NVIDIA GeForce GTX 900 Series Preview

GeForce GTX 980 Models (Reference)
From what we know NVIDIA will first release their own GeForce GTX 980 reference model with other AIC partner models to come at a later date. So to start off you will only be able to get the reference model GTX 980.

Taking a look at the front of the card we can see that NVIDIA is using their newer NVTTM cooler on this card, unlike the GeForce GTX 970, which uses a reference design that is carried over from the GeForce GTX 660 / 760 cards. This is most likely because NVIDIA will actually be selling the GTX 980 themselves and they might not allow AIC partners to even sell the card till after they launch it first. We have seen the NVTTM cooling solution on the GeForce GTX Titan Z, GTX Titan Black, GTX Titan, GTX 780 Ti, GTX 780, GTX 770 and GTX 690. The GeForce GTX 980 will be using an updated version of this cooler that has the all-black naming of the card on the shroud near the I/O plate and an all black heatsink. This version of the cooler was introduced with the GTX Titan Black. The cooling solution makes use of a vapor chamber that is cooled off by the blower fan towards the end of the card.

NVIDIA has also included a blackplate on the card, this has been carried over from the GeForce GTX Titan Z. We can spot two SLI fingers that will allow for 4-way SLI functionality. Power to the card is provided by dual 6pin PCI-Express power connectors. Display outputs include DVI, HDMI and three DisplayPorts.

Taking a look at the PCB of the card we can see it has a design that is very similar to the GeForce GTX 780 Ti. Eight memory modules can be spotted that confirm that the card will have a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. These eight modules equal 4 GB of GDDR5. The card will use a 4+1 phase VRM for power delivery.

The GM204 package looks roughly just as big as GK104.

Gainward GeForce GTX 980