NVIDIA's GTX 260 Getting New PCB To Save Costs
Make no mistake -- NVIDIA has certainly pushed out a few new powerhouse
graphics cards since the introduction of its GTX 260, but there's
obviously plenty of demand left for what was the company's most
impressive GPU to date in June of last year. As money gets tight and
cutting edge boards become less of a necessity, NVIDIA's banking on
selling a few more of its older cards at lower prices than before. To
that end, we're hearing that the third generation of the GTX 260 is set
to hit store shelves within just a few weeks, and while a price drop
will certainly be in order, there are quite a few manufacturing changes
expected as well.
At the close of 2008, this card became the first in the GTX 200 series to use 55 nanometer processing technology, and it featured the P654 reference design -- a design that cost less to produce than the original P651. With that change, the number of PCB layers was reduced from 14 to 10, and the pricey Volterra chip was abandoned in order to further shave costs. If all goes to plan, the next iteration -- codenamed P897/D10U-20 -- will surface for gamers on a budget.
Reportedly, the P897 design plan will utilize a 4/6 phase NVVDD power solution and the MOSFET package will be swapped from LFPAK to DPAK in order to (you guessed it) save cost. Moreover, the PCB layers will decrease further from 10 to 8, while the length of the PCB will remain unchanged. Finally, the height of the PCB will be lowered ever so slightly, and the DVI connector will also see some sort of tweak. It's noted that to undiscerning eyes, the new GTX 260 will actually look a lot like the GeForce 9800GTX+, but we're certain the vivid packaging won't allow you to mistake it.
Prospective buyers can anticipate $10 to $15 drop in production costs, which may or may not lead to a $10 to $15 price drop in stores. At any rate, we'd suggest holding off if you were planning to pick up a new GTX 260 this weekend -- your patience just might pay off.
At the close of 2008, this card became the first in the GTX 200 series to use 55 nanometer processing technology, and it featured the P654 reference design -- a design that cost less to produce than the original P651. With that change, the number of PCB layers was reduced from 14 to 10, and the pricey Volterra chip was abandoned in order to further shave costs. If all goes to plan, the next iteration -- codenamed P897/D10U-20 -- will surface for gamers on a budget.
Reportedly, the P897 design plan will utilize a 4/6 phase NVVDD power solution and the MOSFET package will be swapped from LFPAK to DPAK in order to (you guessed it) save cost. Moreover, the PCB layers will decrease further from 10 to 8, while the length of the PCB will remain unchanged. Finally, the height of the PCB will be lowered ever so slightly, and the DVI connector will also see some sort of tweak. It's noted that to undiscerning eyes, the new GTX 260 will actually look a lot like the GeForce 9800GTX+, but we're certain the vivid packaging won't allow you to mistake it.
Prospective buyers can anticipate $10 to $15 drop in production costs, which may or may not lead to a $10 to $15 price drop in stores. At any rate, we'd suggest holding off if you were planning to pick up a new GTX 260 this weekend -- your patience just might pay off.
