NVIDIA GTS vs. GT
NVIDIA is a company that manufactures graphics cards – which can be found in computer games, to increase the quality of the appearance of the graphics, that appear on a computer screen. The company’s latest version of their graphics cards, the GeForce 8 Series, is its first unified shader architecture, which means, a set of computational units that have been, essentially, unified in order to run a complex shader. The 8800 GTS comes in both sizes of 640 MB and 320 MB. Its features include 112 stream processors, and a 32-bit bus. However, the GTS is essentially identical to the 8800 GTX, as they are both from the same GPU.
The 8800 GT supports PCI-Express 2.0, the latest version of the computer expansion card. This card also has the distinction of being the first graphics card to offer a 65 nm process. The basic processing power of the GT is similar to that of the GTX, with 128 stream processors; however, it contains a 256-bit memory interface, and 512 MB of GDDR3 memory. The top-heavy nature of the memory sacrifices the GT’s performance at higher resolutions, as well as graphic settings that tend to be high.
While the 8800 GTS offers a double slot cooler, the GT opts for the single slot cooler, enabling it to use less power than the GTS because of its 65 nm process. The GT also outclasses the GTS in terms of features – including the PureVideo HD VP2 engine. However, the GTS offers a bit more power with its 90 nm G80 core. This graphics card uses seven of the eight clusters of 16 stream processors , which means, the newer GTS model offers 112 stream processors as opposed to its former 96. Its architectural enhancements outclass those of the GTX; however, as a result of its narrower 256-bit memory bus, the GPU performance is a bit more restrained than that of the GTX. As for the future of both models, as of right now, the 8800 GT has been rejuvenated, and will now sport the 9800 GT label. With the name change comes a more efficient chip – once the current line of G92 chips have been depleted, the GT will be equipped with a 55 nm chip. The GTS will have no such upgrade, and will continue to run as the 8800 model.
Summary:
1. The GTS includes, and supports, an identical GPU as the GTX; the GT includes the PureVideo HD VP2, which gives the GT a more sophisticated GPU.
2. The GTS offers a double slot cooler; the GT offers a single slot cooler, enabling it to use less power.
3. The GTS offers a 90 nm G80 core; the GTS is now equipped with a 65 nm G92 core, but will soon offer a 55 nm core.