Nvidia GeForce driver
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| Manufacturer | Nvidia |
|---|---|
| Introduced | August 31, 1999 |
| Type | Consumer graphics cards |
GeForce is a brand of graphics processing units (GPUs) designed by Nvidia. As of 2016[update], there have been thirteen iterations of the design. The first GeForce products were discrete GPUs designed for add-on graphics boards, intended for the high-margin PC gaming market, and later diversification of the product line covered all tiers of the PC graphics market, ranging from cost-sensitive GPUs integrated on motherboards, to mainstream add-in retail boards. Most recently, GeForce technology has been introduced into Nvidia's line of embedded application processors, designed for electronic handhelds and mobile handsets.
With respect to discrete GPUs, found in add-in graphics-boards, Nvidia's GeForce and AMD's Radeon GPUs are the only remaining competitors in the high-end market. Along with its nearest competitor, the AMD Radeon, the GeForce architecture is moving toward general-purpose graphics processor unit (GPGPU). GPGPU is expected to expand GPU functionality beyond the traditional rasterization of 3D graphics, to turn it into a high-performance computing device able to execute arbitrary programming code in the same way a CPU does, but with different strengths (highly parallel execution of straightforward calculations) and weaknesses (worse performance for complex decision-making code).
The "GeForce" name originated from a contest held by Nvidia in early 1999 called "Name That Chip". The company called out to the public to name the successor to the RIVA TNT2 line of graphics boards. There were over 12,000 entries received and 7 winners received a RIVA TNT2 Ultra graphics card as a reward.
The license has common terms against reverse engineering, copying and sub-licensing, and it disclaims warranties and liability.
Starting in 2016 the GeFORCE license says Nvidia "collects... personally identifiable information about Customer and CUSTOMER SYSTEM as well as configures CUSTOMER SYSTEM in order to ... (d) deliver marketing communications." The privacy notice goes on to say, "We are not able to respond to "Do Not Track" signals set by a browser at this time. We also permit third party online advertising networks and social media companies to collect information... We may combine personal information that we collect about you with the browsing and tracking information collected by these [cookies and beacons] technologies.".
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