Can someone explain the numbering behind Nvidia GPU's?

[Gabenfoodle]

I really don't get it. I was looking into buying Unity, and when I did a "Can I run it" test, it said that my Nvidia GTX 760 with 2GB VRAM was worse then a 680, and I always throught that my GPU was really good. So can someone explain the numbering?

[_I_]

first number is the gen
2nd is the level of the gpu

gtx 760 and 670 were close
your 680 is better than the 760
1 gen older, but 2 steps higher

http://www.hwcompare.com/14807/geforce-gtx-680-vs-geforce-gtx-760/
both are gk104 gpus
680 has more cores, tmu, clocked higher

[Gabenfoodle]

Originally posted by _I_:

first number is the gen
2nd is the level of the gpu

gtx 760 and 670 were close
your 680 is better than the 760
1 gen older, but 2 steps higher

http://www.hwcompare.com/14807/geforce-gtx-680-vs-geforce-gtx-760/
both are gk104 gpus
680 has more cores, tmu, clocked higher

So...whats more important, the gen or the steps?

[_I_]

both
older high end cards use more power, but do not have newer features

a gtx280 (240w) is alot better than a 720 (20w) for gaming
but the 280 only supports upto dx10, vs dx11+

[Azza ☠]

Note that nVidia doesn't put their graphic cards in a straight numerical order. This is really important to understand when purchasing their cards...

The first number refers to the series, for the GTX series it would be 6xx, 7xx, 8xx, 9xx, etc. Later is better technology wise. So the 9xx series would have later technology support than the 7xx and before. You would therefore get better directX versions support, capability of higher resolutions, etc.

The value after that refers to the performance, for the GTX series it would be x50, x60, x70, x75, x80, or x90. Also they have TI (increased texture mapping, etc) and other overclocked versions (increased clock speed) which give better performance for a price. You could however get a standard card and overclock it yourself in most cases (if you know what your doing). What to note what they do here is...

x50 - For the average application users, low performance, low budget card. NOT designed for major gaming, rather more basic users - web-browsing, watching movies, etc.
x60 - For the basic entry level gamer, average performance, low-mid budget card, mid to high quality/performance.
x60 TI - For average gamers, mid budget card.
x70 - For actual gamers which require more performance, mid-high budget card, can get up to high/ultra settings with the later models.
xx5 - The 5s are normally use as a replacement for the older series, to match performance. If a old card is still under warrenty and needs replacing they might consider one of these, giving the newer technology but same performance.
x80 - For high-end gamers, high budget card, for high/ultra settings and higher resolutions.
x90 - These are pretty much just two x80 glued together with a custom cooler. For the insane users with more money than sense, overpriced / overkill card.