The 4870 X2 dethroned by NVIDIA?

In November, NVIDIA should launch three new high end solutions. The GeForce GTX 270 and 290 will be based on the 55nm version of the GT200, the GT200b/GT206. With its thinner format, this chip will consume less and enable slight increases in frequencies for NVIDIA.

However, the most interesting will be the arrival, as confirmed by several sources, of a card equipped with two of these chips! This will allow NVIDIA to retake the title of « most powerful graphic card» from AMD which is currently held by the 4870 X2. However, even if the GT206 will use less energy than a GT200, it will consume more than an RV770 which is already limited in terms of noise and consumption. So what about this GX2 behemoth?

To start with, while for the 4870 X2 the two chips are found on the same PCB, NVIDIA should use a similar design to the 9800 GX2 or, in other words two distinct PCBs. Next the solution mentioned by The Inquirer is that NVIDIA will select the « best » GT206 or those that can function at expected frequencies but at lower voltages than those of standard cards. This will enable keeping consumption reasonable but on the other hand the available quantities will be very limited. Did someone say “paper launch”?