Nvidia Announces GeForce 7800

Graphics hardware giant Nvidia, which is also providing the RSX graphics chipset for the PlayStation 3 console, has released its latest PC video card chipset, the GeForce 7800 GTX GPU. As the flagship of Nvidia’s graphics card line, the 7800 GTX is aimed squarely at high-end users. The GPU’s all-new architecture boasts a new programmable shader architecture, film-quality high dynamic-range lighting support, second-gen Nvidia SLI technology, and second-gen Nvidia PureVideo technology. Using 50 percent less power than the previous-gen single-slot GeForce 6800 Ultra, the 7800 GTX processes game application throughput up to 2.3 times the speed of the previous card. The card also features 1080i HDTV output, the all-new Microsoft DirectX 9 Shader Model 3.0 engine running a 128-bit floating point core, and progressive anti-aliasing abilities. Two GeForce 7800 cards running in tandem via SLI can generate screen resolutions up to 2560x1600, while maintaining 4x anti-aliasing. Ujesh Desai, general manager of GeForce GPU development at Nvidia, proclaimed the 7800 GTX as “the most advanced graphics processor ever built.” The chipset, currently manufactured by partners BFG, EVGA, PNY, and XFX, are available now from online retailers. The chipset is also available in new PCs from Alienware, Falcon Northwest, Velocity Micro, and VoodooPC.