Introducing The GeForce GTX 770
Today, we’?re unveiling the GeForce GTX 770, a new high-end gaming graphics card faster and more efficient than both the GeForce GTX 670, and the aforementioned GeForce GTX 680.
Available now from all e-tailers and retailers at a recommended retail price of £329, the GeForce GTX 770 features the same desirable styling as the recently-released GeForce GTX 780, and compared to its predecessor is 15% faster thanks to higher clock speeds, 192 more CUDA Cores, and faster 7Gbps memory. The GTX 770 also supports our latest hardware-software enhancements, like GPU Boost 2.0, Overvolting, Display Overclocking, and ShadowPlay.
Specifications | GeForce GTX TITAN | GeForce GTX 780 | GeForce GTX 770 | GeForce GTX 680 | GeForce GTX 670 |
Chip | GK110 | GK110 | GK104 | GK104 | GK104 |
CUDA Cores | 2688 | 2304 | 1536 | 1536 | 1344 |
Base Clock | 837 MHz | 863 MHz | 1046 MHz | 1006 MHz | 915 MHz |
Boost Clock | 876 MHz | 900 MHz | 1085 MHz | 1058 MHz | 980 MHz |
Memory Configuration | 6 GB | 3 GB | 2 GB – 4 GB | 2 GB – 4 GB | 2 GB – 4 GB |
Memory Speed | 6.0 Gbps | 6.0 Gbps | 7.0 Gbps | 6.0 Gbps | 6.0 Gbps |
Memory Bandwidth | 288 GB/s | 288 GB/s | 224 GB/s | 192 GB/s | 192 GB/s |
Power Connectors | 1 x 6-pin 1 x 8-pin | 1 x 6-pin 1 x 8-pin | 1 x 6-pin 1 x 8-pin | 2 x 6-pin | 2 x 6-pin |
Outputs | DL-DVI-I DL-DVI-D HDMI Mini-DP | DL-DVI-I DL-DVI-D HDMI Mini-DP | DL-DVI-I DL-DVI-D HDMI Mini-DP | DL-DVI-I DL-DVI-D HDMI Mini-DP | DL-DVI-I DL-DVI-D HDMI Mini-DP |
TDP | 250 W | 250 W | 230 W | 195 W | 170 W |
SLI Options | 3-way | 3-way | 3-way | 3-way | 3-way |
GeForce GTX 770 Performance
Leveraging its higher clock speeds, faster memory, and extra CUDA Cores, the GeForce GTX 770 is on average 15% faster than its predecessor, the GeForce GTX 670.
At 2650×1600, the GTX 770′?s enhancements gave it a big boost, enabling the GTX 770 to run 26% faster in Shogun 2: Total War, 24% faster in Sleeping Dogs and 18% faster in Crysis 3.
GeForce GTX 770 SLI Performance
In SLI multi-GPU configurations, the GTX 770 is equally strong, improving frame rates by up to 98% when compared to single-GPU performance.
Further enhancing the SLI experience is our latest multi-GPU frame metering technology, which minimises stuttering and other multi-GPU issues that have discussed at length on hardware sites in recent weeks. With our SLI evaluation tool, called FCAT, we?’ve been able to fine-tune SLI, ensuring that our Kepler GPUs offer the best multi-GPU experience to date.
Next-Generation Construction
Reference-design GeForce GTX 770s feature an all-new look, and a number of other refinements and enhancements, too. This isn?’t just for show; our new-generation design allows the GTX 770 to run cooler and quieter than its predecessor, even at higher speeds, whilst introducing extra CUDA Cores and faster memory.
On the Printed Circuit Board (PCB), on which all components are placed, we introduced an aluminum baseplate to help transfer heat away from the GPU and other board components, and on GPU itself we?’ve applied a new thermal interface material from renowned Japanese firm Shin-Etsu. Twice as effective as the thermal grease applied to GTX 680 GPUs, this seemingly small change allows us to push the GTX 770 harder and faster, and to reduce fan speeds when idle.
