NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z launch postponed

Published: Apr 28th 2014, 13:05 GMT

TITAN Z header

While I was preparing my launch post for GTX TITAN Z, guys over at SweClockers have just posted an information about the delay in TITAN Z release.

TITAN Z was supposedly going to be released on April 29th, but according to SweClockers plans have changed. The only question is, why?

NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z launch postponed because it was slower than R9 295X2?

Before we get into details, let me just make it clear, that the following clocks speeds are not final. Some etailers already listed TITAN Z with product specs, and their data seem to confirm it (check below).

As soon as I learned the clock speeds of TITAN Z, I was quite surprised. Those clock speeds would not make TITAN Z competitive against R9 295X2. We would be looking at 180MHz frequency drop compared to original 780 TI. Unless the cooling system would be efficient enough, the boost clock of 730 MHz would not make this card any faster. Leaked listing reports on TITAN Z with 6GHz memory modules. However official source GeForce.com does report on 7GHz.

At least the memory size is where TITAN Z really shines. No gaming card has ever featured 12 GB frame buffer. Of course this is the total buffer for both GPUs, so very few applications will benefit from this. Upcoming DirectX 12 will most likely provide some improvements in memory affinity, and TITAN Z is theoretically compatible with the new API (actually it’s even listed with DX12 support).

CompuUniverse TITAN Z HardwareShchotte TITAN Z

April 2014 High-End GPU Segment
GeForce GTX
TITAN Z
GeForce
GTX 780 Ti
AMD Radeon
R9 295 X2
AMD Radeon
R9 290X
GPU CodenameVesuvius
GPU Model2x GK110GK110-4252x Hawaii XTHawaii XT
Unified Cores2x 2880 (5760)28802x 2816 (5632)2816
TMUs2x 240 (480)2402x 176 (352)176
ROPs2x 48 (96)482x 64 (128)64
Base Clock705 MHz
875 MHz1018 MHz1000 MHz
Boost Clock876 MHz
928 MHz
Memory Clock7000 MHz
7000 MHz5000 MHz5000 MHz
Memory2x 6GB (12GB)30722x 4GB (8GB)4GB
Memory Bus2x 384b384b2x 512b512b
Power Connectors8pin + 8pin8pin + 6pin8pin + 8pin8pin + 6pin
TDP250W500W250W
Launch DateMay 2014Nov 7th, 2013Apr 8th, 2014Oct 24th, 2013
MSRP$2999$699$1499$549

NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z design

TITAN Z is very similar to GTX 690, as it only features a single fan cooling system. What’s definitely new,  but here I might be wrong, TITAN Z would be the first triple-slot NVIDIA reference card. To be precise it’s 2.5 slot, even the official pictures have 2.5 slot bracket, but the retail product has 3-slot bracket. This shouldn’t bother you at all, but in my opinion it makes the card look worse (just look at the first two pictures below).

 

Pre-release sampleRetail sample

Pre-release sample vs retail sample

What we didn’t know about is a sexy backplate. It’s a full cover backplate specifically design for TITAN Z. Whether you like it or not, it serves its purpose. Dual-sided memory modules require additional heat dissipation and that’s why TITAN Z comes with an additional metal plate on the back.

GEFORCE GTX TITAN Z (3)

NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z launch date and price

At GTC2014 NVIDIA announced its Dual-GPU TITAN Z planned for April. No one expected to wait till the end of the month. The latest information suggest we will wait few more days, or maybe even weeks.

GeForce GTX TITAN Z, which is technically still a gaming card with some computing capabilities unlocked, will cost $2999 (€2999). This is exactly twice the price of Radeon R9 295X2, while ‘supposedly’ offering worse performance. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an immediate price cut few days after it finally arrives.

That’s all for now, I hope to see some official materials very soon, so stay tunned for more TITAN zZzZzZzz boring news.

GEFORCE GTX TITAN Z (2)

GF_GTX_Titian_Z_top_2Height_DarkerPCI TITAN Z  GEFORCE GTX TITAN Z (1)

Source: ComputerUniverse, HardwareSchotte, SweClockers




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