One way in which Nvidia has re-branded cards before is to simply modify the BIOS with slightly higher core and memory clocks and then change the name, along with any other alterations within the software. Rebranding is an old practice and the company has been doing this for years.
Recently a user on Reddit managed to flash his GTX680 into a GTX770 with clocks matching the leaked specifications of 1,060MHz core, 1,125MHz for the Boost speeds, and 1,752MHz for the memory (7.0GHz effective). His method is easy enough, merely modifying a few files in the latest driver set and flashing the BIOS with the new default clock speeds and name.
TechpowerUp took the liberty of testing out the user’s methods and were successful, flashing a reference GTX680 to the same speeds.
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- Nvidia GTX680
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- Nvidia GTX770 OC
By modifying the BIOS and driver files, you can make the card have any name you want. You can even set any reference clock speeds you like, provided the card can actually achieve them. However, if Nvidia plays this the smart way, they’ll also add in the necessary hardware for the new version of PowerTune they debuted with the GTX Titan. Titan can be overclocked manually by raising voltage levels, which also raise the default clocks higher with each step in the voltage.
If Nvidia merely re-skins the cards, that means that they can effectively recall all the existing Geforce 600-series cards and rebrand and repackage them, or they can get their partners and distributors to do it for them. Even though rebranding in itself is a dubious practice, it’s not as bad if they offer every card for the same price as its sibling one rung lower. The GTX680 would become the GTX770, the GTX670 would be the GTX760 Ti and so on.
The GTX780 is expected to be a trimmed-down version of the GTX Titan, along with the same reference cooler design and the same price tag as the GTX680.
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