14 DAY TRIAL // Despite being one of the largest manufacturers of NVIDIA-based graphics cards, Sparkle has certainly took its time before coming out with its own GTX200-series solution. However, the company has finally decided to provide its users with a choice of one of the latest high-end NVIDIA graphics cards, by releasing the new GTX 260 Plus, which is built on the upgraded version of NVIDIA's mainstream flagship model. The new card will become available in two different versions, the SXX260896D3S-HP and the SXX260896D3S-HM.
The new card from Sparkle is based on NVIDIA's reference design, meaning it sports the same clock speeds as the original model. The GeForce GTX 260 Plus has a core clock speed of 576MHz, and is equipped with 896MB of 448-bit GDDR3 memory, clocked at 1998MHz. It also features 216 stream processors, 24 more than the original card, which only provided 192 stream processors. The stream processors come clocked at 1242MHz.
The new card is obviously equipped with a PCI-Express 2.0 interface, and comes with a dual DVI-I and HDTV interface. The dual-slot cooling solution, which you will also find on the reference model, is meant to ease the temperatures of the 65nm-build GPU.
Other features include support for NVIDIA's own technologies, such as 3-way SLI, PureVideo HD, HybridPower technology, PhysX, CUDA and support for Microsoft's latest API, DirectX 10 with full Shader Model 4.0. All that is meant to enable users to enjoy a high-quality gaming experience, while playing some of the most recent titles on the market.
Unfortunately, the company hasn't specified any details regarding the card's pricing and availability, but it should go on sale in time for the holidays, allowing all gaming enthusiasts out there to easily upgrade their high-end desktop gaming rig with one of the latest NVIDIA-based graphics cards.