Upgraded GeForce GTX 260 Could Cause Overstock Problems

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DigiTimes says that graphics card makers are worried that the recently launched GTX 260 and its extra stream processors could create overstock problems for the earlier version of the GTX 260. This only makes sense, who wants to buy the “old” version of anything unless there are some steep discounts.

The upgraded GeForce GTX 260 features the D10U-102 core which is manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) using its 65nm process. The major difference is the new GPU has 216 stream processors, upgraded from 192. The two versions feature the same core and memory frequencies of 576MHz and 1,242MHz, respectively.
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So the question is... how do you "find" one of the newer core 260's???
 
I am hoping they label it something like GTX 260+ or something like that.

Revamping a card like this is always a bad idea. And with nvidia not allowing discounts below a price point. I think we all know who is going to get screwed... US!

I think people trying to buy two of them or more for SLi are going to get screwed when lazy vendors and retailers place them in the same lot. If there is not a naming difference people will get hosed the same way some people got hosed with the whole 8800GTS set of cards.

But eh, my 9800s are not so long in the tooth that they need replacing.
 
If the vendors really don't have interest in displaying the core revision. Then the safer bet, as a consumer, would be to just pick up the 4870. This is like the 8800GT vs G80 8800GTS situation all over again...except more annoying.
 
Newegg lists the number of processing cores when you start to narrow down the graphic card options. Just click on Desktop Graphics/Video cards, and then for GPU select Geforce GTX 200 series. Now you'll see a category for Stream Processors which contain 192 or 240. I bet once these are available they will add 216 and this will be a good way to ensure you find the 'new' 260's.
 
More confusion in regards to video card naming schemes and corresponding performance? You don't say.
 
arnemetis said:
Newegg lists the number of processing cores when you start to narrow down the graphic card options. Just click on Desktop Graphics/Video cards, and then for GPU select Geforce GTX 200 series. Now you'll see a category for Stream Processors which contain 192 or 240. I bet once these are available they will add 216 and this will be a good way to ensure you find the 'new' 260's.
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If the companies release the cards under the same packaging (more importantly the same SKU) there is no way to tell what is in the box.

Its like the issues with HDD's and specific firmwares sucking. Consumer can not update it (to my knowledge), and nothing on the box says what firmware is on the drive inside. So its like bobbing for apples.
 
Nvidia - The Way Its Meant to Confuse Consumers

Just plain retarded, if you ask me
 
I really doubt they will have the same SKU. The number of SP is listed on the box last time I checked so you couldn't box it in the same box. One would hope they would list it as GTX 270. (WHICH WOULD MAKE FUCKING SENSE! ARE YOU LISTENING NVIDIA?!?!?!)
 
arnemetis said:
Newegg lists the number of processing cores when you start to narrow down the graphic card options. Just click on Desktop Graphics/Video cards, and then for GPU select Geforce GTX 200 series. Now you'll see a category for Stream Processors which contain 192 or 240. I bet once these are available they will add 216 and this will be a good way to ensure you find the 'new' 260's.
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How is Newegg gonna know though? Unless the resellers alter the model numbers or at 'least change their SKU's, they won't be able to figure it out any better than we would.
 
i doubt nvidia will ship "new" GTX260's and not have a box that says "im better". i see the new names being GTX260+. I cant remember when they released the 8800 GTS 640 with 112SP if it said so on the box. I think i just said SSC (Evga).
 
1. It's safe to say that most of the card makers (like Asus, BFG, etc...) stand the most to loose. They will want to wait for the current stock of 260s to be sold before they build with the new revision. Anything else doesn't make much sense, unless they don't have much of that product line to loose money on. So that it gives them an advantage by marketing the upgraded revision before other manufacturers release them. Then again this fact alone might motivate those same companies to try and stealth them into their product line. That way if one of their competitors "releases" a revised version, they can follow suit by giving their product a different label.

2. With the 8800GTS things were different. The first gen cards had 640 and 320 MB of memory and the second gen cards had 512MB. However, there was a greater length of time between revision 1 and revision 2. We will have to wait and see if they differentiate the new revision with other changes that will make it distinguishable (so far the only difference is the number of stream processors). Otherwise, if manufacturers just phase in the new GPU without letting us know, buyers will indeed wind up on the loosing end.

