Rumour control: GeForce GTX 260 GX2 in January

Posted at: 6:04pm 19th November 2008 by Ben Hardwidge

Move to 55nm process could enable GeForce GTX 260 GX2

Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 280 chips might be the fastest single-GPU offerings at the moment, but they’re having a tough time competing with the Radeon HD 4870 X2 at the top end. The problem is that the GTX 280 is a packed 65nm chip that Nvidia recommends powering with a 40A 12V rail, and putting two of them on a card would make an extremely hot and power-hungry beast. However, the rumour is that Nvidia is planning a dual-GPU GTX 260 card after the company has shifted the GPUs to a 55nm process.

Tech site Expreview claims to have spoken to an anonymous informer, who says that Nvidia is planning to make GeForce GTX 260 GX2 card with two GTX 260 GPUs, and that the cards will be released in January 2009.

We asked Nvidia about the rumour, but were given the usual line that Nvidia ‘can’t comment on unannounced products.’ However, the move would make sense given that the dual-GPU Radeon HD 4870 X2 is currently a major threat to Nvidia at the top end of the market. What’s also interesting is that the rumour concerns a dual- 260 card, rather than a card with two 280 chips, implying that even a move to a 55nm process still wouldn’t make a dual-280 card practical, if this rumour is true.

Of course, this is all very much just rumour and speculation at the moment, so take it all with a firm pinch of sodium chloride.