NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ampere Gaming Graphics Card Render. (Image Credits: Reddit u/dertpert88)
NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 30 series Ampere Gaming graphics cards are almost here and we have got new information regarding the announcement date for the next-generation gaming powerhouses by GamersNexus. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 ‘Ampere’ Gaming graphics cards will replace the RTX 20 ‘Turing’ lineup which launched all the way back in 2018.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 ‘Ampere’ Gaming Graphics Cards To Be Announced on 9th September, To Include High-End GeForce RTX 3080 Ti & RTX 3080 4K Gaming Cards
GamersNexus reports that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards based on the Ampere gaming architecture is all set to be announced on 9th September. We have previously heard about 17th September in rumors but one thing is confirmed that Ampere is indeed headed for launch in the coming month.
A possibility is that NVIDIA could announce the cards at a digital event on 9th September followed by an official retail launch on 17th September. Of course, this is just mere speculation from my end but we have seen similar schedules formed for the previous generation lineup. The NVIDIA Ampere GeForce RTX 30 series gaming graphics cards are likely to go on pre-order the same day on which they will be announced.
Steve Burke from GamersNexus (via Videocardz) reports that NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 30 ‘Ampere’ gaming graphics cards are expected to be announced on 9th September.
Gamers who are planning to buy the graphics cards will receive info such as specifications & prices officially by NVIDIA independent reviews can only be expected after the launch embargo lifts which is likely a few weeks (1-2 weeks max) after the launch. The Founders Edition graphics cards will be the first products that gamers will have access to, including pre-orders but we can expect custom AIB variants by the end of September or early October. We have got word from our sources that several AIBs have already started scheduling their press sample allocation with the cards shipping out in a few weeks.
There will be many users who would definitely be waiting for custom variants over the Founders Edition cards unless the new design offers a super good reason to go the reference/stock route. Judging by the design of the leaked coolers, the Founders Edition cards this time around seem to offer even more premium components and a unique cooling design which we would definitely be testing once we get our own hands on the cards themselves.
As for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Ampere gaming graphics cards, it is stated that the lineup will consist of four graphics cards for 2020, these include:
- NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti
- NVIDIA RTX 3080
- NVIDIA RTX 3070
- NVIDIA RTX 3060
All four graphics cards are rumored for launch in 2020 but will have different launch schedules. The high-end cards will be prioritized first with the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and GeForce RTX 3080 slated to launch in September which is just about a month away from now. The GeForce RTX 3070 will be launch a month later in October while the GeForce RTX 3060 mainstream graphics card will hop on the retail shelves in November.
As for what we can expect from NVIDIA’s high-end GeForce RTX 30 series Ampere gaming graphics cards, we have speculated/rumored information provided below:
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti – The Fastest Ampere Gaming Graphics Card
According to the details, the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti will feature the GA102-300-A1 GPU. The GA102-300-A1 GPU is said to be comprised of 5248 CUDA cores or 82 SMs. In total, that’s a 20% increase in cores over the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. No details such as clock speeds, TMU/ROP counts are provided and we can’t take the Ampere A100 die as a reference since gaming & HPC parts share a different configuration hierarchy.
Moving on to the memory side, things start to look interesting as it is stated that the card will get up to 12 GB memory with faster GDDR6 pin speeds. Since that’s a 384-bit bus we are looking at, it will be able to offer nearly 1 TB/s bandwidth. There’s also talks about an enhanced version of the GDDR6 DRAM known as GDDR6X however there’s no information available yet by any graphics DRAM vendor, unlike the previous GDDR6 DRAM which was officially reported months before its integration on the Turing graphics cards.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 – GA102 For High-End Gaming
Moving on to the GeForce RTX 3080, the rumor reports that the card will be featuring the GA102-200-KD-A1 SKU. This cut down SKU will feature the same 4352 CUDA cores as the RTX 2080 Ti that will be arranged in a total of 68 SMs. The card is reportedly going to feature 10 GB of memory that is also going to be GDDR6X, running at 19 Gbps across a 320-bit bus interface with a bandwidth of 760 GB/s.
The switch to GA102 from TU104 on the RTX 2080 is definitely an interesting one. A high-end SKU would also result in higher wattage and thermals but I believe this could be done to raise the bar up on the sub $500 segment which should comprise of GA104 based RTX 3070 and RTX 3060. The latest performance leaks also show a considerable performance improvement over the RTX 2080 and even the RTX 2080 Ti in synthetic benchmarks. If the same could translate over to the gaming performance, then Ampere does look like a super enticing product for gamers who have waited for almost 2 years now.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 “Ampere’ Graphics Card Rumored Lineup:
| Graphics Card Name | GPU Name | CUDA Cores / SMs | Memory Capacity | Memory Bus | Bandwidth | TDP | Launch Timeframe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX RTX 3090 | Ampere GA102-300 | 10496 (82) | 24 GB GDDR6X | 384-bit | 936 Gbps (19.5 Gbps) | 350W | September 2020 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti/SUPER? | Ampere GA102-250? | TBD | 20 GB GDDR6X | 320-bit | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 | Ampere GA102-200 | 8704 (68) | 10 GB GDDR6X | 320-bit | 760 Gbps (19 Gbps) | 320W | September 2020 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti/SUPER? | Ampere GA104-400? | 6144 (48)? | 16 GB GDDR6X | 256-bit | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 | Ampere GA104-300 | 5888 (46) | 8 GB GDDR6 | 256-bit | 512 Gbps (16 Gbps) | 220W | October 2020 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti/SUPER? | Ampere GA104-200? | 4864 (38)? | 8 GB GDDR6? | 256-bit? | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 | Ampere GA106-300? | TBD | 6 GB GDDR6? | 192-bit? | TBD | TBD | November 2020? |
Recent reports have suggested that NVIDIA has halted the production of its higher-end GeForce RTX GPU lineup to prepare for the Ampere GeForce RTX launch. Only small quantities of the said GPUs are left in the retail channel thus suggesting that we are getting closer to the launch. There’s definitely a lot more to talk about regarding the Ampere GPUs but we will have to wait until more information comes our way.