When NVIDIA got around to release the $800 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti "Ada" (originally meant to launch as the RTX 4080 12 GB); an NVIDIA Founders Edition product based on this chip was conspicuous in its absence. A tech enthusiast who goes by "KittyYYuko" on Twitter posted pictures of what they claim to be the never-released RTX 4070 Ti Founders Edition; and upcoming RTX 4060 Ti and RTX 4060. The claim begins to check out as we're shown a picture of a graphics card PCB with the distinct Founders Edition shape, which has an "AD104" ASIC, and a 16-pin 12VHPWR connector, along with 8 memory pads, two of which are unoccupied (matches the 192-bit memory interface of the RTX 4070 Ti).

We are shown two other cards, the RTX 4060 Ti Founders Edition, and the RTX 4060 Founders Edition. These are expected to be positioned below the RTX 4070 that the company plans to launch in April. The Founders Edition boards are visibly smaller than even the RTX 3080 Founders Edition, although they stick to the dual-axial flow-through design of that card. "AD106" based graphics cards are expected to have typical graphics power (TGP) values well under the 250 W-mark, for which this cooler looks adequate, considering that the sheet-metal of the heatsink has been pushed to the very edges of the card. The cards could include power adapters that convert no more than two 8-pin PCIe to a 16-pin 12VHPWR with a 300 W power limit.

NVIDIA is planning to launch its performance-segment GeForce RTX 4070 "Ada" graphics in about a month from now, with the official launch date set for April 13, and sales commencing on that day. Reviews for new graphics cards typically go up a day or two ahead of product availability. With the RTX 4070, however, NVIDIA is planning to try something new. The company is setting April 12 as the review NDA for the cards that are selling at the MSRP set by NVIDIA; and April 13 for graphics cards priced at a premium (think overclocked designs). This probably incentivizes NVIDIA's board partners to have at least one custom-design card that they're selling at the NVIDIA MSRP; so that their brand can get exposure sooner.

At this point we don't know what NVIDIA's MSRP for the RTX 4070 is. The RTX 4070 Ti launched at an MSRP of $799. The RTX 4070 is rumored to be based on the same "AD104" silicon as the RTX 4070 Ti, but heavily cut-down. The card is expected to feature 5,888 CUDA cores, out of the 7,680 physically present on the silicon, which the RTX 4070 Ti maxes out. The memory sub-system is surprisingly the same, with 12 GB of 21 Gbps GDDR6X memory across a 192-bit wide memory interface, working out to 504 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Most premium ("non-MSRP") boards are expected to resemble RTX 4070 Ti cards, as their board designs are the same; whereas the ones meant to sell at MSRP could see some cost-cutting to suit the lower typical graphics power (TGP) of the RTX 4070.

NVIDIA is preparing yet another variant of the GeForce RTX 3060 "Ampere" graphics card, by carving it out of the much larger "GA104" silicon. This SKU will feature 12 GB of faster 19 Gbps GDDR6X memory. Across a 192-bit memory bus, this yields an impressive 456 GB/s of memory bandwidth that's higher than the bandwidth of the original RTX 3070 with 14 Gbps GDDR6 memory across a 256-bit memory bus (448 GB/s). From what we can tell, the core-configuration of the card remains the same, with 3,584 CUDA cores, 112 Tensor cores, 28 RT cores, 112 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. This SKU is carved out of the GA104 silicon by enabling 28 out of 48 SM (that's 58% of the available number-crunching machinery); and slashing down the memory interface by 25%.

The new HEATKILLER V PRO graphics card coolers for Nvidia's RTX 4090 Founders Edition have been specially developed to cope with the high power dissipation of 450 watts and more. In order to achieve the necessary performance increase, the German manufacturer decided to introduce a modular high-performance bottom plate as well as implementing existing proven technologies.

To increase the cooling performance in the GPU core area, Watercool relies on a modular high-performance base plate. Due to a fine-slit fin structure and the resulting increase in the cooling surface, this ensures a significantly higher cooling performance compared to a monolithic design. At the same time, the German manufacturer has optimized the fin structure in order to achieve a high flow rate as well. The distances to heat-relevant components were kept tight, which means that the heat of the thermal problem zones like GDDR6X Ram and voltage converters can be dissipated ideally.

