Nvidia Series Chipset labelling VS equivalent performance.

5 views
Skip to first unread message

ad...@reviews.wox.org

unread,
Mar 15, 2023, 8:37:41 PM3/15/23
to 2600-au...@googlegroups.com

NVIDIA GPU Model labelling.
I've been playing with this for a while -  reading numerous reviews and benchmarks seems to support my findings.

Nvidia uses an interesting GPU model "reverse scale" marking system when they release graphics cards.   

In many cases newer cards are just using in effect an equivalent chip to an older generation, with some minor die revisions, eg. express 3.0, DDR5 or RTX extensions support but marked as a newer generation at a lower performance class (ie 970 and 1060 are basically the same card based on frame rate)  
(eg   XXYY    XX is a number from 01 to 99 for the model/generation,   YY is the performance class,   ie 0970, 1050 etc)

There may be a few errors and omissions, the M, G, GT, GTX, Ti and OC cards for example are a bit more difficult to pidgenhole, along with versions with different factory clocks and memory configurations, but in general the following table should be pretty close to correct. 

If you are curious tho -

  • M models were usually cut down "mobile device" cards using a lower clock, with lower power consumption marked as a performance class 10 higher than they actually were.   (650m is roughly a 640gtx/630 in performance  for example)
  • GTX typically were inferior cards with lower pci express support (x4 instead of x8 etc) or slower ram to the base model, sold at a discount.   Assume any GTX card is actually the next slowest model down.  Presumably the "X" means handicapped PCI eXpress speed.
  • GT cards had higher feature support to the base model, often slightly more expensive, with slightly better support for newer PCI express features. Basically the USA version.
  • G cards were "garbage" cards, usually a 210 or 620 GPU running slower ram, with 64bit/x4 pci express.  These cards should have had the smaller sized x4 express slot, and some dell versions actually did, but usually shipped with a full size x16 connector for marketing purposes even tho they only used the x4 pins on the slot.
  • In some cases they flipped GT and GTX labelling to trick people into buying the lower quality cards.   This was a particular problem in Australia, where rubbish cards were basically disposed of by nvidia oems by labelling them as the same model as premium cards sold in the USA.  They could usually be spotted in the fine print, usually slower DDR ram, or not even DDR at all, with 64bit express interfaces instead of 128 or better like the similarly labelled USA model.  I've owned both the US and AUS version of the nvidia 650 video card, and the Aus version was rubbish, basically a 630 in performance.  This seems less of an issue lately, although some models ship with lower DDR speed ram in Australia sometimes.
  • In later versions this was replaced with  Base models(founder edition), OC Models and Ti models  each with respective increasing performance to the base version.

The really interesting thing is the only exceptions to this labelling  system is the 1600 series where they were basically the same as a 10 series but with RTX, so only the Ti versions are any good.

Also  xx10 performance class cards are all basically the same GPU chip in almost all generations, but with a different model number burnt into its firmware.  Usually prefixed with a "G"  eg g210, 610, 710 etc.  Basically a scam, just like the actual counterfeit cards sold on ebay!

xx10  cards are only used by HP, Dell or OEMs in general to give the prestige of having a "dedicated graphics card"  even though in most cases an xx10 performance class card is actually slower than the onboard graphics built into modern CPUs.

From this departure to their labelling I can further conclude that in newer cards XXYY  should be XZYY   X is the generation, Z is the revision, YY is the performance class, example 1660. Performance class 60, revision 6, generation 10

In older hundred series cards this was   XYZ, example 625, which was usually the OEM only version of the 620 or 630, the ambiguity being essentially whatever model old GPUs nvidia had laying around when they sold HP or Dell a shipping container full of them.


Why would you need this table?

Lets say you want to buy a 4060 but cant afford one,   but if you can get a second hand 3070 at half the price, it is basically the same card as far as game frame rates are concerned. 

The only real variation is support for additional media extensions, the power connector or the power consumption.

So really the best use for this table is when you want to dip into the second hand market and see what cards have similar performance, allowing you to work your way down the table and find the model at the performance level you want, at the lowest price.

Here is the table: 
Note for similar performance read the table down vertically.  Eg a 540 is the same as a 630.

Nvidia Approximate Chipset Equivalent Performance Table:

Generation
x4
x4

x4
x4
x8
x8
x8
x8
x16
x16
x16
x16
x16 gen2
x16 gen2
x16 gen3
x16 gen3
x16 gen4
x16 gen4
x16 gen4
???
 ???
200 series
210
220
230/235(oem)
240
250
260
270
280
290
discontinued











400 series
410

420
430
440
450
460
470
480
490 / ti / oc
discontinued










500 series
510
N/A
discontinued
520
530/535 (oem)
540
550
560
570
580
590
discontinued









600 series
610
625/635(oem)

discontinued
620
630
640
650
660
670
680
690
discontinued








700 series
710
N/A


discontinued
720
730
740
750
760
770
780
790
titan gen 1
discontinued






800 series
810
N/A



discontinued
820/825 (oem)
830
840
850
860
870
880
890ti
titan gen 2
discontinued





900 series
910
920 (oem)




discontinued
920 (retail)
930/935(oem)
940
950
960
970
980
990
titan gen 3
discontinued




1000 series
N/A
1010 (oem)





N/A
1020 (oem)
1030
1040(retail)
1050
1060
1070
1080
1090
Titan/Tesla
discontinued



RTX ti series
N/A
Discontinued





Discontinued
discontinued
N/A
N/A
N/A
1650ti
1660ti
1670ti
1680ti
1690ti
???
discontinued

2000 series
2010 (oem)








2010 (theoretical)
2020
2030
2040
2050
2060
2070
2080
2090
???
discontinued

3000 series
Discontinued








discontinued
3020 (theoretical)
3025 (oem)
3030 (retail)
3040
3050
3060
3070
3080
3090
???
discontinued
4000 series










discontinued
discontinued
4020
4030
4040
4050
4060
4070
4080
4090
???
5000 series (hypothetical)












discontinued
???????? Oem/mobile ?
5030 (theoretical)
5040 (theoretical)
5050 (theoretical)
5060 (theoretical)
5070 (theoretical)
5080 (theoretical)
5090 (theoretical)














discontinued
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Enjoy.

-- 
New and improved 2600... well..  ..we drew on some flames and polished it a bit..
--
Google - making sure, life is no more, than 1984...

Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages