The "Big" Maxwell is here! Well..."the "bigger" Maxwell is here," would be more accurate. The much anticipated next generation GPU from NVIDIA is ready for prime time. We've actually seen a hint of what NVIDIA had in store for us with the release of the GeForce GTX 750 Ti back in February of this year. The GeForce GTX 750 Ti was actually the first next generation Maxwell chip release from NVIDIA.

One of the key features of the GeForce GTX 750 Ti is its tremendous power savings and efficiency over previous generation GPUs at the price point of ~$149. We've evaluated several GeForce GTX 750 Ti's and have raved about the power efficiency which leads to smaller cards, less extreme cooling mechanisms required, and less power requirements. While GeForce GTX 750 Ti was just a hint at what was to come, NVIDIA now has the bigger, enthusiast level Maxwell ready to go now. If you are not familiar with the GTX 750 Ti video cards, we have reviews here, here, and here from various board builders.

What you are going to find as we explore Big Maxwell, also known as GM204, is that Maxwell is more about feature additions, rather than revolutionary architecture changes. If you were hoping this included Project Denver with ARM cores and 3D memory cell stacking, this is not that. This however is an evolutionary advancement over Kepler that leads to a faster architecture that is more power efficient. Maxwell has more features that will hopefully push the next generation of games forward in 3D technology. NVIDIA's goal for Maxwell is: "Best gaming experience, regardless of what PC they have."