Could be a new chip
Nvidia is far from over announcing new Fermi based products, as well as Fermi successor chips. There are many projects in the pipe and among them is a 512 shader Fermi based card.
The 512-shader card is possible and it should launch after the summer, of course if all goes well. The twist is that there is a big possibility that this card won’t be based on the GF100, Nvidia's original Fermi chip.
If Nvidia planned a single chip with 512 shaders based on Fermi it would have already launched it, and since the company's GF104 design has some 25 percent lower TDP it is more likely that the 512-shader card might be based on GF104 design fundamentals. The launch of such a card depends solely on ATI's next move. If ATI surprises the market with improved 40nm chips, Nvidia will have an answer.
Doubling the shader count on GF104 should give you a 512-shader card with much better thermals than the original Fermi. Since Nvidia already has the fastest single chip card, they decided not to push with the 512-shader Fermi just yet and the 512-shader card is definitely part of the company's plans. We expect to see such a card in late Q3 or early Q4 of 2010.
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