As already mentioned previously NVIDIA will quietly start shipping GT200b chips, the 55nm chip for the new GeForce GTX 260 card and the new 55nm chip will be clocked at the identical speeds as the 65nm predecessor. Naturally the 55nm chip will have a better termal design power, and will need less power and power components. The new 55nm GeForce GTX 260 will have less power components and it will come on a PCB with less layers, simply as you don't need so many power lanes, to make it work. We just learned that this new 55nm version of the GeForce GTX 260 should be visually different, and not to mention that it will run cooler which is all the better for us being gamers or overclockers. - FudZilla

GeForce GTX 260 55nm Version Might Look Different!

Manufacturers might use this advantage to launch some new GeForce GTX 260 overclocked cards but NVIDIA is very strict with its plans that there should not be any branding and additional marketing over 55nm GeForce GTX 260 cards. They are all the same, says NVIDIA. Though in their preparation of the 55nm GT200 introduction we also see that NVIDIA is give their current GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 a bit of a price cut. This however is mainly to put it back into the battle with the Radeon HD 4870 that was trimmed up to 1GB frame buffer and came at a very competitive price tag from the start to give it an extra edge as such.

AMD's ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB edition has seen some dramatic price slashes, which has made it difficult for NVIDIA to compete, but now by trimming the price on the GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 a bit and releasing the ForceWare 180.x series drivers, NVIDIA may be back in the game. The only question is how much the firm's margins will suffer from the price drop, seeing as the GT200 series is not exactly cheap as chips to produce. But then again, the firm could just be clearing out its stock rooms to make way for newer 55nm parts.