NVIDIA presents new 700M series models

NVIDIA is expanding their latest GPU lineup with several new notebook models intended for the entry to mid-range class.

Till Schönborn/Omar Al-Qudsi, Published 04/01/2013

A few months ago NVIDIA took the wraps off the GeForce 710M and 730M, debuting their new 700M lineup, and they've now introduced a range of new models. A total of five new graphics cards were announced today, with some based on the new GK208 chip and others simply reprints of previous models.

Coming in at the low-end, the GT720M joins the GT710M. Both rely on the older 28-nm GF117 chip, which remains based on the Fermi architecture and was used in the GT620M. Of course, the chips do run at a significantly elevated frequency, resulting in a significant performance increase.

Next in line are the GT735M and GT740M, which join the GT730M in being based around the new GK208 chip. The chip is a revision of the Kepler GK107 which contains over 384 shader units, but the memory interface has been reduced from 128 to only 64 bit. NVIDIA does attempt to compensate for this disadvantage by using higher clock speeds, but it will have to be seen whether that is enough. Furthermore, the GT730M and 740M will still be available in 128-bit GK107 versions, creating performance differences under the same name.

Rounding things off at the top of the pyramid, are the GT745M and 750M. Both likely rely on the GK107, thus offering the same 128-bit connection and only differing in clock speeds. The fastest of these GPUs, running GDDR5 memory, could end up matching the performance of the existing GTX660M and GTX670M, or at least come close to it.

Designation	Architecture	Shader	Core Clock	Memory Clock	Memory Type	Connection
GeForce GT 750M	Kepler (GK107)	384	up to 967 MHz + Boost	up to 2500 MHz	DDR3/GDDR5	128 Bit
GeForce GT 745M	Kepler (GK107)	384	up to 837 MHz + Boost	up to 2500 MHz	DDR3/GDDR5	128 Bit
GeForce GT 740M	Kepler (GK208/GK107)	384	up to 980 MHz + Boost	up to 2500 MHz	DDR3/GDDR5	64/128 Bit
GeForce GT 735M	Kepler (GK208)	384	up to 889 MHz + Boost	up to 1000 MHz	DDR3	64 Bit
GeForce GT 730M	Kepler (GK208/GK107)	384	up to 719 MHz + Boost	up to 1000 MHz	DDR3	64/128 Bit
GeForce GT 720M	Fermi (GF117)	96	up to 938 MHz inkl. Boost	up to 1000 MHz	DDR3	64 Bit
GeForce 710M	Fermi (GF117)	96	up to 800 MHz inkl. Boost	up to 1000 MHz	DDR3	64 Bit

The graphics cards also come with the new GPU Boost 2.0 feature, a special feature found on all 700M cards. Depending on the particular application and thermal boundary conditions, the technology jumps into action and can increase performance by up to 15%. That is all done while being fully automated and without exceeding predefined temperature and power limits.

All models will be announced soon and should find their ways into various notebooks shortly. Of course, some manufacturers may opt to wait for the launch of Intel's Haswell CPUs, but the GT740M and 750M have already found their way into notebooks shipping from ASUS and Lenovo.