To collect the heat emitted by the GPU and VRAM, a high-performance copper vapour chamber has been placed in contact with the GPU. Like the GTX TITAN?s vapour chamber, its process of controlled evaporation cools the card faster and to a better degree than any conventional heatsink and heatpipe combo. This vapour-chambered heat is then dissipated by a large, dual-slot aluminum heatsink that?’s equipped with an extended fin stack that covers the entire area occupied by the GPU and VRAM; not just the area above the vapour chamber as on previous GeForce GTX graphics cards. This increases the cooling area and overall performance of the cooling system by a significant degree.
Finally, to remove the collected and dissipated heat, a rear-mounted fan constructed from an acoustic-dampening material blows it out through the exhaust at the rear of the computer?s chassis, and away from the card?s components.
The GTX 770?’s stunning exterior is comprised of cast aluminum, which dissipates heat more effectively than plastic. The fan, meanwhile, is surrounded by an injection-moulded material that dissipates heat and reduces fan noise, and a clear polycarbonate window allows owners to monitor dust buildup in the nickel-plated heatsink fins.
On the exterior edge, the GeForce GTX logo is illuminated by LEDs. Using third-party tools, their intensity can be manually adjusted, or be set to brighten and dim automatically with the level of GPU utilisation, adding a neat effect to windowed cases.
Together, these features and changes make the GeForce GTX 770 considerably quieter, and cooler than previous-generation GPUs, like the GeForce GTX 670.
On the software side, the GTX 770 packs-in a new adaptive temperature controller, reducing noise by keeping the GPU’s fan speed at a more consistent level. Previously, GPU fans would reduce to a minimum speed when GPU usage and temperatures were sufficiently low. As temperatures raised once more, fans would noisily kick into high gear to bring temperatures back down. In contrast, the GTX 770’s fan software minimises the number of noticeable fan speed changes, making the user experience far more pleasant.
GPU Boost 2.0: Temperature?s The Limit
In the days of the GeForce GTX 580, GPU speed was held back by synthetic benchmarks that pushed power usage to the limit, far beyond the levels typically seen when playing games. This ?worst case scenario? forced us to throttle speeds, leaving spare performance on the table. With the introduction of Kepler in 2012, a new hardware-software feature called GPU Boost solved the problem by continuously monitoring power usage, enabling GPUs to use every last ounce of performance without exceeding safety or comfort limits.
With GPU Boost, every application and game runs at a guaranteed, minimum Base Clock speed. If there?’s extra power available a Boost Clock is enabled, increasing clock speeds until the graphics card hits its predetermined Power Target (170 Watts on the GTX 680, for example). This dynamic clock speed adjustment is controlled by GPU Boost 1.0, which monitors a whole slew of data and makes real-time changes to speeds and voltages several times per second, maximising performance in each and every application.
Having acquired data from hundreds of thousands of end-users in the year following the GTX 680?’s release, NVIDIA? engineers determined that GPU temperature was in fact a more common inhibitor to performance than power consumption. Subsequently, they developed GPU Boost 2.0 for the latest Kepler GPUs, which increases the Boost Clock until the GPU hits a predetermined 80C Temperature Target.
GPU Boost 2.0?’s other major advancement is the introduction of full user-control. Now, GTX 700 Series owners can tweak the Boost behaviour by increasing or decreasing the Temperature Target via third-party software like EVGA Precision X. This enables users to manually change the Temperature Target, limiting or maximising performance.
Combined with a watercooling setup that keeps temperatures low at all times, this feature is particularly powerful, allowing GPU Boost 2.0 to wring every last drop of performance out of the GPU.
Overvolting: Extra Overclocking For The Brave
GeForce GTX 770 owners who wish to push their cards to the limit will enjoy the new GPU Boost 2.0 controls discussed above, but for the most enthusiastic end-user we have one final addition of note: overvolting controls. Accessible through aforementioned third-party applications, overvolting allows users to push GPU usage beyond safe limits, increasing performance yet further.
