Although it has no direct bearing on Apple products Tuesday, Nvidia is paving the way for better and faster notebook graphics with Tuesday's introduction of its GeForce 9M series of graphics processors, unveiled at the Computex 2008 trade show in Taipei.
GeForce 9M is the latest-generation mobile graphics processor from Nvidia, with up to 40 percent faster performance than the previous generation, like what powers Apple's MacBook Pro line.
The chips also feature Hybrid SLI, a new Nvidia technology that enables two Nvidia GPUs to work in tandem, one in low-power mode and one in high-performance mode. SLI, or Scalable Link Interface, is a parallel-processing technology that enables multiple Nvidia GPUs to work together (ATI has an equivalent technology known as CrossFire).
While Apple is yet to support GPU parallel processing in any of its configurations, such techniques are becoming more common in both desktop and laptop configurations as users seek to increase graphics performance.
Other capabilities of GeForce 9M series chips include "PureVideo HD" video processing with improved color and contrast, full support for the latest Blu-ray Profile 2.0 features and Blu-ray Live technology, and enhancements to improve graphics quality and performance for Windows games that utilize Microsoft's DirectX 10 Application Programming Interface (API).
Nvidia expects laptops from various manufacturers to start shipping this summer with GeForce 9 graphics on-board.
mac world
GeForce 9M is the latest-generation mobile graphics processor from Nvidia, with up to 40 percent faster performance than the previous generation, like what powers Apple's MacBook Pro line.
The chips also feature Hybrid SLI, a new Nvidia technology that enables two Nvidia GPUs to work in tandem, one in low-power mode and one in high-performance mode. SLI, or Scalable Link Interface, is a parallel-processing technology that enables multiple Nvidia GPUs to work together (ATI has an equivalent technology known as CrossFire).
While Apple is yet to support GPU parallel processing in any of its configurations, such techniques are becoming more common in both desktop and laptop configurations as users seek to increase graphics performance.
Other capabilities of GeForce 9M series chips include "PureVideo HD" video processing with improved color and contrast, full support for the latest Blu-ray Profile 2.0 features and Blu-ray Live technology, and enhancements to improve graphics quality and performance for Windows games that utilize Microsoft's DirectX 10 Application Programming Interface (API).
Nvidia expects laptops from various manufacturers to start shipping this summer with GeForce 9 graphics on-board.
mac world