Here's the very first picture of an alleged upcoming NVIDIA flagship/halo product to be positioned above the GeForce RTX 4090. There are two distinct brand names being rumored for this product—the GeForce RTX 4090 Ti, and the NVIDIA RTX TITAN (Ada). The RTX 4090 only uses 128 out of 144 (88 percent) of the streaming multiprocessors (SM) on the 4 nm "AD102" silicon, leaving NVIDIA with plenty of room to design a halo product that maxes it out. Besides maxing out the silicon, NVIDIA has the opportunity to increase the typical graphics power closer to the 600 W continuous power-delivery limit of the 16-pin ATX 12VHPWR connector; and use faster 24 Gbps-rated GDDR6X memory chips (the RTX 4090 uses 21 Gbps memory).

The card is 4 slots thick, with the rear I/O bracket covering all 4 slots. The card's display outputs are arranged along the thickness of the card, rather than along the base. The cooler is a monstrous scale-up of the Dual-Axial Flow Through cooler of the RTX 4090 Founders Edition. The card is designed such that the PCB doesn't come up perpendicular to the plane of the motherboard like any other add-on card, but rather, the PCB is parallel to the plane of the motherboard. The PCB is arranged along the thickness of the card. This has probably been done to maximize the spatial volume occupied by the cooling solution, and probably even make room for a third fan. We also predict that the PCB is split in such a way that a smaller PCB has the display I/O, and yet another PCB handles the PCI-Express slot interface. Sufficed to say, the RTX 4090 Ti / RTX TITAN will be an engineering masterpiece by NVIDIA.

Marketing pictures of two custom-design GeForce RTX 4070 "Ada" (non-Ti) graphics card models by GALAX, were leaked to the web. The more simple-looking of the two is very likely the GALAX RTX 4070 EX Gamer White; while the other more flashy of the two, could be the GALAX RTX 4070 SG White. What's interesting is that both cards are triple-slot, including with their I/O brackets, for what is supposed to be a mid performance-segment product positioned below the recently launched RTX 4070 Ti.

Rumored specifications of the RTX 4070 (non-Ti) have it, that the SKU is based on the same 4 nm "AD104" silicon as the RTX 4070 Ti, albeit significantly cut-down, with only 46 out of 60 streaming multiprocessors (SM) on the silicon being enabled (that's 76% of the available SIMD machinery). This works out to 5,888 CUDA cores, 46 RT cores, and 184 Tensor cores. The card might get the same 12 GB memory size, across the 192-bit GDDR6X memory bus of the AD104, with the same 21 Gbps memory speed, working out to 504 GB/s bandwidth. One reason why GALAX's cards look this buff could have to do with NVIDIA's partners reusing their RTX 4070 Ti board designs for their premium RTX 4070 cards.

ZOTAC Technology Limited, a global manufacturer of innovation, announces the latest in the next-generation ZOTAC GAMING graphics card line-up built on the powerful NVIDIA Ada Lovelace architecture. The GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Series graphics cards are beyond fast, giving gamers and creators new found levels of performance in gaming, streaming, rendering, video encoding and decoding, neural rendering, and many more leading platform capabilities. These GPUs push state-of-the-art graphics into the future with technologies including 3rd generation ray tracing cores and 4th generation tensor cores powering DLSS 3 technology that are gateways to the most immersive gaming experiences.

Leveraging an all-new aerodynamic inspired design with a bevy of powerful features, the ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Series carry over many key innovations introduced in the 4090 series that push the limit in gaming performance, cooling efficiency, noise levels and durability. The ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 4070 Ti features 12 GB GDDR6X GPU memory and will come in 4 models - AMP Extreme AIRO, the debut of the all-new AMP AIRO, Trinity OC, and Trinity.

NVIDIA today formally launched the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti "Ada" performance segment graphics card at a starting MSRP of USD $799. Based on the 4 nm "AD104" silicon, the RTX 4070 Ti is essentially the same product as the RTX 4080 12 GB, which NVIDIA decided to cancel from its original mid-November launch, toward a new one this CES, under a new model name. The card maxes out the silicon it's based on, featuring 7,680 CUDA cores, 60 RT cores, 240 Tensor cores, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. It gets 12 GB of GDDR6X memory across a 192-bit wide memory interface, running at 21 Gbps (GDDR6X-effective). The card has a typical power rating of 285 W, and continues to use a 12VHPWR power connector, even on the custom-design products.

NVIDIA claims that the RTX 4070 Ti should enable maxed out AAA gaming with ray tracing at 1440p, while also being formidable at 4K Ultra HD in games that can take advantage of technologies such as DLSS 3 frame-generation, or even classic DLSS 2. The company claims that it offers performance comparable to the previous-generation flagship, the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti "Ampere," with a much higher performance/Watt rating. The RTX 4070 Ti doesn't appear to feature an NVIDIA Founders Edition model, and is a partner-driven launch, with custom-design cards dominating the scene. The RTX 4070 Ti will be available from January 5, 2023, but we'll have reviews for you before that!

A leaked NVIDIA company slide confirms that the upcoming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti graphics card will launch at a starting price of USD $799. This would put it $100 cheaper than what was going to be the launch price of the RTX 4080 12 GB. NVIDIA cancelled the launch of the RTX 4080 12 GB, and reportedly re-branded it to the RTX 4070 Ti. The RTX 4080 12 GB was supposed to launch alongside the RTX 4080 16 GB in mid-November 2022, but the company decided to "unlaunch" it, in the wake of bad press on the confusing and deceptive naming of the SKU, and its ambitious MSRP that would have put custom-design cards well above the $1,000-mark.

The NVIDIA slide goes on to claim that the RTX 4070 Ti will be faster than the previous-generation flagship, the RTX 3090 Ti. This is thanks to its 40 shader TFLOP/s, 93 RT TFLOP/s, and 642 Tensor TFLOP/s. The RTX 4070 Ti is expected to debut the new 4 nm "AD104" silicon, featuring 7,680 CUDA cores, 60 RT cores, 240 Tensor cores, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The card features 12 GB of 21 Gbps GDDR6X memory across a rather narrow 192-bit memory bus. The slide confirms that January 5, 2023 will be the market availability date for the RTX 4070 Ti. NVIDIA's decision to price the RTX 4070 Ti at $799 may have been influenced by the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT priced at $899.

At its 2023 International CES event, NVIDIA is expected to launch not just its desktop GeForce RTX 4070 and RTX 4070 Ti graphics cards, but more importantly, also its GeForce RTX 40-series Laptop GPU series powering next-generation gaming notebooks based on the upcoming 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" processors. NVIDIA seems to be making a very tight rope-walk between power-management and generational performance increase in this power- and thermal-constrained form-factor. Wccftech scored a major scoop on the specs of various RTX 40-series Laptop GPUs.

The GeForce RTX 40-series "Ada" Laptop GPU lineup will be led by the RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, based on the 4 nm "AD103" silicon (same one that powers the desktop RTX 4080). It will be equipped with 16 GB of memory, a yet-unknown core-configuration, GPU Boost frequencies of up to 2.04 GHz, and typical power draw ranging between 150 W to 175 W, which can peak up to 200 W thanks to the 25 W dynamic boost range (power permissible by the platform if the other components such as CPU aren't drawing their peak power).

Here are some of the first pictures of a GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti custom-design graphics cards, the RTX 4070 Ti AERO. GIGABYTE targets the AERO brand of graphics cards, motherboards, and notebooks, at creators who like to game, hence the product design that's a lot less flashy than the company's AORUS or Gaming OC brands of graphics cards. An interesting aspect of this card is that it features a 16-pin ATX 12VHPWR connector, and includes an NVIDIA-supplied power adapter that converts two 8-pin PCIe power connectors to one 12VHPWR. We know this adapter is different from the 2x 8-pin to 12-pin adapter NVIDIA included with the RTX 3080 Founders Edition, looking at the four sensor pins.

The connector has keying for 300 W, and so the typical board power of the RTX 4070 Ti will be at or below 300 W. The GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is essentially a re-branding of what would have been the RTX 4080 12 GB, had NVIDIA not decided to "unlaunch" it. The SKU maxes out the 4 nm "AD104" silicon, featuring 7,680 CUDA cores across 60 streaming multiprocessors (SM), 240 Tensor cores, 60 RT cores, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The chip features a 192-bit GDDR6X memory interface, which was at the heart of the RTX 4080 12 GB naming controversy.

