NVIDIA Corporation has announced the extension of the GeForce 8 Series line-up to include three new graphics processing units (GPUs), bringing high-resolution gaming, stunning Microsoft Windows Vista graphics, and stellar HD DVD and Blu-ray video playback to almost everyone regardless of budget.
These are the new graphic cards:
These new cards will have the PureVideo HD technology that powers the revolutionary second-generation video-processing engine in the GeForce 8500 and GeForce 8600 GPUs. This enables it to deliver the highest-quality playback of HD DVD and Blu-ray movies on everyday PCs. The new programmable video processing engine takes on all of the high definition H.264 HD video decoding, freeing the CPU to perform other tasks and significantly reducing power consumption, heat, and noise.
Chris Donahue, group manager, games for Windows at Microsoft commented, “DirectX 10 means higher performance and better looking PC graphics. We are ecstatic to see that NVIDIA has taken the first step to assist application developers and end users accept the newest 3D graphics API, by making DirectX 10-compliant GPUs available from top-to-bottom for every type of desktop PC user.”
Don Eklund, Executive VP, advanced technologies, Sony Pictures quoted, “Sony Pictures is enthusiastic about the capability to play Blu-ray movies on the PC. The new state-of-the-art NVIDIA GeForce 8500 and GeForce 8600 cards will enable consumers to enjoy Blu-ray movies on mainstream PCs.”
The GeForce 8500 are built for Windows Vista, and the GT cards are designed for both casual gamers and for non-gamers, delivering the ultimate in HD video playback along with unprecedented levels of graphics realism. The GeForce 8600 GPUs are ideal graphics solutions for the latest NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI-based motherboards, which are designed to deliver maximum performance to gamers.
The GeForce 8600 GTS GPUs are available now from leading retail outlets, system builders, and OEMs while the graphics cards based on GeForce 8600 GT and GeForce 8500 GT will be available on or before May 1, 2007.