Unlocking the Future of GPU Technology: Nvidia’s 2024 Year in Review
Nvidia’s Unstoppable Rise to Global Dominance in 2024
Nvidia’s 2024 was nothing short of meteoric. With its market value soaring past $3 trillion, the company reached new heights of success, becoming the world’s most valuable company in the process. At the heart of this success lies its dominance in the desktop GPU market, which Nvidia has now cemented as a near-monopoly. In this article, we’ll dive into the key factors that contributed to Nvidia’s astronomical rise, exploring its latest GPU releases, software innovations, and the massive driving force behind it all – Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The Year of the Super Graphics Cards
Nvidia kicked off the year by releasing a trio of new graphics cards for its Lovelace range, which offered a significant upgrade over the existing models. These Super GPUs – the GeForce RTX 4070 Super, RTX 4070 Ti Super, and RTX 4080 Super – replaced their predecessors in all but one instance, where the RTX 4070 remained in production to run alongside the RTX 4070 Super at a cheaper price point.
While these new graphics cards were welcome additions to the market, they did come with hefty price tags, leaving some enthusiasts disappointed. In our review, the RTX 4070 Super received a thumbs-up, but its 12GB of VRAM limited its 4K chops, making the RTX 4080 Super the clear champion in this regard.
AI FTW Still
AI continued to be the driving force behind Nvidia’s success in 2024, powering the company’s market value growth and fueling its push into new territories. The introduction of Rubin AI chips, the successor to Blackwell, marked a significant step forward in AI innovation, and could potentially power future GeForce graphics cards.
However, concerns remain about the potential consequences of Nvidia’s AI-driven dominance on the consumer GPU market. As AI becomes increasingly central to the company’s strategy, will we see gaming graphics cards relegated to secondary importance?
GeForce Now Continues to Evolve – With a Catch
Nvidia’s streaming service for PC gamers, GeForce Now, also received updates in 2024. A Day Pass allowed users to try out the service for a day, while the middle-tier "Priority" membership was upgraded to "Performance" with no additional cost. This new tier boosts visual quality from 1080p to 1440p resolution and supports ultrawide monitors. However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, as subscribers will now face a 100-hour monthly playtime limit – a move that has sparked outrage among some users.
Concluding Thoughts
In conclusion, Nvidia’s 2024 was a year marked by significant strides in its graphics card lineup and software innovations, as well as the explosive growth of AI within the company. While these advancements have driven the company’s value to unprecedented heights, they also raise concerns about the future of desktop graphics cards in the consumer market.
With AI continuing to play a pivotal role in Nvidia’s strategy, it’s hard to ignore the potential impact this could have on the gaming world. Only time will tell whether Nvidia’s gaming graphics cards will remain a mainstay or eventually take a backseat to the company’s AI-driven ambitions.
