Most recently, Nvidia confirmed that it will slap new labels on two old Fermi cards for OEMs who want to suggest that buyers are getting newer generation cards. If a report from Fudzilla is accurate, the rebranding will not be limited to OEMs, but reach retail and there may be another Fermi card that will join the Kepler ride as an unexpected guest.
Nvidia reportedly plans to rebrand the GeForce GT 440 (GF108), provide a BIOS update and sell it as the GT 630. Previously, Nvidia confirmed that the upcoming GeForce GT 605 and 620 are Fermi based (GT 510 and GT 520/GF108, respectively), while it now appears that there will also be a 610 model that is based on the GT520/GF119. Eventually you will see new cards in retail - the 610, GT 620, and GT 630 - all of which are labeled as 600-series cards, but are based on the old Fermi architecture.
The strategy behind this marketing decision appears to be a defensive move against integrated solutions from AMD and possibly even Intel's Ivy Bridge. There may be customers who are simply replacing an older card and they may not care what architecture they buy as long as the product in a retail shelf fits their price range. However, buyers who do basic research and consult Nvidia's product page may be tricked into believing they are buying a new product, while they are in fact purchasing last year's technology.
We contacted Nvidia for comment, but have yet to receive an answer.
