14 DAY TRIAL // Though the GeForce GTX 480 is the fastest single-GPU card on the market at this time, the performance leader is still the dual-GPU ATI Radeon HD 5970. Of course, considering that GF100 is NVIDIA's strongest GPU so far, it was assumed that the graphics-solution developer would build a dual-GPU card based on it. Unfortunately, despite this intention, it appears that such a product will never see the light of day.
According to a report that just came out, the Santa Clara, California-based GPU developer's dual-chip card will be based on the upcoming GF104 GPU instead of the GF100. This is because, should the latter be used, the thermal design power of the final product would reach a monumental 375W. It should also be noted that there is a high likelihood that the operational temperature would be very difficult to keep in check.
The GF104 will be first encountered in the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460. This card should come out during the coming months and will have a power draw of 150W, about a quarter less than the GTX 465. The latter uses a GF102 chip and consumes 200W. As such, the so-called dual-GF100 D12U-50 is now scrapped and its place will be taken by the dual-GF104 D12U-15. Regrettably, it is unknown how long it will be before the device debuts. While it is clear it will be sometime this year, no sort of time frame is available.
“The card that some roadmaps new as D12U-50 is internally canceled due to its too high TDP. [...]The new dual-chip card based on two GF104, second generation Fermi chips should be coming this year, most likely for back to school but we can only speculate on the launch date,” Fudzilla states.
In the meantime, NVIDIA will have to make sure that it has enough graphics cards on hand to satisfy demand and to make sure that the adapters aren't overpriced.