NVIDIA's move to rebrand the GeForce 9800 GTX+ to GeForce GTS 250 was meant to be followed with a similar rebranding for the GeForce 9800 GT, to GeForce GTS 240. The company even prepared a reference PCB design for the accelerator. Alas, the move wasn't popular NVIDIA's partners, who forced it shelve the plans.

Apparently NVIDIA wants to continue development of the GeForce GTS 240, at least for its OEM customers, if not AIC partners that cater to the retail consumer segment. The GeForce GTS 240 reference design accelerator is in accordance with the schematics that surfaced back in February, and maintains a single-slot design overall. Under the hood is the 55 nm G92b graphics processor with 112 shader processors, a 256-bit GDDR3 memory interface, 1 GB of memory, and reference clock speeds that match that of GeForce 9800 GT OC: 675/1620/1100 (core/shader/memory). The card supports 2-way SLI, and should be priced in the sub $130 space.

In the weeks to come, NVIDIA will release yet another graphics card based on the G92 graphics processor: the GeForce GTS 240, which bears resemblance with the 8800 GT and 9800 GT. The G92 GPU has near-identical specifications to the said graphics cards, except for that the 55 nm G92b GPU will be used, and with higher reference clock speeds of 675/1674/975 MHz (core/shader/memory). To seat the new GPU, NVIDIA has designed a new reference PCB, the P361 internally called D10P2. The schematic drawings of this has been sourced by VR-Zone.

The P361 PCB covers the basics of accommodating the G92b and eight GDDR3 memory chips connected to the GPU across a 256-bit wide bus. The distinct features of the PCB lie with its VRM area, with a 3+1 phase design. The PCB draws power from a 6-pin PCI-Express power connector. Over to the connectors department, the usual two arrangement of two DVI and one composite is present. There is a single SLI bridge connector for 2-way SLI. With the 55 nm GPU being arguably as cool or cooler than the 65 nm G92 with lower reference clock speeds, one can expect a single slot cooler design to be employed.

ATI, as part of its initial plans with the 40 nm manufacturing technology is preparing the RV740 graphics processor, the company's next mid-range workhorse graphics processor. The new manufacturing process lets AMD respect the price-constraints of that market segment, and accordingly price its SKUs. VR-Zone sourced a few more details about the GPU.

While it is already known that the RV740 goes into making the Radeon HD 4700 series, it is now rumored that its two variants will be termed HD 4770 and HD 4750, and not HD 4750 and HD 4730, as reported earlier. The HD 4770 SKU will be distinct in being the first mainstream graphics card with GDDR5 memory. It will use its 128-bit wide bus to accommodate 512 MB of memory. The HD 4750 on the other hand, will stick to GDDR3. The reference model may have 1GB of it. HD 4770 is expected to be priced around the US $120 mark, making it a head-on competitor to the GeForce GTS 240, which is known to be a re-badged GeForce 8800/9800GT with higher reference clock-speeds. The HD 4750 has GeForce 9600 GT in its sights, with its expected initial pricing ranging around the $100 mark. The two are expected to follow the RV790 launch, and will arrive in May, close to two months after the GeForce GTS 240 comes to be.

Hardware informer Expreview has updated the information on NVIDIA's future price/performance graphics card, the GeForce GTS 240. Previously reported just as a renamed NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT, the GTS 240 is now being accounted for more than that. GeForce 9800 GT Green Edition is going to succeed GeForce 9800 GT. On the other hand GeForce GTS 240, while still very similar to GeForce 9800 GT, will come with higher clock speeds - 675/1688/2200 MHz compared to 600/1500/1800 MHz core/shader/memory found on 9800GT. NVIDIA is expected to officially announce GeForce GTS 240 at the upcoming CeBIT computer show in Hannover, Germany.
In related news, Expreview confirms that GeForce GTS 250, another card that will coexist with GTS 240, will be exactly the same as GeForce 9800 GTX+ except for the name of course.