Today we examine XFX's take on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260. In particular the XFX GeForce GTX 260, which is strictly following the reference guidelines set by NVIDIA for both card design and GPU clock speed. The GeForce GTX 260 has been on the market for just over five months and has gone through a radical metamorphosis. Priced at $599 when launched, it was a powerful card that came with an accompanying price tag. Now only five months later, due to some very healthy competition from AMD, it can be purchased for about $200, under half the actual price at launch. That alone does offer some great opportunity who is looking for an upgrade, even for those thinking about SLI operation. - nV News

XFX GeForce GTX 260 896MB Classic Version Review

Another noteworthy change that the GeForce GTX 260 has had to face is the arrival of the GeForce GTX 260 Core 216. This new iteration of the GPU has an increased number of core and texture processing units. The Core 216 GPU's are a replacement for the current traditional GeForce GTX 260 GPU's due to their slightly higher performance. As such, they are currently commanding a price premium over the standard GeForce 260 GTX, allowing the old GeForce GTX 260 to be found for quite a bargain. This is very good news for all who are thinking about an upgrade, especially during the holiday season that is upon us.

The retail packaging of the XFX GeForce GTX 260 clearly displays the product contents with a large, GTX logo emblazoned in the middle of the box. The backside of the box lists the various specs of the card. We really like the bright and bold branding XFX placed on the video card. The GeForce GTX 260 requires two 6-pin PCI Express power connectors. NVIDIA and XFX recommend power connectors that are native to the power supply, although XFX included a 6-pin adapter as an accessory, albeit for temporary use only. And the XFX GeForce 260 GTX is covered by their awesome double lifetime warranty.

So XFX will repair and service the card for life, for free, even if the card has been pushed to its limits. The warranty can be transferred to the second owner, which can increase the resale value of the card. The XFX GeForce 260 GTX is a great performer in all the latest games and will satisfy the needs of all gamers playing at high definition resolutions, and the counts even more for the Core 216 version. The recent price drop on the GeForce GTX 260 based cards allows SLI to be a worthwhile solution or upgrade for gamers with a solid budget. But it certainly has become a very viable option now, and does offer awesome performance.

The XFX GeForce GTX 260 card is outperforming and outclassing the already pre-overclocked XFX GeForce 8800 GT that a few months ago was still the reigning champion of the $200-300 price range. It will be hard to find a card with a better value to performance ratio than the XFX GeForce GTX 260 for the holiday season.