Nvidia launched a brand-new graphics architecture today. Codenamed Maxwell and designed with energy efficiency very much in mind, the mainstream GeForce GTX 750 Ti is the full implementation of the GM107 silicon. New architecture launches usually coincide with more than one retail card, to maximise revenue, and Maxwell is no exception. Nvidia is also launching the GeForce GTX 750 (non-Ti), so let's take a look and see how it's different.
GTX 750
|
GTX 750 Ti
|
GTX 650
|
GTX 650 Ti
|
|
| Die Code name | Maxwell GM107 |
Maxwell GM107 |
Kepler GK107 |
Kepler GK106 |
| DX API | 11.1 |
11.1 |
11.1 |
11.1 |
| Process (nm) | 28 |
28 |
28 |
28 |
| Transistors (bn) | 1.87 |
1.87 |
1.30 |
2.54 |
| Die Size (mm²) | 148 |
148 |
118 |
221 |
| SM Units | 4 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
| Processors | 512 |
640 |
384 |
768 |
| Texture Units | 32 |
40 |
32 |
64 |
| ROP Units | 16 |
16 |
16 |
16 |
| L2 cache (KB) | 2,048 |
2,048 |
256 |
256 |
| GPU Clock (MHz) | 1,020 (1,085) |
1,020 (1,085) |
1,058 |
928 |
| GFLOPS | 1,111 |
1,389 |
812.5 |
1,425 |
| Texture fill rate (GT/s) | 34.7 |
43.4 |
33.9 |
59.2 |
| Memory Clock (MHz) | 5,000 |
5,400 |
5,000 |
5,400 |
| Memory Bus (bits) | 128 |
128 |
128 |
128 |
| Max Bandwidth (GB/s) | 80 |
86.4 |
80 |
86.4 |
| Power Connectors | None |
None |
None |
6-pin |
| TDP (watts) | 55 |
60 |
64 |
110 |
| GFLOPS per watt | 20.2 |
23.15 |
12.92 |
12.92 |
| SLI | No |
No |
No |
No |
| Current MSRP ($ USD) | 119 |
149 |
109 |
129 |
Analysis
GeForce GTX 750 uses the same die as the Ti variant but, in the name of segmentation, loses one of the five SMM units. Doing so reduces the number of cores to 512 and texture units to 32, though everything else from an architecture point of view, as far as we can tell, remains the same.
Core frequency and GPU Boosting ability remain identical, too, though there's a drop in memory speed, from 5.4GHz to 5.0GHz. Combined with the slower memory, Nvidia saves five watts of board power by disabling the SMM unit, reducing overall TDP to 55W. Needless to say, GTX 750 doesn't require an additional power connector.
It's worth noting that, for now, GTX 750 is shipping with a 1GB framebuffer, as opposed to 2GB on the standard Ti, and this is likely to have some negative performance impact at 1080p and high-quality settings.
Nvidia's recommended pricing for a GTX 750 is $119 (£90) which puts it directly in the crosshairs of the AMD Radeon R7 260X. Extrapolating benchmark results from the Ti review suggests that GTX 750 and R7 260X should be fairly evenly matched in the performance benchmark stakes, perhaps with the R7 260X shading it, though Nvidia is certain to win out in energy efficiency.
We're hoping Nvidia's add-in board partners produce smaller, sensibly-sized GTX 750 cards and not merely strap on large, over-the-top coolers to the tiny GPU. A passively-cooled GTX 750 sounds like just the ticket for a small-form-factor PC.
