Nvdia Releases GeForce GTX 550 TI Graphics Card

Nvidia on Tuesday launched its low-end mainstream video card, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 550 TI, for a starting price under $150.

The GTX 550 TI is based on Nvidia's GF 116 core GPU, which in turn is based on Nvidia's Fermi parallel processing architecture. Nvidia's GTX 550 TI card includes 192 CUDA processing cores, at 900 MHz of graphics clock speed, and a 192-bit memory path. According to Nvidia, the GTX 550 TI offers a 28 percent increase in performance and a 20 percent increase in performance-per-watt compared to the previous-generation GTS 450.

Nvidia's GTX 550 TI GPU includes 1 GB of frame buffer memory, one 512-MB unit and two 256-MB units of GGDR5 RAM memory. Nvidia recommends a maximum power supply of 400 W for systems running the GTX 550 TI, which has a TDP of 116 Watts.

Nvidia could not be reached for comment regarding the GTX 550.

In January, Nvidia launched its GeForce GTX 560 TI graphics card, a mid-range product Nvidia intended to challenge rival AMD's Radeon HD 6950 GPU, code-named Cayman. Based on the GF 114-based GPU, the GTX 560 is the follow-up to the GeForce GF-104-based GTX 460 card that launched in July.

Most recently, EVGA last week offered details of its latest 2Win GeForce GTX 460 graphics card, featuring two Nvidia GF 104 Fermi parallel processing cores. Nvidia's new GTX 550 Ti similarly includes plenty of headroom for manufacturers to offer over-clocked versions running at up to 1GHz.

Nvidia's GeForce GTX 550 TI is available inside systems and as a standalone card priced at $149.