Nvidia launches Geforce GTX 950 – second generation Maxwell in the entry-level class

Anyone who has been involved in this summer’s news harvest cannot have escaped the fact that more graphics cards are coming. While the red team is filing on models like the Radeon R7 370X and R9 Nano, Nvidia is sneaking out a new member of the Maxwell family, this time for gamers who are not prepared to spend several thousand dollars on an upgrade.

Specifications: Nvidia Geforce GTX 950

The newcomer is called Geforce GTX 950 and is based on a scaled-down variant of the graphics processor GM206, the same circuit that is used in GTX 960, among other things. The result is a new entry-level model with 768 CUDA cores and 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit memory bus.

In the basic version, the graphics processor’s clock frequencies amount to 1,024 and 1,188 MHz at base respective boost while the memory spins at 6.6 GHz. However, the partner manufacturers are free to adjust the clock frequencies and develop tailor-made models, which then also affects the TDP value (90 W).

Despite the scaled-down specifications, the new graphics card should offer some performance, at least in 1080p resolution. According to Nvidia, the Geforce GTX 950 provides on average three times the frame rate of its predecessor GTX 650 (Kepler) in titles such as Battlefield 4, Assassin’s Creed Unity and GTA V.

The new graphics card comes in a plethora of different designs from partner manufacturers such as EVGA, Asus, Gainward, Gigabyte, MSI and Zotac. Prices start at around SEK 1,800 including VAT.