NVIDIA has had the fastest cards on the market with its 7800 cards for while now, but to fill out behind these they’ve had to rely on the older 6X00 series, and when it comes to the performance it has done so very well. But these lack some of the interesting features that the GeForce 7 series has which many buyers have been equesting with the lower end cards. Thsi has now been corrected by NVIDIA with the new GeForce 7300GS that sports all of the GeForce 7 series’ features and does so at a very reasonable price. The new cards will cost $99 and are available in Asia today and will arrive in Europe and North America in early February. NVIDIA will not replace any current card on the market, the 6500LE will be phased out though, but will be available parallel to the new GeForce 7300GS.
The introduction price gives you a hint of what segment the new card is intended for and according to preliminary figures supplied by NVIDIA the card will battle ATI’s X1300 for the buyer’s, and it does really well. Below you will find a draft from NVIDIA’s pressrelease:
“The GeForce 7300 GS GPU is an ideal foundation for today’s mainstream PCs because it offers high-definition video playback features that can not be matched by integrated graphics—and it is designed to have consumers ready for the transition to Microsoft’s next-generation operating system,” said Ujesh Desai, general manager of desktop GPUs at NVIDIA. “For a home theater PC, GeForce 7300 GS delivers exceptional video acceleration and incredible image quality to take the viewing experience to the next-level. For an entry-level gaming PC, GeForce 7300 GS delivers Shader Model 3.0 support and support for high dynamic-ranging lighting (HDR), which we expect new games will require in the future.”
Based on the award-winning architecture and feature set of the acclaimed GeForce 7800 GPUs, the new GeForce 7300 GS GPU features advanced technologies including:
* NVIDIA PureVideo™ technology—the combination of high-definition video processors and software delivers unprecedented picture clarity, smooth video, accurate color, and precise image scaling for the playback of all video content.
* The programmable, superscalar GeForce 7 Series graphics architecture—GeForce 7300 GS delivers twice the graphics horsepower of the Company’s previous-generation mainstream GPUs[i]. * Support for Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 and HDR rendering for advanced lighting effects, as well as transparency antialiasing—to deliver ultra-realistic visual quality in the latest games.
* Advanced NVIDIA TurboCache™ technology—shares the capacity and bandwidth of dedicated video memory and dynamically available system memory for turbocharged performance and larger total graphics memory.
* NVIDIA ForceWare® Unified Driver Architecture (UDA)—for worry-free compatibility for an easy “install-and-play” experience. NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GS-based graphics cards are available for purchase at approximately $99 USD from many of the world’s leading add-in card makers. The Asia Pacific region will see immediate availability of GeForce 7300 GS-based add-in cards in time for Chinese New Year. Availability in Europe and North America will follow in early February. GeForce 7300 GS-based PCs will also be available from the world’s leading system builders starting in early February.”
Source: NVIDIA
