NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 Review: Affordable Maxwell For The Masses

Name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 Review: Affordable Maxwell For The Masses
Brand: NVIDIA

by Marco Chiappetta — Thursday, August 20, 2015, 09:00 AM EDT

Performance Summary: Due to time constraints, an upgrade to our test bed, and some impending travel, we had to run a limited suite of tests with the new GeForce GTX 950, but a clear trend emerged nonetheless. Both of the GeForce GTX 950 cards we tested ultimately outpaced the Radeon R9 270X, but trailed the R9 285 and, obviously, the higher-end GeForce GTX 960. Overall, performance was good and playable framerates at 1080p with most games are easily possible.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 - Find It At Amazon

Pricing for the GeForce GTX 950 will start at $159 USD, as per NVIDIA, with factory overclocked cards like the EVGA GeForce GTX 950 FTW and ASUS STRIX arriving at somewhat higher price points. The EVGA card, for example, has an MSRP of $179 and the ASUS STRIX $169. At those prices, competition will be pretty stiff. The Radeon R9 285 can be had for about $180 currently, and that card offered better performance across the board. And for a slightly larger investment, higher performing cards like the GTX 960 or Radeon R9 380 can be had. If your budget doesn’t permit the additional expense necessary for a card like a GTX 960, however, the GTX 950 is still a good choice.

With this release, NVIDIA’s product stack now consists of:

GTX TITAN X: $999
GTX 980 Ti: $649
GTX 980: $499
GTX 970: $329
GTX 960: $199
GTX 950: $159
GTX 750 Ti: $119

There aren’t many gaps in NVIDIA’s line-up to be filled at this point, but with impending releases from AMD at the upper-midrange and high-end, pricing may shift around a bit in the not too distant future.

GeForce GTX 950 cards should be available immediately at on-line retailers. If you’re chugging along on integrated graphics or an older discrete card like the GTX 650, the GeForce GTX 950 could be worth a look, especially if you’re an avid MOBA player looking for a bit of an edge.
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Good Performance Low Power Quiet Affordable	Much More Performance Available For A Bit More Cash Only 2GB On Board

Tags: Nvidia, Asus, Gaming, graphics, evga, FTW, strix, geforce gtx 950

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com