Summary: NVIDIA’s release of the GeForce GTX 295 graphics card in 2009 changed the landscape of PC gaming. Pioneering the concept of a dual-GPU design, the GTX 295 offered unparalleled power and performance for its time, though it faced some challenges. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit this revolutionary graphics card.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295, equipped with dual GPUs, boasted an affordable price tag of $499, making it an accessible option for gaming enthusiasts craving a powerful graphics card. Its GT200 GPU, manufactured on the 55nm process node, featured 240 unified processors, effectively delivering 480 unified processors through the dual-GPU design. This was twice the processing power of its predecessor, the GeForce GTX 280.
While the GTX 280 was a single-GPU card with its own benefits, the GTX 295 went beyond simply combining two GTX 280s. NVIDIA introduced a monster dual GT200 GPU within the GeForce GTX 295, blending the specifications of the GTX 260 and GTX 280 single-GPU graphics cards. The GPU clock was lowered to 576MHz, and the memory bus was reduced to 448-bit, both sacrifices made to accommodate the dual-GPU setup.
NVIDIA equipped the GeForce GTX 295 with 1.8GB of GDDR3 memory, an increase compared to the 1GB found in the GTX 280. The cooling design was also noteworthy, utilizing two separate PCBs and a single fan while maintaining a compact dual-slot design. Moreover, the card made use of PCIe 2.0 x16, dual DVI connectors, and a single HDMI port, catering to the connectivity needs of the time.
The revolutionary aspect of the GeForce GTX 295 was its SLI support, implementing Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR). This technique rendered frames interchangeably between the two GPUs, but it was not without its flaws. Users experienced micro-stuttering issues and the necessity for both GPUs to access identical data, utilizing only 896MB of VRAM per PCB instead of the total 1.8GB.
This era of PC gaming displayed fierce competition between NVIDIA and AMD, with both companies releasing dual-GPU graphics cards on the 55nm process node. AMD’s Radeon HD 4780X2 was a notable contender. NVIDIA later countered with the introduction of the GeForce GTX 590 and TITAN Z graphics cards.
While we now have advanced graphics cards like the GeForce RTX 4090, many enthusiasts still fondly remember the excitement and possibilities that dual-GPU cards like the GTX 295 offered. Despite the imperfections, these graphics cards played a significant role in pushing the boundaries of PC gaming and captivating the imaginations of tech enthusiasts worldwide.
The source of the article is from the blog bitperfect.pe