Decoding NVIDIA CPU names
The modern naming scheme for GeForce gaming GPUs follows this general pattern: Brand Prefix + Performance Tier + Generation + Suffix
Example: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Ti
1. Brand & Prefix
| Brand / Prefix | Target Audience & Use Case | Key Technology |
|---|---|---|
| GeForce RTX | Modern Gaming / Creator: The main consumer brand for desktops and laptops. | Includes dedicated hardware: Ray Tracing (RT) Cores and Tensor Cores (for DLSS and AI). |
| GeForce GTX | Older Gaming (Legacy): Mainstream gaming cards before the RTX series. | Does not have dedicated RT or Tensor Cores. Ray tracing performance is very poor. |
| NVIDIA Quadro / RTX Ada | Professional Workstation: For CAD, scientific visualization, and professional 3D rendering. Features certified drivers for stability. | |
| NVIDIA Tesla / A-Series | Data Center / AI: Server-grade accelerators for high-performance computing (HPC) and machine learning. |
(This cheatsheet will focus primarily on the consumer GeForce RTX and GTX series.)
2. Performance Tier (The Numbers)
This is the most important part of the name for determining a card's power and price.
First Two Digits = Generation & Architecture
- 40xx → 40 Series (Ada Lovelace Architecture)
- 30xx → 30 Series (Ampere Architecture)
- 20xx → 20 Series (Turing Architecture - First RTX cards)
- 16xx → 16 Series (Turing Architecture - GTX only)
- 10xx → 10 Series (Pascal Architecture)
Last Two Digits = Performance SKU This number ranks the card's performance within its generation. A higher number is always better.
| SKU (Last Two Digits) | Performance Tier | Target Resolution / Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| xx90 | Enthusiast / "Halo" Product | The absolute best consumer card available. For extreme 4K gaming, max settings, and professional creation. |
| xx80 | High-End | Excellent for high-refresh-rate 4K and 1440p gaming. A top-tier choice for serious gamers. |
| xx70 | Upper Mid-Range | The "sweet spot" for many gamers. Fantastic for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming. |
| xx60 | Mainstream | The most popular tier. Excellent for 1080p gaming at high settings, and often capable of 1440p. |
| xx50 | Entry-Level / Budget | Good for 1080p gaming at medium-to-high settings, especially in e-sports titles. |
| xx30 | Low-End | For basic tasks, media playback, and very light 1080p gaming. |
3. Suffixes: The Key to a Card's Role
The letters at the end are critical. They refine a card's position within its tier.
Desktop GPU Suffixes
| Suffix | Meaning | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ti | Titanium | A higher-performance version. A "Ti" model is a significant step up from the base model (e.g., an RTX 4070 Ti is much better than an RTX 4070). |
| SUPER | Refreshed / Upgraded | A mid-cycle refresh. A "SUPER" card is better than the base model it's named after, often sitting between the base and the Ti version. |
| (none) | Standard / Base | The standard version of the card for that SKU (e.g., RTX 4070, RTX 3060). |
Mobile (Laptop) GPU Suffixes
| Suffix | Meaning | Target Device & Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| (none) | Standard Mobile | The standard version for gaming laptops. Power (TDP) can vary significantly between laptop models, which greatly affects performance. |
| Max-Q | Efficiency Optimized (Legacy) | An older term for power-efficient versions designed for thin-and-light laptops. While the brand name is gone, the principle of varying power limits based on laptop design remains critical. |
4. Older Generations (For Context)
- TITAN Series (e.g., TITAN RTX): A prosumer line that sat between GeForce and Quadro, offering massive VRAM and performance for a very high price. The xx90 series has largely replaced it.
- GT Series (e.g., GT 1030, GT 710): Very low-end cards designed for basic video output, not for gaming.
Putting It All Together: Examples
-
GeForce RTX 4090:
- RTX: Modern gaming card with RT/Tensor Cores.
- 40xx: 40 Series (Ada Lovelace architecture).
- xx90: The top enthusiast SKU.
- Conclusion: NVIDIA's flagship desktop gaming GPU, the best of its generation.
-
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti:
- RTX: Modern gaming card.
- 30xx: 30 Series (Ampere architecture).
- xx60: Mainstream performance tier.
- Ti: The higher-performance version of the 3060.
- Conclusion: A powerful and popular upper-mainstream desktop card, great for 1080p/1440p gaming.
-
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER:
- GTX: Older gaming card, no dedicated RT/Tensor Cores.
- 16xx: 16 Series (Turing architecture).
- xx50: Entry-level performance tier.
- SUPER: A refreshed, faster version of the original 1650.
- Conclusion: An excellent budget desktop card for 1080p e-sports titles.
-
GeForce RTX 4070 (Laptop GPU):
- RTX: Modern gaming card.
- 40xx: 40 Series.
- xx70: Upper mid-range tier.
- No suffix, but it's for a laptop: Implies it's the mobile version.
- Conclusion: A high-performance GPU for a 1440p gaming laptop. Crucially, its real-world performance will depend on the power limit (TDP) set by the laptop manufacturer.