Introduction

NVIDIA's current flagship GPU is the GT200. It is used on the GeForce GTX 260 and GeForce GTX 280. Only recently NVIDIA has added a third card design to that lineup. The GeForce GTX 260 216 Shaders still uses the GTX 260 naming, but comes with an increased shader count of 216 shaders. Leadtek has decided to call their product "GeForce GTX 260 Extreme+". The Extreme probably stands for the 216 Shaders, while the + stands for an overclock out of the box. As I mentioned in our first GTX 260 216 review I find NVIDIA's naming scheme a bit confusing. Something like GeForce GTX 270 or 265 would have made more sense to facilitate the buying process for less experienced users.

Packaging & Contents

The Leadtek package comes with a lot of bling that will surely catch your attention on a crowded store shelf. The yellow sticker clearly shows what specs you can expect from this card. Great job here, many other manufacturers offer less info on their packages.



You will receive:

• Graphics card
• Documentation + Driver CD
• TV Out cable
• DVI adapter, HDMI adapter
• SPDIF Audio Cable
• 2x 6-pin PCI-E power adapter

The Card

The card looks just like any other GeForce GTX 260 model. It uses two slots to accomodate the big NVIDIA cooler.


The card has two DVI ports which the standard output configuration nowadays. In case you need an analog VGA output, you can use a DVI adapter (included). To connect big digital TV screens you can use an HDMI adapter (also included). The HDCP output then features the usual HDCP+Audio, which allows easy setup of a media PC. For HDMI Audio, NVIDIA requires you to feed an external audio source, for example from your motherboard's on-board audio, to the card via SPDIF cable. AMD on the other hand has integrated a sound device inside their GPUs which is the easier solution for most users.


Here are the front and the back of the card, high-res versions are also available (front, back). If you choose to use these images for voltmods etc, please include a link back to this site or let us post your article.

A Closer Look

The heatsink is a complex piece of engineering, it uses a copper baseplate to transfer heat away from the GPU efficiently. As you can see from the white thermal pads, the memory chips and voltage regulation circuitry is cooled as well.


You may combine two or three of these cards in SLI for increased performance or better image quality.


The card has two six-pin power connectors. Both are required for operation.


The GDDR3 memory chips are made by Hynix and carry the model number H5RS5223CFR-N0C. With a latency of 1.0 ns, they should be good for at least 1000 MHz.


The graphics processor in use is the same NVIDIA GT200 as on all other GTX 260/280 cards. The GPU has a die size of 576 mm², is made in a 65 nm process and sports 1.4 billion transistors.