A report by Moore's Law is Dead claims that NVIDIA is preparing to launch a new TITAN RTX halo product, based on a maxed-out 4 nm "AD102" silicon. Where does this put the RTX 4090 Ti? Somewhere in between the RTX 4090 and the TITAN RTX Ada, as NVIDIA gave itself plenty of segmentation headroom with the AD102 silicon, by using just 128 out of 144 SM physically present on the silicon, besides the same 21 Gbps GDDR6X memory as the previous-generation. NVIDIA's options with the new TITAN RTX include enabling all 144 SM (18,432 CUDA cores), and using faster 24 Gbps memory, giving the silicon (1152 GB/s memory bandwidth), a stock power-limit closer to the 600 W design limit of the 12VHPWR power connector (RTX 4090 stock typical board power is 450 W).

Moore's Law is Dead also posted what they claim to be the first real-world pictures of the upcoming TITAN RTX Ada. The card is an unabashed 4-slot enlargement of the dual-axial flow-through RTX 4090 Founders Edition, with the cooler capable of higher thermal loads. TITAN RTX cards are marketed as first-party Founders Edition cards only, and not through NVIDIA's AIC board partners as custom-designs. A maxed out AD102, with higher clock speeds, higher power-limit, and faster memory, should be unassailable for custom-design RTX 4090 cards, if NVIDIA wants to sell this card at the kind of prices its last TITAN RTX product sold at—USD $2,500.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the Strix GeForce RTX 4090 and 4080 White Edition graphics cards, available for enthusiast gamers and DIY builders everywhere. The cutting-edge NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series has taken performance to a whole new level while offering heaps of VRAM, more CUDA cores and an overbuilt cooling system that stays nearly silent even at full load. Now, ASUS is pleased to announce four new versions with eye-catching all-white finishes.

DIY PC building is all about personal taste when selecting components, and the new ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 White Edition and ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC White Edition give discerning builders the option to brighten up a build or color-coordinate with other ROG peripherals, such as the ROG Strix Scope NX TKL Moonlight White. Boasting 16,384 CUDA cores and 24 GB of GDDR6X VRAM, these cards are welcome in simulation rigs, high-end streaming PCs and professional production machines alike.

GALAX in its website's front-page carousel, may have inadvertently blurted out the existence of a GeForce RTX 4090 Ti "Ada" SKU in the works. This may well be a typo by the designer of its carousel graphic, but the existence of an RTX 4090 Ti SKU isn't a question of if, but when. We know from our September 2022 article that the RTX 4090 only uses 88% of the streaming multiprocessors (SM) physically present on the 4 nm AD102 silicon (that's 128 out of 144 SM, or 16,384 out of 18,432 CUDA cores), although it maxes out its 384-bit GDDR6X memory bus.

The way NVIDIA carved the RTX 4090 out of the AD102 leaves it with plenty of room to create a faster SKU that maxes out the silicon, backing it with more GPU clock speed, possibly even 23 Gbps-rated GDDR6X memory, resulting in a top-spec flagship with ≥10% higher performance than the RTX 4090, to consolidate NVIDIA's position in the high-end segment—not that it's under much of a threat from AMD right now. The Radeon RX 7900 XTX trades blows with the RTX 4080, and is barely a threat to the RTX 4090. NVIDIA would still want something to sell at $2,000 if not more, and the only way it can do so is by maxing out the AD102 and hope that enthusiasts wanting to climb performance leaderboards would want such a card.

VideoCardz has obtained images and specifications of PNY's two upcoming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti models. According to the latest leak, these GPUs are equipped with 7680 CUDA cores and 12 GB of GDDR6X memory. This configuration resembles the canceled GeForce RTX 4080 12 GB edition card, which confirms that NVIDIA will rebrand it under the RTX 4070 Ti naming scheme. PNY has prepared GeForce RTX 4070 Ti XLR8 VERTO and VERTO GPUs, with the difference in cooler design and applied factory overclocking. The XLR8 version bears the same cooler as the RTX 4080 XRL8 card, adapted for the RTX 4070 Ti GPU SKU. This design should naturally offer greater overclocking performance than the regular VERTO SKU.

