First Fermi cards to be named GTX 480, GTX 470

Fans of baffling product naming decisions - having only just recovered from Apple's iPad - will be pleased to hear what Nvidia intends to call its next generation of graphics cards based on GF100, aka Fermi. As they follow on from the GT200 series of cards, Nvidia's new product range will launch with two cards, named the GTX 480 and GTX 470. No, that's not a typo.

A posting on Nvidia's official GeForce Twitter account stated "GeForce GTX 480 and GeForce GTX 470 will be the names of the first two GPUs shipped based on our new GF100 chip!" That leaves us us here at bit-tech wondering what happened to the GTX 300 series.

Nvidia is no stranger to inexplicable naming decision, having infamously re-branded its G92-based cards, with the GeForce 8800 GT becoming the 9800 GT, and the the 9800 GTX being rebadged as the GTS 250.

There's still no information on clock speeds or, more importantly, an actual release date, but at least those waiting for the next Nvidia GPU now have a name to put on their wish list.

Are you eagerly anticipating the new line of cards from Nvidia, or are you more cynical towards Nvidia's latest re-jig to it's naming strategy? Either way, let us know in the forums.