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NVIDIA Launches GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448-Core GPU

Posted by Unknown on from the more-cores-more-powers dept.

MojoKid writes "NVIDIA has just launched the GeForce GTX 560 Ti with 448 cores. Though perhaps a bit unimaginative in terms of branding, the new GeForce GTX 560 Ti with 448 cores is outfitted with the same GF110 GPU powering high-end GeForce GTX 570 and GTX 580 cards, but with a couple of its streaming multiprocessors fused off. The card has 448 CUDA cores arranged in 14 SMs, with 56 texture units and 40 ROPs. Reference specifications call for a 732MHz core clock with 1464MHz CUDA cores. 1.2GB of GDDR5 memory is linked to the GPU via a 320-bit bus and the memory is clocked at an effective 3800MHz data rate. Performance-wise, the new GPU proved to be about 10 to 15 percent faster than the original GeForce GTX 560 Ti and a few percentage points slower than the GeForce GTX 570."

28 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. Do they accept trade-ins? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I bought a 560 Ti just a month ago and now this? FFFFFFfffffffffff...

    1. Re:Do they accept trade-ins? by ebombme · · Score: 5, Informative

      If it is EVGA brand I believe they allow a trade in program within a certain amount of time for situations just like this. They have a trade in program where you send in your old card and pay the difference and they will send you the updated card of choice.

    2. Re:Do they accept trade-ins? by spacepimp · · Score: 2

      If it is EVGA brand I believe they allow a trade in program within a certain amount of time for situations just like this. They have a trade in program where you send in your old card and pay the difference and they will send you the updated card of choice.

      I just bought the 560 TI 2GB EVGA. Your post just made my day.

    3. Re:Do they accept trade-ins? by flimflammer · · Score: 4, Funny

      Probably not but it doesn't hurt when you're thinking of future-proofing your investment in high end graphics card technology. Especially considering how fast it moves.

    4. Re:Do they accept trade-ins? by Yvan256 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      future-proofing your investment in high end graphics card technology

      Funniest post of the day.

    5. Re:Do they accept trade-ins? by hairyfeet · · Score: 2

      I have an even better question...does someone have a translator please? Like what the difference between a Stream processor and a core is? Because my old HD4850 has 800 Stream processors but i have NO clue as to how to translate that to cores.

      Frankly the whole CPU and GPU business is starting to give me a bit of a headache. Remember when all you needed to know was MHz? Now there is in order and out of order, there are modules and full cores and hyperthreading and its all getting to the point one really needs a lookup table handy so one can translate this into numbers we can actually compare. While i doubt I'll be needing anything of this price range for me or my boys (they too are on HD4850s and quite happy as am I) I do still have a few gamer customers as well as some engineering and graphics guys and being able to translate to English would be off the good.

      BTW sorry to go a little OT but does anyone know how well Nvidia cards work with SolidWorks? I have an older engineer that uses the program (he gets it from the college he volunteers for, Jesus is that program high!) and the HD4650 I sold him seems to be doing okay with it but they keep having the 210s on sale and I wonder if anyone has run the program on one of those. Just adding the HD4650 to his main PC gave it a hell of a speed boost, with no more graphic hangs when he rotates large models, but I'd hate to tell the guy to buy a 210 if it turns out Nvidia cards aren't so good with it. all the website says is use the more expensive CAD cards but frankly he doesn't need FirePro or Quatro levels of precision, he just needs the models to render quick and clean. He is a hell of a nice guy (and a former NASA engineer, getting to hold some of the actual shuttle plans? Sweeet!) and I'd really like to steer him right.

      --
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  2. Cha-ching BitCoin! by stevegee58 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yay gotta get me one o' those!

  3. The summary doesn't make it clear... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The summary doesn't make it clear, but... how many cores does this new video card have?

    1. Re:The summary doesn't make it clear... by ebombme · · Score: 2, Funny

      The summary doesn't make it clear, but... how many cores does this new video card have?

      448 cores

    2. Re:The summary doesn't make it clear... by jones_supa · · Score: 2

      On the same note, even the "The AC was making a joke, numbnuts." message could in theory have been humor too. :)

    3. Re:The summary doesn't make it clear... by Tarsir · · Score: 2

      It's jokes all the way down!

  4. Re:fused off? Really?! by rahvin112 · · Score: 5, Informative

    They use lasers to cut the traces on the processor and firmware to disable what they can't cut. The chips are designed with this ability so they can bin and disable to differentiate models and use parts with defects. All the different model numbers are just binned parts with the bad sections disabled.

