that instead of new top end card coming out.

Hopefully I'm wrong as its about time we had new cards instead of refresh.
 
Sandmod said:
almost purchased a 780, may just wait for the 880 having read this
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If you can hang on a bit longer it's prob worth waiting until GDC in a couple of weeks, if anything is going to come soon it's highly likely to be at least spoken about then, maybe released in May/June.. With a 20nm refresh in Q4..

My guess is,

'Q2' 8XX 28nm (New architecture Maxwell).

'Q4' 9XX 20nm (Die Shrink / Maxwell Optimization).

'2015' 10XX 20nm (New architecture Volta).

'2016' 11XX 16nm (Die Shrink / Volta Optimization).
 
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Interesting to see what gets announced, not convinced it will be high end 28nm Maxwell, I think it will be the 790 and maybe an other low level Maxwell on 28nm.

I don't see what NVidia have to gain by releasing more Maxwell yet and think they will wait till later in the year.

Happy if im wrong and we start seeing the midrange and up.
 
either way it sounds like its worth waiting as it will drop the price of the current line if anything.

I currently have a 760 but it can drop FPS at times you need it at 2560x1440 so i need something more powerful
 
Asus GTX 750 Ti OC 2GB Review

We have been singing the praises of the Maxwell architecture since Nvidia launched it in February this year. It is such an improvement on the previous generation that Nvidia really do deserve an enormous amount of praise.
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pause for a moment and think of the potential for high end solutions down the line. The Maxwell architecture is unmatched in regards to performance per watt. In real world terms, the coolers on these graphics cards have to deal with less core heat, the fans can spin slower – which means less noise is emitted under any given situation.
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When Nvidia move to the 20nm process later this year we should see even bigger gains filtering up through the product line, including high end graphics cards that are faster, but run cooler and demand less power at the socket. It really is a win-win for their partners and we are positive that Nvidia have a very strong 24 months ahead of them
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Overclocked:

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http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/asus-gtx-750-ti-oc-2gb-review/
 
Gregster said:
^^ Very impressive :)
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Maxwell is a beast, I would go as far to say this is the biggest jump in architecture we have had since the old Nvidia glory days of the 8800 GTX :D

Check out the power consumption on this 28nm card, all that performance and such low power use..

B74u0Bi.png


The high end 20nm Maxwell GPU's are going to lay waste to AMD :p
 
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