GeForce
Nvidia's GeForce brand spans nineteen generations of graphics processors.
GeForce is Nvidia's brand of graphics processing units (GPUs), built for the performance market. By the time of the GeForce 50 series, the design had gone through nineteen versions. In August 2017, Nvidia reported that over 200 million people used GeForce for gaming. Initially, GeForce products were separate GPUs for add-on graphics boards aimed at the high-profit PC gaming sector. Over time, the lineup expanded to cover every level of the PC graphics market, from low-cost GPUs built into motherboards to standard add-in retail cards. More recently, GeForce technology has appeared in Nvidia's embedded application processors for handheld electronics and mobile phones. In the discrete GPU market—the kind found on add-in graphics boards—Nvidia's GeForce and AMD's Radeon are the only two competitors left at the high end.
The name "GeForce" came from a contest Nvidia held in early 1999 called "Name That Chip." The company asked the public to name the follow-up to the RIVA TNT2 line of graphics boards. Over 12,000 entries were submitted, and seven winners each received a RIVA TNT2 Ultra graphics card. In 2002, Nvidia senior PR manager Brian Burke told *Maximum PC* that "GeForce" originally stood for "Geometry Force," because the GeForce 256 was the first PC GPU to handle transform-and-lighting geometry calculations, taking that work off the CPU.
The GeForce 256 launched in August 1999 and was marketed as the world's first GPU. It used the NV10 processor running at 120 MHz, with 32 MB of SDR video memory at 166 MHz and a 128-bit bus. In December 1999, the GeForce 256 DDR arrived, swapping the memory for 32 MB of DDR video memory at 150 MHz. Both versions had four texture mapping units, four render output units, and four pixel shaders. The card also brought an update to DirectX, improving visual effects and performance.
The GeForce 2 series launched in March 2000. The first model, based on the NV15 chip, was another high-performance part. Nvidia used a twin texture processor per pipeline design (4x2), doubling texture fill rate per clock compared to the GeForce 256. Later, the GeForce2 MX (NV11) offered performance close to the GeForce 256 but at a much lower cost. It became a strong value option in the low-to-mid-range market and was popular with OEM PC makers and users. The GeForce 2 Ultra was the top-end model of the series.
Quick Facts
- Manufacturer
- Nvidia / Samsung Electronics / TSMC
- Designfirm
- Nvidia
- Created
- 1999-08-31
- Numcores
- Up to 21,760 CUDA cores
- Process
- 220 nm to 3 nm
- Predecessor
- RIVA TNT2
- Variant
- Nvidia Quadro, Nvidia Tesla
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The 'GeForce' name originated from a contest held by Nvidia in early 1999 called 'Name That Chip'. The company called out to the public to name the successor to the RIVA TNT2 line of graphics boards. There were over 12,000 entries received and seven winners received a RIVA TNT2 Ultra graphics card as a reward. Brian Burke, senior PR manager at Nvidia, told Maximum PC in 2002 that 'GeForce' originally stood for 'Geometry Force' since GeForce 256 was the first GPU for personal computers to calculate the transform-and-lighting geometry, offloading that function from the CPU.
Graphics processor generations began with the GeForce 256, launched in August 1999 and marketed as the 'world's first graphics processing unit.' It used the NV10 graphics processor, operating at 120 MHz, and featured 32MB of SDR video memory. Later models included the GeForce 2 series (March 2000), GeForce 3 series (February 2001, introducing programmable vertex and pixel shaders), GeForce 4 series (February 2002), GeForce FX series (2003), GeForce 6 series (April 2004, adding Shader Model 3.0 and SLI), GeForce 7 series (June 2005), GeForce 8 series (November 8, 2006, first to fully support Direct3D 10), GeForce 9 series and 100 series (February 2008), and GeForce 200 series and 300 series (June 16, 2008).
GeForce GPUs are very dominant in the general-purpose graphics processor unit (GPGPU) market thanks to their proprietary Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). GPGPU is expected to expand GPU functionality beyond the traditional rasterization of 3D graphics, to turn it into a high-performance computing device able to execute arbitrary programming code in the same way a CPU does, but with different strengths (highly parallel execution of straightforward calculations) and weaknesses (worse performance for complex branching code).
Reader's Guide
GeForce's significance lies in its long-standing dominance of the discrete GPU market, particularly in the high-end segment where it competes only with AMD's Radeon. The brand's legacy began with the GeForce 256, which Nvidia marketed as the world's first GPU, offloading transform-and-lighting geometry from the CPU. Over nineteen iterations, GeForce has driven key graphics innovations: the GeForce 3 introduced programmable shaders to consumer graphics; the GeForce 6 brought Shader Model 3.0, SLI multi-GPU support, and PureVideo hardware decoding; the GeForce 8 was the first GPU to fully support Direct3D 10 with a unified shader model. The GeForce FX series, while architecturally ambitious, suffered from weak floating point shader performance and excessive heat. GeForce technology has also been integrated into embedded application processors for handhelds and mobile handsets. In the GPGPU market, GeForce's proprietary CUDA architecture has given it a strong position, enabling GPUs to execute arbitrary code for high-performance computing tasks. The brand's naming scheme evolved over time, with early cards using model numbers like 256, 2, 3, 4, FX, 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, 200, and 300 series, later adopting GTX and GTS suffixes. Nvidia's claim of over 200 million GeForce gamers as of August 2017 underscores its widespread adoption.
Did You Know?
- The GeForce name originated from a 1999 contest called 'Name That Chip' with over 12,000 entries.
- The GeForce 8 series (G80) was the first GPU to fully support Direct3D 10.
- A 128-bit, eight ROP variant of the GeForce 7800 GTX, called the RSX Reality Synthesizer, is used in the Sony PlayStation 3.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is GeForce?
GeForce is Nvidia's consumer-facing GPU brand built around high-performance graphics and gaming. It began as a line of discrete add-in cards for the PC gaming segment and has since broadened to cover every tier of the PC graphics market, from budget on-board chips to top-tier retail cards.
When did GeForce first launch and where does the name come from?
The original GeForce 256 shipped in August 1999, kicking off the brand. The name was chosen through a naming contest in early 1999 and originally stood for 'Geometry Force.'
How many generations of GeForce have been released?
By the time the GeForce 50 series arrived, the design had passed through nineteen distinct iterations. That makes it one of the longest-running GPU product lines in the consumer graphics space.
What is CUDA and why does it matter for GeForce users?
CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) is Nvidia's proprietary GPGPU programming model that lets GeForce hardware handle general-purpose computing workloads beyond simple image rendering. It is the foundation that powers GeForce-based AI, scientific, and developer applications.
Who is GeForce's main rival?
AMD's Radeon lineup is the primary competitor in the high-end discrete GPU market. The two brands have been locked in a long-running performance race that consistently pushes innovation in PC graphics.
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