NVIDIA has stopped producing their 65nm based GeForce GTX 260 with 192 shaders and all the GeForce GTX 260 that are coming from now on are 55nm and have 216 shaders. These cards will be available in early December and we are quite sure that they will overclock much better than the old ones. NVIDIA doesn't want to let ATI walk away without a fight and it's preparing a surprise or two for this month. The old GeForce GTX 260 with 192 shaders, the one that is clearly slower than Radeon HD 4870, is going for retirement and it will be replaced by the new GeForce GTX 260 with 216 shaders and most of these cards will end up with 55nm chips which will bring some extra performance. - FudZilla

GeForce GTX 260 With 192 Shaders Near End Of Life?

We've told you that NVIDIA said to its investors and the rest of the world that they are shipping 55nm in volume, but we were surprised to learn that NVIDIA expects that more than seventy percent of GT200 chips shipped in the last quarter to be 55nm. NVIDIA plans to do this quietly, as it doesn't plan to change the specifications of the existing GeForce GTX 200 series cards and count on the Jack in the box effect and you might be surprised that the card you buy in December will come with a 55nm GT200 chip and likely overclock better. The 55nm chip will be a bit cooler and smaller, and are expected in early December.

The switch to 55nm was already on our mind for a long time but NVIDIA first went to try out the technology with their G92 chips before really making the switch with their top end chipsets. But the time has come and NVIDIA is now producing their GT200 chips according to the 55nm process to reduce the die size as well as the heat produced, and in return this should allow a boost in performance due to better overclocking. We will still have to wait a bit till NVIDIA build up a good quantity of chips, and in the meantime manufacturers can sell out their old stock of 65nm based GT200 graphics cards, and get prepared.