Galaxy's first wave of graphics cards featuring NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti graphics processor includes at least two non-reference designs. The first one, the GC Version, makes use of Galaxy's publicized "Gemini" GPU cooler, which uses two large 90 mm fans to cool a large aluminum heatsink which is fed by four copper heat pipes. The GC Gemini features slightly upped clock speeds of 835/1670/1000 MHz (core/CUDA core/memory actual).

The second card is the Galaxy GTX 560 Ti White Edition, which features a white PCB, possible digital PWM circuitry, a full-coverage single fan cooling assembly, and high overclock speeds of 950 MHz core, and 1100 MHz memory. Both cards feature Galaxy's typical spacecraft-styled cooler shrouds, connectivity that includes two DVI and a mini-HDMI. While the GC Version draws power from two 6-pin connectors, the White Edition requires 6-pin plus 8-pin. Based on the 40 nm GF114 GPU, GeForce GTX 560 Ti features second-generation Fermi architecture, and is powered by 384 CUDA cores, and aided by 1 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface. The GTX 560 Ti is slated for release on the 25th of this month.

Gigabyte is ready with a Super Overclock (SOC) variant of its upcoming GeForce GTX 560Ti graphics card, already. The GV-N560SO-1GI clocks at an impressive 1000 MHz core (vs. 822 MHz reference), and 1145 MHz (actual) or 4580 MHz (effective GDDR5) memory speed, with a CUDA core clock speed of 2000 MHz. Apart from these, the card features 384 CUDA cores, and 1 GB of memory over a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface.

The GV-N560SO-1GI uses Gigabyte's Ultra Durable VGA+ PCB, which is rich in copper and uses top-grade components. It is cooled by a larger version of WindForce 2X, which the company earlier used on older high-end GPUs. Gigabyte also run its own performance tests on the card. The card yielded X11515 points in 3DMark Vantage Extreme preset, and P24590 in Performance preset. The card is said to be at least made public, if not released to market, on the 25th of this month.

One of MSI's first graphics cards based on NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce GTX 560 Ti GPU got listed on a European store. The N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II OC from MSI features the company's iconic Twin Frozr II GPU cooler, paired with the GTX 560 Ti GPU, overclocked out of the box at 880 MHz core and 1050 MHz (4.20 GHz GDDR5 effective) memory, against reference speeds of 820 MHz core and 1000 MHz (4.00 GHz) reference.

The Twin Frozr II, used on several MSI graphics card models till date, uses a dense aluminum fin array to which heat is conveyed by 8 mm thick heatpipes, ventilated by two 80 mm fans. MSI claims this cooler to keep the GPU up to 20°C cooler compared to NVIDIA reference cooler. It is currently listed at €280.33, but one can take this pricing with a pinch of salt, as pre-release prices tend to be a little higher.

Here are the first pictures of a Gigabyte branded NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti graphics card. Carrying the model number GV-N560OC-1GI, Gigabyte's card is based on the 40 nanometer GF114 GPU, featuring 384 CUDA cores, and 1 GB of GDDR5 memory. The card itself doesn't look much different from some of Gigabyte's GTX 460 graphics cards. This can be attributed to the rumor that GF114 is pin-compatible with GF104, to minimize R&D costs partners have to incur. They would probably just have to use the new GPU and its appropriate BIOS.

Being an "OC" marked model, Gigabyte's card could feature factory-overclocked speeds. Taking this and the GPU itself into account, Gigabyte claims its GTX 560 Ti card to be competitive with Radeon HD 6950. The card uses Gigabyte's Ultra Durable VGA construction which combines a copper-rich PCB with high-quality components, and is cooled by the company's in-house design WindForce2X GPU cooler that uses a large aluminum fin heatsink using two fans.

Update (01/18): Gigabyte commented on this article. The company outright denied to have anything to do with whatever is in those pictures, and alleged it to be some kind of a "malicious attack" on it. In a statement, it said: "the information is false and the data is simulated from our old card. The picture is incorrect and was obviously photoshopped from our previous GTX460 model. The GTX560 card looks nothing like pictured on the article. We have good reason to believe this is a malicious attack."

HIS unveiled one of its first Radeon HD 6950 1 GB graphics cards. The HIS HD 6950 1 GB Fan Edition features AMD's high-end GPU with 1 GB of memory, and a cost-effective design that makes it competitive with upcoming GeForce GTX 560 Ti. HIS used its own design PCB that's shorter in length, and uses cost-effective VRM since the card isn't dealing with high-density 2 Gbit GDDR5 memory chips anymore. It uses a GPU fan-heatsink that uses a large fan to ventilate an aluminum fin array that cools the GPU and other components. the cooler is covered by a well-ventilated shroud.

That and the memory aside, other specifications are the same: the 40 nm Cayman GPU features 1408 VLIW4 stream processors, and connects to 1 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface. The core is clocked at 800 MHz, and the memory at 1250 MHz (5.00 GHz GDDR5 effective). HIS did not release pricing yet, but it will be well below the $300 mark.

About a decade ago when programmable shaders were new, NVIDIA identified its first graphics processors that used them under the GeForce 3 series and 4 series with the "Ti" marker (for example, GeForce 4 Ti 4800), to demarcate them from mainstream "MX" series, which lacked them (eg. GeForce 4 MX 440). Exactly a decade later, there are faint indications that NVIDIA is reintroducing the Ti marker. This was found out on close examination of a leaked 266.44 GeForce driver, which recognized an unreleased NVIDIA GPU as GeForce GTX 560 Ti. This baffles us. To begin with, this doesn't seem like a notebook GPU, second, we don't know of anything big in works at NVIDIA. One plausible explanation we can come up with is that NVIDIA is using "Ti" to simply make its GTX 560 SKU "look" presentable on paper, especially since the SKU may face competition from Radeon HD 6950 1 GB the moment it's released.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti is being introduced to restore competitiveness to NVIDIA in the sub-$270 "performance" segment, after it was depleted by AMD's introduction of the Radeon HD 6870 and Radeon HD 6850. With GTX 560 seeming imminent, AMD is preparing two new SKUs, Radeon HD 6950 1GB and HD 6970 1GB, which, coupled with cost-effective board designs, are expected to significantly drive down prices, restoring AMD's competitiveness in the crucial market segment. The GeForce GTX 560 Ti is based on new GF114 silicon, features 384 CUDA, a 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface, and core clock speeds of 820 MHz. The new SKU is slated for January 25th.

NVIDIA is readying a new GPU to counter the Radeon HD 6950. Released earlier this month, reviews suggest that the HD 6950 managed to slip into a sweet-spot between GeForce GTX 470 and GeForce GTX 570/Radeon HD 5970, giving buyers an option for around $300. NVIDIA's counter to this is named GeForce GTX 560, it is based on the new 40 nm silicon. While specifications-wise, this GPU is identical to the GF104, it is redesigned to allow high-clock speeds with lower power draw, the same secret-sauce that went into making GF110 is applied here.

The GeForce GTX 560 features 384 CUDA cores, 32 ROPs, and a 256-bit wide memory interface that connects to 1 GB of memory. The new GPU has bolstered high GPU clock speeds, with 820 MHz core, 1640 MHz CUDA cores, and 4000 MHz (GDDR5 effective) memory, churning out 128 GB/s memory bandwidth. NVIDIA however, isn't in a hurry with its release, it has the GTX 560 slated for some time in January, 2011.