After launching the first graphics processing unit (GPU) based on its next-generation Kepler graphics architecture in the GeForce GTX 680, Nvidia has now unveiled the GeForce GTX 690 graphics card. This dual GPU is based on the company’s 28-nanometer Kepler architecture, with Nvidia referring to the GTX 690 as “the world’s fastest consumer graphics card”.

To back up that bold claim, the GeForce GTX 690 is powered by a total of 3072 Nvidia CUDA cores, and sports a base clock of 915 MHz (can be boosted to 1019 MHz), as well as 4 GB of 512-bit GDDR5 with a memory speed of 6 Gbps.

According to Nvidia, the GTX 690 pushes out nearly double the amount of frame rates of the closest single GPU product, the GeForce GTX 680. Nvidia asserted that its dual GPU is more power efficient and 4 dB quieter, compared to gaming systems equipped with two GeForce GTX 680 GPUs running in Nvidia SLI configuration.

The GPU and mobile CPU maker’s latest and greatest graphics card boasts an exterior frame constructed of trivalent chromium-plated aluminum for added durability. It also features a fan housing made from a thixomolded magnesium alloy, which the company says will allow for enhanced heat dissipation and vibration dampening.

Nvidia stated that the GeForce GTX 690 GPU will be available in limited quantities in the States as of 3 May, with wider availability expected by 7th of May from its add-in card partners, which include Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, Palit and Zotac. No local release details are available yet. US pricing will be around $999 (approximately R7730).

“The GTX 690 is truly a work of art -- gorgeous on the outside with amazing performance on the inside,” said Brian Kelleher, senior vice president of GPU engineering at Nvidia. “Gamers will love playing on multiple screens at high resolutions with all the eye candy turned on. And they’ll relish showing their friends how beautiful the cards look inside their systems.”

In other GPU related news, AMD recently announced two new additions to its 28 nm Radeon HD GPU line-up, namely the Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition and the Radeon HD 7850 graphics cards.