2012-12-21-168

[Rumour] Nvidia preparing dual-GF104

As expected, there will be no dual-GF100 card, as it is simplyimpractical, given the single GF100 pushes the barriers of PCI-ethermals. While the "TDP" is specified as 250W, reviews have seen actual"peak power" is approx. 300W, which is the limit for PCI SIG certifiedcards. However, Fudzilla is now reporting that Nvidia is preparing adual GPU iteration of its upcoming GF104 chip.

While GF104 was long expected to be a derivative of GF100, recentrumours suggest it might be a reworked Fermi 2 card.

The single GF104 card will be branded as Geforce GTX 460 and will ship with a TDP of 150W. Performance is a complete unknown, though the nomenclature suggests it will end up slower than the GTX 465. A guess would suggest GTX 460's performance somewhere in the HD 5770 / HD 5830 bracket then. However, Nvidia have a history with confusing branding. (The 8800GT being faster than a 8800 GTS, for example)

Unless GF104 turns out to be a major improvement over GF100, the HD 5970 will continue to be the performance champion, though it could be a close call, depending on the nature of GF104.

The release date of GF104 remains unknown, but August/September is a time-frame suggested in the past. We might see ATI's next generation Southern Islands releasing around the same time, or right after, which might put further pressure on Nvidia.

Reference: Fudzilla