Graphics card manufacturer Nvidia has introduced what it claims is the world's fastest GPU, the GeForce 8800 Ultra.

The graphics giant said that the GPU performs an average of between 10 and 15 per cent faster than its predecessor, the GeForce 8800 GTX, which was previously considered the fastest GPU on the planet.

Nvidia will be putting graphics cards equipped with the GeForce 8800 Ultra GPU and 768MB of video memory on retailers' shelves worldwide by mid-May. Prices are set to start at around $829.

GeForce 8 Series GPUs are the first DirectX 10 compatible chips to ship, and are the reference GPUs for Microsoft's DirectX 10 API development.

Top DirectX 10 titles include Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Crysis, Age of Conan, Hellgate: London, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, World in Conflict, BioShock, PT Boats and Cryostasis.

Ujesh Desai, general manager of desktop GPUs at Nvidia, said: "The definitive gaming platform is built around the fastest components available, and today there is no disputing that those components include the GeForce 8800 Ultra GPU and an Nvidia nForce 680i SLI-ready motherboard."