NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 Graphics Card Review

By Olin Coles

Manufacturer: NVIDIA Corporation
Product Name: GeForce GTX 760 Graphics Card
Retail Price: Starting at $249.99 (Amazon | Newegg)

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by NVIDIA.

On 25 June 2013 NVIDIA will introduce the GeForce GTX 760 video card, designed to replace the GeForce GTX 660 Ti in the updated product stack. These two discrete graphics solutions are virtually identical in looks, shape, and size, but GeForce GTX 760 has received an updated graphics processor and memory subsystem.

NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 760 video card is built from the 28nm Kepler GK104 graphics processor, featuring 1152 CUDA cores that are clocked to reach 980 MHz and reach 1033 using NVIDIA Boost 2.0 technology. GeForce GTX 760 also comes with 2GB of GDDR5 video memory, clocked to provide a 1502 MHz graphics frame buffer. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests and compares the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 graphics card using several highly-demanding DX11 video games, such as Metro: Last Light, Batman: Arkham City, and Battlefield 3.

There are three platforms to enjoy video games: portable, console, and PC. While smartphone and tablet devices can play games, graphics rarely go beyond simple 2D. Gaming consoles take detail quality a few steps farther, but pale in comparison to the hyper-realistic gaming experience available to high-end PC graphics cards. While game developers might not consider PC gaming as lucrative as entertainment consoles, companies like NVIDIA use desktop graphics technology to set the benchmark for smaller more compact GPU designs that make it into notebooks, tablets, and smartphone devices.

GeForce GTX 760 Features

Source: NVIDIA

The GeForce GTX 760 has been designed for gamers who want to enjoy their games with the graphics settings and AA turned up, paired with a 1920×1200 or 1920×1080 display. GeForce GTX 760 ships with 6 SMX units providing 1152 CUDA Cores. The memory subsystem of GeForce GTX 760 consists of four 64-bit memory controllers (256-bit) with 2GB of GDDR5 memory.

The base clock speed of the GeForce GTX 760 is 980MHz. The typical Boost Clock speed is 1033MHz. The Boost Clock speed is based on the average GeForce GTX 760 card running a wide variety of games and applications. Note that the actual Boost clock will vary from game-to-game depending on actual system conditions. GeForce GTX 760’s memory speed is 6008MHz data rate.

The GeForce GTX 760 reference board measures 9.5” in length. Display outputs include two dual-link DVIs, one HDMI and one DisplayPort connector. Two 6-pin PCIe power connectors are required for operation

NVIDIA Boost 2.0

NVIDIA GPU Boost technology automatically increases the GPU’s clock frequency in order to improve performance. GPU Boost works in the background, dynamically adjusting the GPU’s graphics clock speed based on GPU operating conditions.

Originally GPU Boost was designed to reach the highest possible clock speed while remaining within a predefined power target. However, after careful evaluation NVIDIA engineers determined that GPU temperature is often a bigger inhibitor of performance than GPU power. Therefore for Boost 2.0, we’ve switched from boosting clock speeds based on a GPU power target, to a GPU temperature target. This new temperature target is 80 degrees Celsius.

As a result of this change, the GPU will automatically boost to the highest clock frequency it can achieve as long as the GPU temperature remains at 80C. Boost 2.0 constantly monitors GPU temperature, adjusting the GPU’s clock and its voltage on-the-fly to maintain this temperature.

In addition to switching from a power-based boost target to a temperature-based target, with GPU Boost 2.0 we’re also providing end users with more advanced controls for tweaking GPU Boost behavior. Using software tools provided by NVIDIA add-in card partners, end users can adjust the GPU temperature target precisely to their liking. If a user wants his GeForce GTX 760 board to boost to higher clocks for example, he can simply adjust the temperature target higher (for example from 80C, to 85C). The GPU will then boost to higher clock speeds until it reaches the new temperature target.

Besides adjusting the temperature target, Boost 2.0 also provides users with more powerful fan control. The GPU’s fan curve is completely adjustable, so you can adjust the GPU’s fan to operate at different speeds based on your own preferences.

Adaptive Temperature Controller

With GPU Boost 2.0, the GPU will boost to the highest clock speed it can achieve while operating at 80C. Boost 2.0 will dynamically adjust the GPU fan speed up or down as needed to attempt to maintain this temperature. While we’ve attempted to minimize fan speed variation as much as possible in prior GPUs, fan speeds did occasionally fluctuate.

For GeForce GTX 760, we’ve developed an all-new fan controller that uses an adaptive temperature filter with an RPM and temperature targeted control algorithm to eliminate the unnecessary fan fluctuations that contribute to fan noise, providing a smoother acoustic experience.

NVIDIA GeForce Experience

GeForce Experience is a new application from NVIDIA that optimizes your PC in two key ways. First, it maximizes your game performance and game compatibility by automatically downloading the latest GeForce Game Ready drivers. Second, GeForce Experience intelligently optimizes graphics settings for all your favorite games based on your hardware configuration.

Shadow Play

Utilizing the H.264 video encoder built-in to every Kepler GPU, ShadowPlay works in the background, seamlessly recording your last 20 minutes of gameplay footage, or if you’d like to record your latest StarCraft match, ShadowPlay can record that too.
Compared to software-based video encoders like FRAPS, ShadowPlay takes less of a performance hit, so you can enjoy your games while you’re recording.

Download NVIDIA GeForce Experience here: geforce.com/drivers/geforce-experience/download