GeForce 256 is the first graphics processing unit (GPU) in history, which Nvidia, its developer, introduced in 1999 and which is now celebrating its 25th birthday amid advances such as artificial intelligence that continue to drive entertainment and personal computing.
Nvidia celebrates this October 11 the 25th anniversary of the launch of the first GPU in history: GeForce 256. This component “was not just another graphics accelerator, but was presented as the world’s first GPU,” as it pointed out in a press release.
It also “helped redefine games by implementing hardware transformation and lighting,” since being integrated into the GPU itself, it eliminated the load on the computational processing unit (CPU) and opened the door to games with a higher level of graphic detail.
The Nvidia GeForce 256 hit the market alongside titles like Unreal Tournament and Quake III Arena, helping to position graphics cards at the center of game development.
The GeForce 256 also contributed to significant advances in artificial intelligence research, a technology that now powers Nvidia GPUs and delivers innovations like Nvidia DLSS, to boost gaming performance and deliver sharper images, and Nvidia ACE, designed to bring more realistic interactions with game characters.
