Does the GeForce GTX 465 reveal Nvidia’s plans for Fermi?

Written by Clive Webster

May 18, 2010 | 17:20

Tags: #directx-11 #fermi #geforce #geforce-gtx-465

You’ll probably have read the rumours the first mid-range Fermi GPU from Nvidia will be called a GeForce GTX 465 – now it seems to me that’s an odd choice of branding for two reasons.

Firstly, 465 doesn’t fit the naming of the two current Fermi cards, the GeForce GTX 470 and GeForce GTX 480, which use even numbers rather than 5s.
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The use of a 5 has typically meant something significant in Nvidia’s history – a die-shrink with resultant clock bump (in the case of the GeForce GTX 275, for example, which all know is derived from the second revision of the GeForce GTX 260, which should have been called a GTX 270).

At other points in the history of GeForce, the addition of a 5 to the name has meant something as dramatic as a second GPU on the card, as with the GeForce GTX 295. With this background, is 465 really going to be the name Nvidia goes for?

Maybe not. Or maybe they are, and actually, the GeForce GTX 465 isn't going to be just a cut-back GTX 480, but something a bit more special? The specs in the rumour stories don’t reveal much that would indicate either way.

If the GTX 465 is made on the same 40nm process as the GTX 470 and GTX 480, then calling it a GTX 465 would represent a significant statement by Nvidia, not least because it leaves little room for a future clock bump or die shrink (what would they call that, GTX 467.5?)

We could infer from this that Fermi will never move from its 40nm manufacturing process, or at least that Nvidia thinks this highly unlikely at the moment. Mind you, this inference only holds if we believe that the Nvidia branding department isn’t insane and won’t call different products by the same name – as we all know, that’s hardly a certainty.

Either way, the next Fermi - whether it's GeForce GTX 465 or something different - will be an intriguing product. As we know, Nvidia's got a lot of work to do in terms of reconciling cost, heat, power and performance with the Fermi GPU, and getting the mid-range part right is crucial. What do you think? Thoughts below please!

Nvidia GeForce GTX 465 early specs and release date info
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