NVIDIA have historically been very good with their strategic marketing. The GTX TITAN came at a time when graphics card releases were going through an interim, barren period. They grabbed the limelight with that release and even charged a huge premium. Few thought the TITAN would be a success at such an inflated price yet many have were sold to those looking for the best of the best. AMD’s most recent answer is the R9-290X, itself a very fast card that threatened the GTX TITAN’s grasp to the performance throne. Now it is time for NVIDIA to show its hand and unleash the full power of the GK110 core.

There were questions left unanswered with the TITAN, namely the mystery surrounding the missing SMX. The GTX TITAN had 14 out of a possible 15, much the same as the pro grade Tesla K20 the TITAN is based upon. Whether this was due to yield issues or NVIDIA rationing power we cannot say but the GK110 has to date always shipped with one SMX disabled. This has changed with the GTX 780 Ti because it serves up a full complement of SMX making the GTX 780 Ti a 'full fat' GK110.