3. Rauelius is corret! The best solution overall is not to buy GTX 260 cards. If you buy them now, you'll feel ripped off when the new cards are prevalent. If you wait a little while, you won't have any way of knowing what you're buying. If you wait too long the next generation cards will come out and you still won't get something that satisfies. Remember, the GTX200 series is not DX10.1 compatible, and it won't be DX11 compatible. These facts combined with Nvidia's marketing policies (Vendors can offer lower prices, but they can't "advertise" them) makes it hard to recommend their products.

The sad part for me is that I was considering the purchase of a pair of 260s. Now that prospect is distinctly unappealing. I would be better off buying some different DRAM and switching back to my X38 chipset motherboard.
 
So will this end up making the actual 216 models some sort of a "rare" commodity when they ARE found?

Man I won't even bother grabbing a 260 if they make it a gamble whether you'll end up with a 216 model or not. I'm pretty sure these 8800s can hold me over till the next gen if they're gonna be like that.
 
Cannydog said:
3. Rauelius is corret! The best solution overall is not to buy GTX 260 cards. If you buy them now, you'll feel ripped off when the new cards are prevalent. If you wait a little while, you won't have any way of knowing what you're buying. If you wait too long the next generation cards will come out and you still won't get something that satisfies. Remember, the GTX200 series is not DX10.1 compatible, and it won't be DX11 compatible. These facts combined with Nvidia's marketing policies (Vendors can offer lower prices, but they can't "advertise" them) makes it hard to recommend their products.
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That's dumb though, because the GTX 260 is still the best buy at it's price point, whether you get the new one or not. It matches or slightly outperforms the 4870 in most cases and it's $10-20 cheaper in most cases as well... So while this is a shoddy situation, I don't see why anyone would avoid the GTX 260 altogether if they were looking for a $230-250 card. By the same token, my guess is either NVidia or their resellers will wisen up and they'll try to clear stock of the old GTX 260s, possibly re-naming the new ones or just changing SKU's... If the GTX 260 prices drop any further it'd be impossible for a lot of people to resist springing for it over a 4850/9800 GTX.
 
Are you frigging kidding me? Gawd, I thought MAYBE they were done with these idiodic and confusing revisions. Hold them the hell off or create a new product!!! This is so stupid! Whoever is in charge of this type of thing at nvidia needs to be fired about a year ago.
 
I think that since they're simply adding to the confusion of current card's performance and naming schemes, they may as well release it as a GTX250+ instead. I mean, why not? Their naming is already fubar, and if they're worried about overstocks, then average Joe consumer will most certainly buy a GTX260 over a GTX250 - after all...the higher number is ALWAYS better right? :p
 
ADRENALIN_2099 said:
i doubt nvidia will ship "new" GTX260's and not have a box that says "im better". i see the new names being GTX260+. I cant remember when they released the 8800 GTS 640 with 112SP if it said so on the box. I think i just said SSC (Evga).
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Then again they might ship it without changing the box much, if at all. As long as it has more than x SP's then they can't be sued. Good way to move stock, and exactly what AMD & Intel do. (Who here remembers looking at local shops for specific stepping info to get that overclockable proc? the proc with errata fixed in silicon?)

Unfortunately this is par for the course in the computer world :(
 
What happens if customer SLIs new and old revision of this GTX 260 card :confused:

Thanks Nvidia for making this more confusing.
 
Yikes, what's going on with GTX260/4870 pricing...

It almost seems like the GTX260's continue to creep down and the 4870's are either stagnant or going up. Maybe it's just Newegg's funky rebate refresh process, but there's actually one GTX260 up for $220, two for $235, and two or three for $240 (two with nice warranties, BFG/EVGA)... Whereas there's only a single 4870 for $250 anymore (ironically, a Palit w/a weird dual-fan aftermarket cooler and an HDMI port) and several stock-clocked going for $265+ even after rebates.

