Quadro NVS Mobile GPU
nVidia’s family of graphics processors for notebooks share a common architecture, but provide a range of performance to suit your need for speed and your pocket book.
Late last year, Microsoft released Windows Vista, which included many new, but unfortunately resource-heavy, technologies. A couple of months ago, Intel launched its latest revision to the Centrino Mobile brand (dubbed Santa Rosa), further alleviating the performance concerns surrounding Vista while also leveraging many of its most advanced functions. Around the same time, nVidia brought its new business-focused mobile GPUs to the market as well. Not surprisingly, these new GPUs are completely compatible with the Santa Rosa chipset and are designed specifically for Windows Vista.
The great thing about the Quadro NVS Mobile series is that there is one available in every price category and all of them are based on the same architecture. What this means for the consumer is that while the various Quadro NVS GPUs have different performance levels, because they share the same DNA - they include the same major features. For example, if you’re a CAD professional or 3D animator, it would be worth the additional cost of purchasing the high-end Quadro NVS 510M with 512MB of dedicated video RAM. On the other hand, if you’re only planning to use your notebook for word processing and spreadsheets, but still want to use nVidia’s award-winning nView multi-display technology, it would be more cost effective to go with the entry-level Quadro NVS 110M with only 64MB of dedicated video RAM.
Regardless of which Quadro NVS you choose, you’re going to get the same vivid graphics, functionality and features with the only noticeable difference being the clock speed and memory configurations. The following are some of the highlights present in all of the new mobile Quadro NVS GPUs.
Application Compatibility Testing and Unified Driver Architecture:
As with the previous generations of Quadro GPUs, nVidia has tested the Quadro NVS hardware and drivers with a wide array of today’s leading business applications in order to ensure complete compatibility. The tested applications range from everyday software like McAfee Virus Scan and MS Office, to more specialized software like Hummingbird Exceed and Bloomberg. Furthermore, because the Quadro NVS uses nVidia’s Unified Driver Architecture, continued compatibility and stability are assured with future updates (or at least, that’s the intention).
PowerMizer 7.0:
PowerMizer is nVidia’s trademark intelligent power management system that adaptively adjusts the GPU on the fly to reduce power consumption. Along with dynamically altering the GPU and memory clocks, PowerMizer can also shut down inactive portions of the GPU to increase battery life. With other features like SmartDimmer (actively adjusts the screen brightness) and On-Chip Power “Watchdog” (circuitry dedicated to monitoring GPU utilization in order to throttle appropriately), the Quadro NVS Mobile GPUs offer much better battery life than previous generations.
DirectX10 and OpenGL 2.1 Optimization:
DirectX 10 is the graphics API used to power the more advanced visuals of Windows Vista. The entire Quadro NVS line of GPUs fully supports DX10 and Shader Model 4.0 to offer the most impressive graphics currently possible. Full support for OpenGL 2.1 ensures compatibility with a robust OS-independent graphics API as well as all OpenGL applications. Most of the visual improvements offered by DX10 and OGL2.1 are more noticeable in graphics heavy applications (3D animation software, CAD programs, video/photo editing), but the performance improvements when running things like AeroGlass in Windows Vista should be apparent to every type of user.
PureVideo HD:
Another important feature of the Quadro NVS series is the PureVideo HD video engine. PureVideo HD is a complete suite of hardware accelerated HD video decoders used to smooth, scale, de-interlace and colour correct HD video playback. H.264 and VC-1 (the codecs used by Blu-Ray and HD-DVD) are also supported to improve HD video disc playback as well. The PureVideo HD video engine not only allows for better playback of all video, but also lightens the processing load on the main CPU, which further improves battery life.
nView Multi-Display Technology:
Rounding out the Quadro NVS features is nVidia’s nView multi-display technology, which is vital for any business-centric notebook. With two 400MHz RAMDACs, HDCP compliance and support for a multitude of video outputs (composite, s-video, component, HDMI, VGA, DVI), the Quadro NVS offers the most fully-featured external and multiple digital or analog display support. Using the nView software makes setting up multiple displays easy and custom hotkeys makes switching between display configurations as simple as clicking a button.
Unlike a lot of other dedicated graphics solutions that tend to focus solely on increasing performance, many of the new features of the Quadro NVS line help increase battery life. Not only is the Quadro NVS able to adjust its own power consumption based on usage, it can also be used to offload many power-hungry tasks from the system CPU, which saves battery life due to the GPU’s increased efficiency (e.g. HD video playback.) As the portable PC market continues to experience drastic growth, mobile graphics hardware like the Quadro NVS line becomes increasingly important. The ability to produce desktop-level performance while maintaining excellent battery life is the key to increasing mobile productivity in graphics-heavy tasks. Add to that the fact that there is a Quadro NVS available in every price point (from budget to high-end) and nVidia really seems to have outdone themselves with their latest crop of business-centric GPUs.
nVidia’s family of graphics processors for notebooks share a common architecture, but provide a range of performance to suit your need for speed and your pocket book.
