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Introduction
Since our inception, NVIDIA has strived to bring the highest quality 3D graphics to gamers, with each
new generation pushing the performance envelope, and delivering the latest graphics effects and
stunning visuals for the PC platform. Enthusiast-class PC games that took full advantage of our most
recent Fermi GPU generation were able to incorporate highly detailed, geometrically complex 3D
graphics scenes, and convincing character renderings, animations, and physical simulations.
With the introduction of NVIDIA’s latest GPU architecture, codenamed “Kepler,” our goal was to
continue to push the limits in graphics processing capabilities, and also create an extremely power-
efficient GPU.
NVIDIA’s Kepler architecture builds on the foundation first established in 2010 with NVIDIA's Fermi GPU
architecture. Fermi introduced an entirely new parallel geometry pipeline optimized for tessellation and
displacement mapping. This made it possible for games such as Battlefield 3, Batman: Arkham City, and
Crysis 2 to use richly detailed characters and environments while retaining high performance. Kepler
continues to provide the best tessellation performance and combines this with new features specifically
designed to deliver a faster, smoother, richer gaming experience.
The first GPU based on our new Kepler architecture, codenamed “GK104,” is not only our highest
performing GPU to date, it is also the most efficient in terms of power consumption. GK104 is fabricated
on an optimized 28nm process, and every internal unit was designed for the best perf/watt possible. The
first product being introduced based on GK104 is the GeForce GTX 680.
The introduction of NVIDIA’s Kepler GPU architecture will allow game developers to incorporate even
greater levels of geometric complexity, physical simulations, stereoscopic 3D processing, and advanced
antialiasing effects into their next generation of DX11 titles.
But the next generation of PC gaming isn’t just about clock speeds, raw performance, perf/watt, and
new graphics effects. It’s also about providing consistent frame rates and a smoother gaming
experience. In this whitepaper you will learn about the new smooth gaming technologies implemented
in Kepler to enable this.
Performance Per Watt
When designing our prior generation Fermi GPU architecture, NVIDIA engineers focused on dramatically
improving performance over the Tesla (GT200) GPU generation, with special emphasis on geometry,
tessellation, and compute performance for DirectX 11. Though managing power consumption was an
important consideration during Fermi’s development, achieving breakthrough levels of DX11
performance was the primary objective.
For Kepler we took a different approach. While maintaining our graphics performance leadership was
still the most important goal, the overarching theme driving Kepler’s design was dramatically improving