  5. Re:And the name is the same? by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Funny

    One up would be Vanadium, V. And why not, it has a pretty cool ring to it, as would 560V, don't you think? Sounds like it has a really high voltage. :)

    I mean, you have to leave some room for the future, if you call it the 560pt, you're soon at Gold, Mercury, Thallium and ... well, Lead. And I dunno if Lead is really what you want attached to your graphics card name, it doesn't really sound "fast"...

    --
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  6. Re:fused off? Really?! by mprinkey · · Score: 4, Informative

    Probably referring to efuses that can be burned out on the die. These are common and allow CPU/GPUs to have unit-specific information (like serial numbers, crypto keys, etc) coded into otherwise identical parts from the fab. Video game systems like the 360 use them as an anti-hacking measure...disallowing older version of firmware to run on systems that have certain efuses "blown." Likely, there is an efuse for each core or group of cores. Those can be burned out if they are found to be defective or to simply cripple a portion of the part for down-binning. That is a practice at least as old as the Pentium 2.

  7. yes, really by OrangeTide · · Score: 4, Informative

    all parts have defects. although sometimes companies don't test throughly enough to find the defects. and usually the defects don't impact normal operation. But when the potential exists for problems, they are forced to either scrap the part or bin it as a lower spec part. Binning improves yield and helps keep prices down on the higher-end parts that do pass tests.

    But here's the problem with binning from a marketing standpoint: "and a few percentage points slower than the GeForce GTX 570". This binned 570 is about $60+ cheaper and will likely slide down to the old 560 Ti (naming is confusing!) prices. So now they've created a cheaper version that is almost the same performance, and run the risk that customers will choose the cheaper product over the more expensive (and I assume higher margin) product.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    1. Re:yes, really by billcopc · · Score: 5, Informative

      Strictly speaking, it costs the same to make this new 560 Ti chip as a balls-out 580 chip. They're identical from the fab's perspective. In practice, the 560 Ti is a way to maximize yield by salvaging defective 580s. This is very much like Celerons being Pentiums with the defective parts lasered or fused off.

      If it weren't for this binning, they would have to toss these chips in the garbage. In theory, salvaging imperfect chips allows them to price things more aggressively across the product line, since the sunk cost of manufacturing is averaged out over a much greater volume.

      Here's an example, and note these numbers are purely arbitrary, I know nothing about fab economics:

      Suppose they had to throw 4 out of every 5 GTX chip away, and each one cost $100 to make, then each good GTX would cost $500 on average. The yield is thus 20%.

      If instead, they can sell those 4 bad chips as lower-spec products, each chip costs $100. The yield is now 100%.

      So yes, the higher binned cards theoretically cost the same to build as the cheap ones (assuming similar memory/outputs/PCB). They are thus higher-margin, but also scarce due to manufacturing limitations. The smaller the pitch, the harder it is to produce a perfect chip. This scarcity is what leads to the increased cost. After all, if a 580 cost the same as a 560, everyone would want the faster one and no one would buy the rejects. OEMs partially compensate by bundling a bunch of stuff with the high-end cards, like pack-in games, DP converters and assorted swag - cheap stuff with a higher perceived value. Put it this way: a recent title like Battlefield 3 might sell for $69 in stores, but you can be sure the OEM is paying much less to bundle it with their product. That goes a long way toward buttering up prospective buyers.

      I'm sure NVIDIA would rather be stuck with a handful of "true" 570s than a shit ton of useless defective chips. People will choose the cheaper product, that's the point! If it weren't for binning, these chips would be worth zero dollars, destined for the incinerator. Pricing doesn't really matter that much, this late in the generation. The GTX 6xx (Kepler) is due out in March 2012, and will probably be available only as a high-end part at first. Bleeding-edge nutjobs like myself will be able to blow $1500 on a pair of the latest and greatest, while the sane people buy out the remainder of 5xx inventory at clearance prices, and only then will the new low-end cards be launched. They've got it down to a science.

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com
    2. Re:yes, really by isorox · · Score: 2

      Suppose they had to throw 4 out of every 5 GTX chip away, and each one cost $100 to make, then each good GTX would cost $500 on average. The yield is thus 20%.

      If instead, they can sell those 4 bad chips as lower-spec products, each chip costs $100. The yield is now 100%.

      But what if the availability of those $100 chips reduces demand for the $500 ones? You could end up selling the 4x$100 ones, but can't shift the $500 one.

      Look at airlines. They fly a plane from London to New York, it has 200 economy seats, 50 business seats.

      Economy sell for $500. Business for $2000.

      After everyone's on board, the cabin crew notice that Business class only has 30 people in (economy has 150 people). They hold an auction to upgrade economy travellers, and remaining 20 seats go for $200 each.

      On the face of if, the cabin crew have just raised an extra $4,000 for their airline.

      however

      On the next flight the business is empty. Economy has 180 people in. The cabin crew do the same auction, and this time seats go for $250 each. Wonderful, they've now made $12,500, at least on the surface.