Late last year, Microsoft released Windows Vista, which included many new, but unfortunately resource-heavy, technologies. A couple of months ago, Intel launched its latest revision to the Centrino Mobile brand (dubbed Santa Rosa), further alleviating the performance concerns surrounding Vista while also leveraging many of its most advanced functions. Around the same time, nVidia brought its new business-focused mobile GPUs to the market as well. Not surprisingly, these new GPUs are completely compatible with the Santa Rosa chipset and are designed specifically for Windows Vista.
The great thing about the Quadro NVS Mobile series is that there is one available in every price category and all of them are based on the same architecture. What this means for the consumer is that while the various Quadro NVS GPUs have different performance levels, because they share the same DNA - they include the same major features. For example, if you’re a CAD professional or 3D animator, it would be worth the additional cost of purchasing the high-end Quadro NVS 510M with 512MB of dedicated video RAM. On the other hand, if you’re only planning to use your notebook for word processing and spreadsheets, but still want to use nVidia’s award-winning nView multi-display technology, it would be more cost effective to go with the entry-level Quadro NVS 110M with only 64MB of dedicated video RAM.
Regardless of which Quadro NVS you choose, you’re going to get the same vivid graphics, functionality and features with the only noticeable difference being the clock speed and memory configurations. The following are some of the highlights present in all of the new mobile Quadro NVS GPUs.
Application Compatibility Testing and Unified Driver Architecture:
As with the previous generations of Quadro GPUs, nVidia has tested the Quadro NVS hardware and drivers with a wide array of today’s leading business applications in order to ensure complete compatibility. The tested applications range from everyday software like McAfee Virus Scan and MS Office, to more specialized software like Hummingbird Exceed and Bloomberg. Furthermore, because the Quadro NVS uses nVidia’s Unified Driver Architecture, continued compatibility and stability are assured with future updates (or at least, that’s the intention).
PowerMizer 7.0:
PowerMizer is nVidia’s trademark intelligent power management system that adaptively adjusts the GPU on the fly to reduce power consumption. Along with dynamically altering the GPU and memory clocks, PowerMizer can also shut down inactive portions of the GPU to increase battery life. With other features like SmartDimmer (actively adjusts the screen brightness) and On-Chip Power “Watchdog” (circuitry dedicated to monitoring GPU utilization in order to throttle appropriately), the Quadro NVS Mobile GPUs offer much better battery life than previous generations.
DirectX10 and OpenGL 2.1 Optimization:
DirectX 10 is the graphics API used to power the more advanced visuals of Windows Vista. The entire Quadro NVS line of GPUs fully supports DX10 and Shader Model 4.0 to offer the most impressive graphics currently possible. Full support for OpenGL 2.1 ensures compatibility with a robust OS-independent graphics API as well as all OpenGL applications. Most of the visual improvements offered by DX10 and OGL2.1 are more noticeable in graphics heavy applications (3D animation software, CAD programs, video/photo editing), but the performance improvements when running things like AeroGlass in Windows Vista should be apparent to every type of user.
PureVideo HD:
Another important feature of the Quadro NVS series is the PureVideo HD video engine. PureVideo HD is a complete suite of hardware accelerated HD video decoders used to smooth, scale, de-interlace and colour correct HD video playback. H.264 and VC-1 (the codecs used by Blu-Ray and HD-DVD) are also supported to improve HD video disc playback as well. The PureVideo HD video engine not only allows for better playback of all video, but also lightens the processing load on the main CPU, which further improves battery life.
nView Multi-Display Technology:
Rounding out the Quadro NVS features is nVidia’s nView multi-display technology, which is vital for any business-centric notebook. With two 400MHz RAMDACs, HDCP compliance and support for a multitude of video outputs (composite, s-video, component, HDMI, VGA, DVI), the Quadro NVS offers the most fully-featured external and multiple digital or analog display support. Using the nView software makes setting up multiple displays easy and custom hotkeys makes switching between display configurations as simple as clicking a button.
Unlike a lot of other dedicated graphics solutions that tend to focus solely on increasing performance, many of the new features of the Quadro NVS line help increase battery life. Not only is the Quadro NVS able to adjust its own power consumption based on usage, it can also be used to offload many power-hungry tasks from the system CPU, which saves battery life due to the GPU’s increased efficiency (e.g. HD video playback.) As the portable PC market continues to experience drastic growth, mobile graphics hardware like the Quadro NVS line becomes increasingly important. The ability to produce desktop-level performance while maintaining excellent battery life is the key to increasing mobile productivity in graphics-heavy tasks. Add to that the fact that there is a Quadro NVS available in every price point (from budget to high-end) and nVidia really seems to have outdone themselves with their latest crop of business-centric GPUs.
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