The render below looks like the 16-pin 12VHPWR power connector remains on these cards and that PNY has not swapped it for another solution. We expect to hear more about these cards on January 5th, when NVIDIA plans to launch.

It turns out that NVIDIA has not one, but two new GeForce RTX 40-series "Ada" SKUs on the anvil this January. One of these is the RTX 4070 Ti, which we know well to be a rebranding of the RTX 4080 12 GB in the face of backlash that forced NVIDIA to "unlaunch" it. The other as it turns out, is the RTX 4070, with an interesting set of specifications. Based on the same 4 nm AD104 silicon as the RTX 4070 Ti, the new RTX 4070 is significantly cut down. NVIDIA enabled 46 out of 60 streaming multiprocessors (SM) physically present on the silicon, which yield 5,888 CUDA cores—the same count as the previous-gen RTX 3070, when compared to the 7,680 that the maxed-out RTX 4070 Ti enjoys.

The GeForce RTX 4070, besides 5,888 CUDA cores, gets 46 RT cores, 184 Tensor cores, 184 TMUs, and a reduced ROP count of 64, compared to 80 of the RTX 4070 Ti. The memory configuration remains the same as the RTX 4070 Ti, with 12 GB of 21 Gbps GDDR6X memory across the chip's 192-bit memory interface, working out to 504 GB/s of memory bandwidth. An interesting aspect of this SKU is its board power, rated at 250 W, compared to the 285 W of the RTX 4070 Ti, and the 220 W of its 8 nm predecessor, the RTX 3070.

A January 5, 2023 release date is being mooted by retailers for NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti graphics card, which is widely expected to be a re-branding of what would have been the RTX 4080 12 GB. Italian retailer Drako started a countdown for an ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 4070 Ti O12G custom-design graphics card, which winds down to January 5, and aligns with the rumored January 3 announcement of the card. It is also expected that reviews of the RTX 4070 Ti will be allowed to go live on January 4.

The GeForce RTX 4080 12 GB was supposed to max out the 4 nm AD104 silicon, featuring 7,680 CUDA cores across 60 SM (streaming multiprocessors), 60 RT cores, 240 Tensor cores, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The GPU features a 192-bit wide GDDR6X memory interface, to which NVIDIA is giving 21 Gbps-rated memory, yielding 504 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Its most interesting aspect is its power configuration, with a typical board power of 285 W, which makes it technically possible for board partners to use two 8-pin PCIe power connectors, unless they've been asked nicely to implement the 16-pin 12VHPWR connector.

Here's the first picture of the 4 nm "AD104" silicon powering what would have been the $900 GeForce RTX 4080 12 GB, and upcoming RTX 4070-series graphics cards. The third largest GPU based on the "Ada Lovelace" graphics architecture, the AD104 looks tiny. This is because it has roughly half the die-area of the AD102, estimated to be around 295 mm² (compared to 608 mm² of the AD102), which means its transistor count should be less than half, with older reports pinpointing it to 35.8 billion. The RTX 4080 12 GB was supposed to max out the AD104 silicon, enabling all 60 streaming multiprocessors (SM) physically present.

The AD104 with 60 SM hence has 7,680 CUDA cores, 60 RT cores, 240 Tensor cores, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. NVIDIA has generationally narrowed the memory interface (compared to the GA104 and TU104), down to 192-bit GDDR6X. Its predecessors such as the GA104 feature 256-bit wide memory interfaces. NVIDIA is overcoming the memory bus width "deficit" by giving SKUs based on the silicon higher memory speeds (21 Gbps or more); and architecture-level improvements such as larger on-die caches. NVIDIA is reportedly planning to launch an AD104-based SKU early January 2023. VideoCardz reports that could be the RTX 4070 Ti, a re-branding of the RTX 4080 12 GB.

NVIDIA recently updated its product stack with an 8 GB 128-bit GDDR6 variant of the GeForce RTX 3060 (originally 12 GB 192-bit GDDR6), and the RTX 3060 Ti with faster 19 Gbps 256-bit GDDR6X memory (originally 14 Gbps 256-bit GDDR6). We're getting to learn that the new RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X variant is designed to replace the older GDDR6 variant. NVIDIA's add-in card (AIC) partners are reportedly winding down orders of the original RTX 3060 Ti in favor of the newer GDDR6X variant. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the GDDR6X variant isn't that its memory bandwidth is 35% higher than that of the original RTX 3060 Ti; but that it sells at the same price.

