GIGABYTE Adds 75W GeForce GTX 950 to Lineup

GIGABYTE has quietly added a low-power GeForce GTX 950 video card to its lineup. The product does not require auxiliary PCIe power connector and can be powered entirely by a PCIe x16 slot. Low-power graphics cards featuring the GM206 graphics chip were released by multiple manufacturers recently, GIGABYTE’s board will compete against similar products by three other makers.

The GIGABYTE GV-N950D5-2GD graphics card is based on the GeForce GTX 950 GPU in default configuration (768 stream processors, 48 texture units, 32 ROPs, 128-bit GDDR5 memory interface), but does not require external power, unlike Nvidia’s reference design of the product. Power consumption of the GV-N950D5-2GD does not exceed 75 W, which is why it can be powered by the PCIe x16 slot. Due to reduced power consumption, the new graphics card from GIGABYTE does not feature significant factory-overclocking, it comes with GPU frequencies of 1051/1228 MHz (base/boost) and thus offers performance close to that of Nvidia’s reference card.

The board is equipped with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, two DVI connectors, one HDMI 2.0 port and one DisplayPort output. The product uses a rather simplistic dual-slot cooling system with one fan, which should be sufficient given low-power nature of the device. In a bid to ensure long lifespan of the product, GIGABYTE uses high-quality components, such as solid-state inductors and capacitors, to build the GV-N950D5-2GD.

GIGABYTE added its low-power GV-N950D5-2GD graphics card to its lineup after ASUS, EVGA and MSI quietly introduced their GeForce GTX 950-based products with 75 W power consumption that do not require auxiliary six-pin PCIe power connectors. Such adapters can be used to upgrade inexpensive PCs that do not have an extra power connector inside, or to build low-power gaming or HTPC systems. Since the GM206 GPU is still the only GPU on the market that supports hardware-accelerated decoding and encoding of H.265 (HEVC) video, as well as HDCP 2.2 content protection over HDMI 2.0 (which is required for Ultra HD Blu-ray playback), those who build modern HTPCs, do not have a lot of choice.

With GIGABYTE’s addition of a GM206-251-based graphics board to its product family, low-power GeForce GTX 950 is now available from virtually all well-known suppliers of video cards. Pricing of GIGABYTE’s GV-N950D5-2GD video card is unknown, but GeForce GTX 950-based adapters are generally inexpensive.

Gallery: GIGABYTE Adds GeForce GTX 950 with 75W Power Consumption to Lineup

EVGA Releases GeForce GTX 950 Low Power Graphics Cards with 75W TDP

EVGA this week unveiled their NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950-based video cards with reduced power consumption. As a result, these new cards do not require auxiliary power connectors and can be powered entirely by a PCIe x16 slots Similar variants have already been announced from companies like ASUS and MSI, but EVGA decided to release a range of such graphics cards as well, including factory-overclocked models.

EVGA’s family of low-power GeForce GTX 950 graphics cards that do not need external power consists of four models, which is a lot by contrast to other manufacturers. The GPUs are based on NVIDIA’s cut-down GM206 graphics die (768 stream processors, 48 texture units, 32 ROPs, 128-bit GDDR5 memory interface) but use EVGA’s custom PCB with 3+1 phase VRM. The GPUs are equipped with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, one or two DVI connectors depending on model, one HDMI 2.0 port and one DisplayPort output. 

From the four cards, two of them run at NVIDIA’s reference GPU clock rates of 1025/1190 MHz, while the other two a little bit faster and run the graphics chip at 1076/1253 MHz. In each pair, one has a single DVI-I while the other has DVI-I and DVI-D connectors. All the boards feature 6.6 Gbps GDDR5 memory. As for cooling, they use dual-slot single-fan EVGA ACX 2.0 coolers.

Unfortunately, EVGA does not mark its GeForce GTX 950 boards with reduced power consumption with any easy to recognize label, hence, the only way to distinguish the adapters without PCIe connectors is by referencing the product numbers:

While graphics cards like the GeForce GTX 950 are not used to build high-end gaming PCs, these new PCIe-less models can be purchased to upgrade inexpensive or older PCs which sometimes come without an auxiliary PCIe power connector on the power supply. In addition, a GM206-based adapter is a reasonable choice for an HTPC as the GPU supports hardware-accelerated decoding and encoding of H.265 (HEVC) video, as well as HDCP 2.2 content protection over HDMI 2.0 (which is required for Ultra HD Blu-ray playback).

Since at least three manufacturers of NVIDIA graphics cards already offer GeForce GTX 950 boards without auxiliary PCIe power connectors, it is could be assumed that the GM206-251 GPU (revealed by MSI) has been selected due to reduced power requirements. It is unclear whether NVIDIA picks such GPUs itself and then marks them accordingly, or if there is a new revision of the chip and makers of add-in-cards have to test power requirements themselves through binning.

Right now EVGA does not sell its GeForce GTX 950 low power graphics cards on its website. It is unknown at what price these units will be launched at this time.

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