NVIDIA took the opportunity today of officially unveiling their latest GPU to the world, the GeForce FX. Based on the new NVIDIA CineFX architecture, the new chip promises to deliver "cinematic-quality graphics and special effects in real time".

"Computer games today are fast and exciting, yet they still lack the ability to engage us emotionally," commented Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO at NVIDIA. "With the GeForce FX GPU, game developers now have the power to create awe-inspiring visuals and bring character emotion to life. GeForce FX enables a new type of interactive expression we call cinematic computing."

Support from big name publishers and developers has been immense, with the likes of id Software, Epic, Microsoft, EA, Konami, Ubi Soft and many more all promising to gear future developments towards utilising the new GPU’s power.

Here are some technical shenanigans taken from the press release:

  • Awesome Graphics Power: the world's first 500MHz GPU is able to compute 375 million programmable vertices per second; 4 billion pixels per second; and 16 billion AA samples per second. And with the world's first 1Ghz DDR2 memories, GeForce FX features the fastest frame buffer ever designed. Complete support for AGP8X and NVIDIA patent pending IntellisampleTM technology ensures developers are able to create scenes of unrivalled beauty at unmatched speeds.

  • Engineering Excellence: NVIDIA's latest GPU delivers state-of-the-art technology and engineering expertise. The GeForce FX GPU packs nearly twice the number of transistors as the GeForce4 GPU by utilising the industry's most advanced 0.13-micron and copper manufacturing process. And combined with a radical and revolutionary patent pending dynamic thermal management solution, the GeForce FX GPU is an enthusiasts dream.

  • Cinematic Visual Effects: Architected for high level programming languages such as Cg, the GeForce FX GPU with its new CineFX engine produces visual effects that take a quantum leap toward cinematic rendering. With the industry's first 128-bit studio-quality colour processing technology, the CineFX engine produces 3D worlds and characters more real than anything that's come before.

    "The NVIDIA GeForce FX GPU takes graphics experiences to a whole new level," enthused Epic’s Mark Rein. "Once again, NVIDIA has broken with convention by redefining the limits of 3D graphics technology. Power and realism, the two elements every gamer craves, are the heart and soul of the NVIDIA GeForce FX GPU."

    Retail boards based on this new cutting-edge technology will begin hitting stores come February 2003.

    By Luke Guttridge