The new GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X is based on the 8 nm "GA104" silicon, and has the same core-configuration as the original RTX 3060 Ti, with 4,864 CUDA cores, 152 Tensor cores, 38 RT cores, 152 TMUs, and 80 ROPs; the same GPU boost frequency of 1665 MHz, and interestingly, the same typical board power of 200 W. What's changed is the switch to 19 Gbps GDDR6X memory compared to the original's 14 Gbps GDDR6, which results in a memory bandwidth of 608 GB/s, compared to the original's 448 GB/s.

ASUS today announced new versions of the TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and the Dual GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards that now feature GDDR6X memory for greater performance. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti has been an excellent sweet spot between price and performance for the past generation of graphics cards, and it has now been improved. The GDDR6X memory further boosts the capabilities of the 3060 Ti and expands the options available to the discerning PC DIY builder. ASUS is also updating the GeForce RTX 3060 with a new model featuring 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM to add even more possibilities for upgrading and assembling.

The ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB GDDR6X features the same triple Axial Tech fan design, solid aluminium backplate, and 2.7-slot form factor as its predecessor, as well as support for NVIDIA G-SYNC and GPU Tweak III. Supplementing that rock-solid foundation is the introduction of GDDR6X ultra-high-speed and error-correcting VRAM, setting up the GPU to deliver more frames per second than the previous iteration. A factory-overclocked version is also available, tuned in-house to make sure users get the absolute best performance right out of the box.

NVIDIA today formally launched the GeForce RTX 4080 graphics card, its second fastest offering from the GeForce "Ada Lovelace" generation. With a starting price of USD $1,200, the card is positioned a notch below the RTX 4090 flagship, a whole $400 cheaper. It is technically supposed to succeed the RTX 3080 12 GB, while an RTX 4080 12 GB variant was supposed to succeed the RTX 3080 10 GB. NVIDIA cancelled the RTX 4080 12 GB as it heaped bad press due to its specs being significantly different from those of the RTX 4080 16 GB, making this the only SKU with the name RTX 4080.

The GeForce RTX 4080 is based on the 4 nm "AD103" silicon, and armed with 9,728 CUDA cores across 76 streaming multiprocessors. It gets 304 4th generation Tensor cores, and 76 RT cores, besides 112 ROPs. Although it has generationally more memory at 16 GB, its memory bus is narrower at 256-bit GDDR6X. NVIDIA attempted to compensate for this with use of faster 22.4 Gbps-rated memory, and architectural improvements such as larger caches on the silicon, to speed up the memory sub-system. NVIDIA is launching not just the Founders Edition card, but also its partners are launching custom-design boards. Every partner's lineup we've come across thus far includes at least one SKU priced at the $1,200 baseline. The cards should be on the shelves tomorrow (November 16, 2022).

We have a large number of reviews for you today, which include the NVIDIA RTX 4080 Founders Edition, ZOTAC RTX 4080 AMP Extreme AIRO, ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4080 OC, MSI RTX 4080 SUPRIM X, Colorful RTX 4080 Ultra White OC, Gainward RTX 4080 Phantom GS, MSI RTX 4080 Gaming X Trio, and the PNY XLR8 RTX 4080 Verto OC

NVIDIA had originally planned to launch the GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB, and the now-cancelled RTX 4080 12 GB in mid-November, but facing strong backlash from the press and social-media over the confusion the "RTX 4080 12 GB" branding would cause due to a vastly different hardware specification to that of the RTX 4080 16 GB (limited not only to the memory size); the company cancelled the launch of the RTX 4080 12 GB. We're hearing that with NVIDIA's board partners already having manufactured a large inventory of RTX 4080 12 GB cards, something had to be done. The partners could be undertaking a rebranding exercise, and the new brand is "GeForce RTX 4070 Ti."

