Nvidia GeForce FX Preview

Posted: November 18th, 2002
Written by: Justin "The Sheriff" Woods

More Features Explained

Nview makes a comeback, but there doesn't seem to be a significant change to it, though features such as the new Digital Vibrance Control (DVC) make images look like they were intended on any medium, from old CRTs to the state-of-the-art flat panels we see coming out today. This technology will be implemented through the control panel and will be activated by moving two sliders. From the pictures below, you can see the difference is staggering.

         

You can see that DVC has been applied to the right side of the image, while the left side of the image looks dull and slightly gray. Where this technology was once used only to enhance photos, it now adds the same beauty to your entire desktop, making text and images sharper for computer use in just about any light situation, from a dark room to a brightly lit office. **Note: The control panel lists a Ti4400, my guess is that the new DVC will be available in all new drivers from Nvidia as part of the Unified Driver Program, where one set of drivers works for all GeForce variants. Though this isn't new, I felt it needed mentioning.**

Board Layout
There isn't a lot of documentation relating to board layout, but it looks very similar to that of the Geforce 4 boards, with the exception of the mammoth new cooling system. Moving to support the new AGP 3.0 standard (AGP 8X) will not really change the overall look of the PCB, but the changes you see in speed will be mammoth in comparison to the GeForce 4s.

         

As I mentioned above, Nvidia has moved to a dramatic new cooling system, which is similar to what you would find being used to cool today's high-end laptop CPUs. This will require the use of two expansion slots, but with the advent of "everything onboard" motherboards, you won't miss the space. This GPU must be one hot mother, judging by the total use of copper for the ram sinks, heat sink, and heat converter. I am guessing the board specs will be similar to that of the TI4600 line in length. It will be interesting to see what companies like MSI, Leadtek, Gainward, and Asus do to liven up the looks of the board. Hopefully we'll see some nice colored PCBs, like with those used to build the GeForce 4 cards.

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