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Twenty-five years ago, Nvidia introduced the GeForce 256, forever transforming the landscape of PC gaming. Although it was not the company’s first graphics card—being the sixth in line—it was the first to prominently feature gaming in Nvidia’s offerings under the GeForce name, and it was the first occasion the term “GPU” was coined.
Nvidia is rightfully marking this milestone anniversary. From the GeForce 256 to the GTX 4090, we’ve witnessed remarkable advancements. However, the initial launch of the GeForce 256, specifically the SDR (single data rate) model, didn’t generate much excitement. A year later, Nvidia released the enhanced GeForce 256 DDR (dual data rate).
Anandtech (which we remember fondly) has retained one of the few existing reviews of the GeForce 256, serving as a captivating glimpse back at the expectations of 1999. Written by founding member Anand Lal Shimpi, the review refers to Nvidia’s clever branding of the GeForce line, noting how far the concept of a “GPU” has permeated the mainstream PC hardware discourse.
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Despite the many changes over the past quarter-century, some issues have remained constant. The original GeForce 256 faced significant criticism for its restricted memory bandwidth—hello, RTX 4060 Ti—and for Nvidia’s hefty pricing on a single card, starting at $249. These critiques still resonate today regarding Nvidia’s graphics offerings.
While it’s easy to view the GeForce 256 through nostalgic lenses, it’s undeniable that Nvidia has earned its accolades. The review highlights that Nvidia is the only major player to survive in the graphics realm since 1999, with brands like 3dfx and Diamond fading into obscurity. Although ATI exists under AMD’s umbrella, it has undergone a significant transformation.
It’s fair to say that without the GeForce 256, the PC gaming landscape might look very different today, for better or worse. As enthusiasts anticipate the launch of Nvidia’s next-generation RTX 50-series GPUs, why not fire up Quake III Arena or Unreal Tournament at 480p and experience what gamers experienced back in 1999?
In celebration of its history, Nvidia plans to share mock advertisements reminiscent of 1999, showcasing a sleeper PC built with the RTX 4080 Super on social media. You can catch a preview of one of these nostalgic posts shared by Nvidia above.
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