According to kopite7kimi, a reliable source with NVIDIA leaks, the RTX 4080 12 GB will be rebranded as the RTX 4070 Ti. VideoCardz reports that the card is probably bound for a January 2023 launch. Based on the 4 nm "AD104" silicon, the RTX 4080 12 GB was supposed to max out the silicon, featuring 7,680 CUDA cores, 60 RT cores, 240 Tensor cores, 240 TMUs, 80 ROPs, and a 192-bit wide memory interface, running 12 GB of 23 Gbps GDDR6X memory (504 GB/s bandwidth). The RTX 4080 12 GB was originally slated to launch at a USD $900 price-point. It remains to be seen if NVIDIA is bold enough to sell a xx70-class product at $900. AMD is launching the Radeon RX 7900 XT at this price.

Here's the first picture of the PCB of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Edition. With NVIDIA cancelling the AD104-based GeForce RTX 4080 12 GB, the significantly buffed, AD103-based RTX 4080 16 GB is now referred to as simply the RTX 4080. The picture reveals an asymmetric PCB shape to fit with the Founders Edition dual-axial flow-through design. The card pulls power from a 16-pin ATX 12VHPWR connector, and appears to use roughly a 16-phase VRM. The PCB has many blank VRM phase traces, although just eight memory-chip pads to go with the 256-bit wide GDDR6X memory interface of the AD103 silicon.

The AD103 silicon features a rectangular die, and a fiberglass substrate that looks about the same size as past-generation NVIDIA GPUs with 256-bit wide memory interfaces, such as the GA104. The AD103 GPU is probably pin-compatible with the smaller AD104, at least as far as substrate-size is concerned; so minimal PCB design R&D effort is put into designing the 12 GB and 16 GB variants of the RTX 4080. The RTX 4080 12 GB is now gone, and the AD104 will power --70 classs SKUs with fewer shaders than what would've been the RTX 4080 12 GB. The display output configuration remains the same as the RTX 4090, with three DisplayPort 1.4a, and an HDMI 2.1a. NVIDIA is expected to launch the GeForce RTX 4080 on November 16, priced at USD $1,199 (MSRP).

NVIDIA today released the latest version of its GeForce Game Ready drivers. Version 526.47 WHQL adds support for two new GPUs, namely the GeForce RTX 3060 8 GB, and the RTX 3060 Ti GDDR6X, the two SKUs NVIDIA launched to improve its standing against the RX 6650 XT, RX 6600, and Arc 7-series. Among the game optimizations with this release are for "Sackboy: A Big Adventure," "Victoria 3," "WRC Generations," and DLSS 3 frame-generation support in F1 22. Among the handful issues fixed with this release are game map corruption in "Cyberpunk 2077," a crash and reboot issue noticed with the Dell XPS 9560; lower performance noticed in Minecraft Java Edition; the 165 Hz refresh-rate option not being available with Samsung Odyssey Ark monitors; GeForce Experience selecting the wrong display-head with Shadowplay; and certain online video artifacting noticed with NVIDIA Image Scaling enabled.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 526.47 WHQL

NVIDIA manufactured a heap of large "GA102" Ampere silicon to cater to demand from the crypto-mining boom; only to see that demand vanish. With next-gen RTX 40-series awaiting ramp; the company has to digest these GA102 chips somehow, and is apparently letting its partners use them on performance-segment SKUs such as the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. The RTX 3070 Ti is normally based on the GA104 silicon, which it maxes out, enabling all 6,144 CUDA cores, 48 RT cores, 192 Tensor cores, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, besides the chip's full 256-bit wide GDDR6X memory interface. This SKU is now being carved out on the larger GA102, by enabling 48 out of 84 streaming multiprocessors (just 57% of the CUDA cores enabled); and narrowing the memory bus from its normal 384-bit, down to 256-bit.

The memory size remains at 8 GB, memory type at GDDR6X, and memory speed at 19 Gbps, working out to 608 GB/s of bandwidth. The most interesting aspect of carving the RTX 3070 Ti out of the GA102 has to be board power; with a ZOTAC-branded card listing it at 320 W, higher than the 290 W of GA104-based cards from the company. Sadly, this is a China-only SKU. Every custom-design graphics card, especially from a reputed AIC such as ZOTAC, has to go through qualification with NVIDIA; which means NVIDIA is not only aware of GA102-based RTX 3070 Ti cards, but is behind fusing the SMs to carve out the SKU, and developing the video BIOS and driver support. ZOTAC is kind enough to list the ASIC code on its website, and for this SKU it is "GA102-150-xx."