Please be aware that overvolting may void the graphics card?s warranty, and that continued overvolting may cause the GPU?’s silicon to degrade at an advanced rate, ultimately causing it to die a premature death through electromigration. As such, we don’?t recommend the use of overvolting, but at the same time we don’?t wish to put artificial limitations on products you pay for.
Display Overclocking: Unleashing Your Monitor?s Potential
Many PC gamers play with VSync enabled to avoid unsightly image tearing that occurs when the frame rate is higher than the monitor?’s refresh rate. Most monitors are locked to 60Hz, limiting the max VSync frame rate to 60 frames per second. Thing is, 60Hz is a hang-up from the olden days of cathode ray tube technology, but we stick with it, simply because.
Unhappy with this stall in technological advancement, our engineers looked inside today?’s LCD and LED-backlit screens and discovered that many support higher refresh rates. For that reason we?’ve developed Display Overclocking, which allows GeForce GTX 770 owners to quickly and easily overclock their refresh rates via the same third-party tools that control GPU Boost 2.0. And of course, Display Overclocking works with Adaptive VSync too, allowing games to be played at 80Hz or more on a ?60Hz? screen, without tearing, and without the stuttering associated with normal VSync.
GeForce Experience: The Easiest Way To Optimise Your Games
GeForce Experience is NVIDIA’s new application that can automatically keep GPU drivers up to date, and can optimise game settings with a single click, simplifying the process of getting the most from your PC, and your games. Great for those who want to spend time gaming, not tweaking, GeForce Experience recommends the best possible settings for your specific system configuration, allowing you to jump straight into a game without having to change options, drag sliders, or pick between one of eight similarly-named settings in an acronym-laced dropdown.
GeForce Experience can simplify your life, too, notifying you of new driver releases and downloading them automatically should you so desire. This feature can also automatically download GeForce Experience support for entirely new titles, as well as new SLI and 3D Vision profiles, ensuring you receive the optimum experience whenever you load up a game.
To get started with GeForce Experience, download the new 320.18 WHQL drivers, or the standalone GeForce Experience installer.
Conclusion: Unbeatable Performance At £329
Featuring the same technologies, advancements and innovations as our latest flagship GPUs, the GeForce GTX 770 is the very definition of a bargain, coming in at just £329.
Compared to its predecessor, the GeForce GTX 670, the GTX 770 is 15% faster thanks to its higher clock speeds, faster memory, and 192 extra CUDA Cores. In SLI, the introduction of a second GTX 770 increases performance by up to 98%, and with FCAT the SLI experience has been fine-tuned to create the smoothest, most responsive multi-GPU solution seen to date.
Supporting the GTX 770 are several software features that give users complete control over performance. GPU Boost 2.0 allows users to define the overall speed of their GPU through one easy-to-use Temperate Target, Overvolting controls allow users to push the GTX 770 to the limit, Display Overclocking enables users to get the absolute most from their monitors, and GeForce Experience automatically optimises the latest and greatest games with a single click.
All of the above is in addition to the features we introduced alongside the GeForce GTX 680, like Adaptive VSync for smoother, stutter-free gaming, advanced TXAA temporal anti-aliasing, and single-GPU 3+1 Surround multi-monitor support. And, as with every NVIDIA GPU from recent years, GPU PhysX is supported in leading games like Metro: Last Light, as is 3D Vision.
If you?’re looking for a next-generation GPU, or an upgrade, the £329 GeForce GTX 770 is a great choice thanks to its unbeatable price-performance ratio. Paired with a recent Quad Core CPU, GTX 770 owners will exceed the level of fidelity and performance found on upcoming consoles, guaranteeing superior experiences in the coming wave of multi-platform next-gen titles, beginning with Call of Duty: Ghosts and Watch_Dogs. If you want anything faster, the only choice is its big brother, the GeForce GTX 780.
The GeForce GTX 770 is available now at all e-tailers and retailers. To locate stockists head on over to our dedicated GTX 770 homepage.