With the GPU GT200, Nvidia establishes their own second generation of graphic cards, with unified architecture and shading. The GeForce GTX280 and GTX 260, the first ones to use this new chip, establish the new point of reference for the top graphic cards designed for the most demanding video-gamers.

After a few weeks of rumors about the new Nvidia graphic card generation that would use a new GPU architecture to replace the G80 and G92 used on the GeForce 8800 and 9800, the confirmation came today, at the official launching of the new NVIDIA solutions. The new GT200 has in fact doubled the number of stream processors integrated in the new architecture, going from the previous 128 to 240 in the new top version, the GeForce GTX280. The number is lower for the GTX260, going to 192, following NVIDIA’s tradition of creating a cheaper version of their top card, with reduced features.

The GeForce GTX 280 card is visually similar to the previous 9800 GTX solutions: 2-slot building, with a plastic case that covers all the components, in order to allow a better air flow towards the outside. For the GTX260, the design is almost the same: it keeps the same external size and design, the only difference is the power supply connectors: two 6-pin PCI Express for the GTX 260 while the top card, the GTX 280, presents one 6-pin PCI-express connector combined with an 8-pin one.

Besides the increase in the stream processors, we also see an increase in the memory controller, that was taken to 512bit in the GeForce GTX 280. The 512bit memory bus applied on the top card has required a 16 chip memory for each card, while the 448bit of the GTX 260 features a 14 chip memory.

As it was done previously on the G92 architecture cards, NVIDIA has implemented their own second generation Pure Video HD video processing engine, featuring a better high-definition video streaming than the predecessors.