Nvidia speeds up GeForce FX graphics chip

Nvidia introduced its fastest graphics processors yet at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles on Monday, the company said in a release

The GeForce FX 5900 series of GPUs (graphics processing units) contains the GeForce FX 5900 and the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra. Both feature a 256-bit memory bus.

The 256-bit memory bus allows more data to flow from the main memory to the GPU, said Peter Glaskowsky, editor in chief of The Microprocessor Report in San Jose, Calif.. Most PCs have a 64-bit wide data path between the memory and the CPU, he said. The wider bus improves the frame rate of moving images on high-resolution displays, he said.

A new version of the company’s CineFX architecture makes its debut with the new chips. CineFX 2.0 doubles the floating-point pixel shading capabilities of its predecessor, according to Nvidia. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company is trying to render graphics with indistinguishable pixels through shading techniques, which produces a more lifelike image, Nvidia said.

The chips also supports Microsoft’s DirectX 9.0 and OpenGL feature sets, which contain libraries that enhance graphics performance.

Nvidia will target the new chip at enthusiast PC gamers, who often purchase components individually to build their own PCs. This version of the GeForce family isn’t expected to find its way into mass-market PCs for some time. It will be available in June in PCs from companies like Alienware, Falcon Northwest Computer Systems, Voodoo Computers and 4 MBO International Electronic, Nvidia said. Pricing information was not immediately available.

Due to problems in getting its older chips out of production, Nvidia’s rival ATI Technologies was able to steal customers away from Nvidia with its releases, Glaskowsky said. But the new GeForce FX 5900 chips offer “a slight performance edge” over the latest ATI chip, the Radeon 9800, he said. The Radeon 9800 began shipping Monday.