      The problem is, the people that would normally spend $2,000 on a business ticket will buy economy for $500 and pay for the upgrade ($250)

      The first flight would have made 30*2000 + 150*500 = $135,000
      The upgrades would have bumped that up to $139,000

      However the effect of the upgrades caused the second flight to be economy class only. The flight makes 180*500 + 50*250 upgrades, or $102,500.

      Sometimes it's worth throwing away stock, or seats, to protect your market.

    3. Re:yes, really by billcopc · · Score: 2

      The fundamental difference is that economy and business class seating both arrive at the same destination, at the same time. I couldn't care less about the cheap seat, as long as I get there in one piece. A high-end GPU runs a lot faster than the low-end variants, which for some of us is all that matters.

      I like to run my games at 2560x1440. Why ? Because that's my native resolution on these 27" LCDs. Sure, I could use 1920x1080, or even 1280x720, but I like the higher res. If I can spend a little more on GPUs to push those extra pixels and be wowed by the graphics once in a while, to me it's well worth it.

      Or, to be perfectly frank, if the cheaper GPU can't handle the raw graphics bandwidth to run my racing games at a smooth 60fps 2560x1440 times 3 displays for the surround view, well that GPU is worth exactly $0 to me, because I'm a big baby and I like my big shiny toys. And then I do batty stuff like Cuda-assisted raytracing, which turns GPU clusters into happy faces. Wackos like myself are only interested in the $500+ GPUs, and thumb our noses at anything less than 2 of whatever card is the newest hotness. You could not sell me a $100 GPU if it came with a lifetime supply of maple-roasted bacon. So no, I don't think the low-end cards are hurting high-end sales much at all. The sweet spot is in the $150 to $225 range, where the great majority of gamers lurk, and that segment is quite safely isolated from the high and low extremes.

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com
  8. Impressive specs by ifiwereasculptor · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As a whole, it's impressive that we can build such a thing. It's equally impressive that the number one reason for such an advanced piece of technology is so people can virtually shoot the current unfashionable eastern europeans by using more polygons.

  9. Expensive much? by RobinEggs · · Score: 3, Informative

    I still can't fathom spending $300 on a video card....and feeling like I got a slammin deal in the process.

    What happened to the red-hot competition of 2008, when I built my first modern system and got a newly released Radeon 4850 for $150? That card was maybe the fourth most powerful you could get; there was no serious improvement to be had without adding more dies, via either X2 cards or crossfire.

    Now today the 560 Ti and the 6950 occupy the same relative position in the hierarchy of GPUs that my 4850 held in 2008...yet rather than being brand new and $150 those two cards are almost a year old and $250-$300.

    Ouch.

    1. Re:Expensive much? by mikael · · Score: 2

      My first PC in 1988 was around £2000 or $3000.

      Now, even smartphones and USB sticks are getting GPU's to do texture-mapping at HD resolutions.

      To think that it used to $150,000+ just to get a basic 24-bit color framebuffer and basic graphics API.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
    2. Re:Expensive much? by Calibax · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I remember when a megabyte of RAM dropped to under $1,000,000, when we switched from core to semiconductor technology circa 1972. And we thought it a great advance.

      Now get off my lawn, noob.

  10. Re:fused off? Really?! by mr1911 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Fuze? Is that some type of trademarked name for the concept of a fuse?

    I get my feeling hurt when no one makes snotty comments on my posts. It was troll bait. And it worked.

    Thank you.

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  11. Re:fused off? Really?! by jones_supa · · Score: 2

    Well played, sir.

  12. How fast for Angry Birds? by bryan1945 · · Score: 2

    Does it make my speedy bird go really really REALLY fast?

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  13. Re:fused off? Really?! by Ellis+D.+Tripp · · Score: 2

    Actually, "fuze" is a proper spelling--assuming you are talking about a timer/impact sensor/radio type device that sets off a bomb or artillery shell. The string or cord that you light with a match to set off a simpler type of explosive or firework is spelled with an "s", however.

    When referring to an electrical overcurrent device, it is also spelled with an "s".

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  14. Insane power consumption by Lawrence_Bird · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Its pretty difficult to get precise power figures on graphics cards - reviews always rate against 'total system' but never give us for reference the system power use without the card (or perhaps an onboard video solution). In any event, all modern cards are total power pigs. At a time where Intel and AMD try are trying very hard to reduce cpu power consumption, graphics cards are using up many multiples of those savings. I'm not sure where 'it has a wall outlet plug' gave these card and gpu producers license to subsidize the power companies.

  15. Crazy by Guppy · · Score: 4, Funny

    Meanwhile, at AMD/ATI Headquarters:

    "Well, fuck it. We're going to 449 cores."