We reported a few days ago that NVIDIA is planning a GT200 on the 55 nanometer technology process for December. The latest news on the web says that the card is more likely to hit the market in the first quarter of 2009, rather than making it to the shelves next month. Even if slightly delayed, the card will come for sure, and is expected to be able deliver a lot of performance so as to prove a good match for ATI's Radeon 4870X2. According to the news, NVIDIA plans to release GeForce GTX260 GX2 in January next year.

There are some voices that say the 55nm card should easily go to the leading position on the market. Moreover, since NVIDIA badly needs to regain the first position, the green graphics maker is also expected to put a bet on its better SLI optimization so that the performance delivered should easily out pace Radeon 4870X2. It will be interesting to see whether NVIDIA will manage to change the odds in its favor or ATI will come up with a more powerful solution.

Other news on the Santa Clara-based graphics solutions manufacturer unveils the fact that it plans rebranding its entry-level cards. For those that are not familiar with NVIDIA's moves, we must say that the company renamed its products a few months ago, when the 8800-series turned into 9800. The graphics chip maker plans to make a similar renaming, for its low-end cards this time.

After the rebranding process, the GeForce 9300 card, which is based on the G96 chip, will be known as G100. At the mainstream level, the current GeForce 9500 will be renamed GeForce GT120, while the GeForce 9600 will end up with the name GeForce GT130. The conclusion on this is that the cards will be rebranded according to the market segment they are intended for. To be more specific, the GTX cards will be high-end/performance solutions, GT goes for mainstream, while G would mean the card is an entry-level.