Is NVidia trying to clear stock or are they just getting more and more aggressive w/prices as we move closer to the end of the year?
 
we are a free economy, vote with your dollars, if you think the gtx260 revision bs isn't something desirable, then don't buy it

i voted by buying a 8800gt for 100 dollars, with free cod4, what did you vote on?
 
Bottom line,the 4870 wins with me at the price/performance level I'm looking for.And Nvidia's act has gotten real old.
 
ATI and NVidia have both pulled plenty of these kinda maneuvers in the past, it seems foolhardy to short yourself out of a good deal (the GTX260) because you disapprove of a company's tactics, unless you're concerned about future SLI conflicts or something (but looking for SLI as a future upgrade path is rarely worth it anyway)... Just saying. I doubt that "voting with your dollar" so to speak will really make a difference here (since most consumers will be clueless about it all regardless), and they'll probably re-brand these new GTX260 even if it's just thru different SKU's.

I'm hardly swayed by one side or the other, my next card is gonna be a 4850 unless the GTX260 or 4870 drop much more towards the end of the year (seen GTX260's for $230 and even $220 already).
 
This piques my interest because an overstock of less desirable cards that vendors and retailers are having trouble unloading means lower prices! I think even and old version GTX260 with the 192 stream processors would be an upgrade for me from an 8800GT. Then again, 8800GT prices have been flat for a few months now.....
 
Supertag said:
Is there ANY REASON this cannot be called a GTX 270 ?
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I would say greed. If they released this new revision as the 270 they would have a few problems.
I'm sure nvidia doesn't want to sell the same chip for less on a different sku. The two possible skus would be 260 GTX and 270 GTX. The reason being is they would need to seperate the pricing enough to make people lean towards both products. With the HD4870 reducing in price they don't have much room to work with. Example, they can't sell the 270 GTX for 299+, nor could nvidia afford to sell the 260 GTX <200$ unless the product was EOL'd and sold to clear inventory (ala 7900GTO).
I know I'm doing well with my 8800GT but I may jump if the 260 GTX <199$ with no rebates. We have already seen a few fire sales of 260 GTX's <199, I'm sure this will continue prior to november, and especially during novemeber/december.
I'm guessing this may be similar to how EVGA marketed the 8800GTS 640MB with extra shaders in which they didn't make a new product but had them list the shaders on the box.
All I know is Nvidia made a huge mess with all the revisions and rebrands over the last 2 years. I'm unsure about anyone else, but resale values on all cards across the board are plummeting. I could only imagine the confusion and backlog in the retail space.
 
I'm sure they could simply start selling existing GTX260's for $200 and the new ones at $250, if they manage to keep the prices firm... I mean, we're already seeing the GTX260 at $220 and $230, and the 4870 hasn't budged from $250 in like a month (it's barely even at $250, seems a lot of 'em either went up or don't have the rebates available right now). Only problem with that is it would completely cannibalize sales of the 9800GTX ($150-160) and particularly the newer 9800GTX+ ($170-180).
 
Drat and double drat that naughty nVidia for upgrading their product with more power and performance! It confuses me and gives me gas! I'm not gonna take it lying down--I'm gonna buy me a Kyro, that'll teach 'em! ;)
 
CompMage said:
I am hoping they label it something like GTX 260+ or something like that.

Revamping a card like this is always a bad idea. And with nvidia not allowing discounts below a price point. I think we all know who is going to get screwed... US!

I think people trying to buy two of them or more for SLi are going to get screwed when lazy vendors and retailers place them in the same lot. If there is not a naming difference people will get hosed the same way some people got hosed with the whole 8800GTS set of cards.

But eh, my 9800s are not so long in the tooth that they need replacing.
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No one gets screwed. Some people get what they were going to buy. Other people get better. No one ends up with worse.
 
At least BFG is making the upgraded version distinguishable, with the Maxcore name.

I may take this as an opportunity to get a pair of cheap GTX260s...
 
Looks like EVGA is following with their own naming distinction... GTX 260 Core 216.

I thought about upgrading, but we'll see. Probably just wait for Fallout 3 and then jump.
 
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