Following an OEM-only launch back in July, NVIDIA has today taken its GT200 architecture to the mainstream with the retail launch of its GeForce G210 and GeForce GT220 graphics cards.
The cards, pictured below, are essentially trimmed-down versions of the GT200 architecture and make use of a 40nm GT21x GPU that offers a little less of everything.
The GeForce G210, pictured above, features a GPU clocked at 589MHz, just 16 processor cores clocked at 1,402MHz and 512MB of DDR2 memory clocked at 500MHz, connected via a 64-bit interface.
The quicker GeForce GT220, meanwhile, features a GPU clocked at 615MHz, 48 processor cores running at 1,335MHz and a gigabyte of DDR3 memory operating at 790MHz via a 128-bit interface.
Both products are NVIDIA's first desktop solutions to offer support for DirectX 10.1 and Shader Model 4.1, and the GeForce GT220 throws in an on-board audio controller facilitating 7.1 digital surround sound via HDMI.
With rival GPU manufacturer AMD now boasting DirectX 11 solutions, NVIDIA doesn't have a whole lot to shout about, but its entry-level G210 and GT220 may finally bring an end to the GeForce 9500s and GeForce 9600s of old. As expected, many of NVIDIA's partners are touting the cards as ideal HTPC solutions, with the likes of ECS bringing passive solutions to market on launch day.
We're still awaiting UK listings of the products, but U.S. retailer Newegg.com has the GeForce G210 priced at $44.99 and the GeForce GT220 at $69.99. That's roughly £30 and £45, respectively, excluding local taxes.
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