Sorry guys - this is all a little ridiculous to me.

First and foremost: yields are always kept on the down low (even in foundry situations). Information like this doesn't just float out of nowhere.

Secondly: this isn't so much NVIDIA's problem as it is TSMC's problem. If Nvidia's chips are following TSMC's provided design rules then it will be up to TSMC to provide whatever minimum yields they guarantee. Obviously things are a little more complex than that (since chip designs do influence yields in a measurable way) but you have to remember that NVIDIA outsources 100% of their chip manufacturing. It isn't like Intel or (formerly)AMD/ATI who is going to be directly linked to their yields.

Yes, this may hurt NVIDIA if they can't push out their flagship product in a timely manner - but the effect is going to be less harsh than you may expect. And I can assure you TSMC will do whatever it takes to appease NVIDIA as NVIDIA is their largest client: if they have to meet NVIDIA's supply quotas due to low yield they'll be happy to take a loss as necessary (especially given that the top end chips will be low volume products. Smaller chips invariably have higher yield given that yield is related to defects per unit area).

In short.. move along folks.