G80 is NVIDIA’s current flagship and now that AMD/ATI is about to launch R600 rumors have started circulation about NVIDIA’s successor. According to The Inquirer it seems that NVIDIA is sticking to its naming procedure and just as G71 succeeded G70, G81 will become the new flagship. As the name implies it is most likely an overclocked version of G80 without any major updates, but in China rumors speak of greater news. NVIDIA has namely started experimenting with a new 65nm manufacturing process (confirmed), something that would certainly increase the overclocking potential of the GPU.
That NVIDIA has a 65nm version of G81 coming soon sounds a bit far-fetched, but at the same it may very well be a trump in the future. ATI has for long been ahead when it comes to the manufacturing processes, but NVIDIA has perhaps decided to turn things around.
