An unreleased GeForce RTX 3060 "Super" graphics card surfaced on the web. The original and popular RTX 3060 falls short of maxing out the 8 nm "GA106" siicon it is based on, with 28 out of 30 streaming multiprocessors being enabled (that's 3,584 out of 3,840 CUDA cores). This odd-ball graphics card maxes the silicon out, enabling all 30 SM and 3,840 CUDA cores, 120 Tensor cores, 30 RT cores, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. This card reportedly has the ASIC code "GA106-400-A1" and device ID of 10DE-2501. The memory interface is still 192-bit wide, as is the memory speed of 15 Gbps (GDDR6-effective), and it has the same 12 GB of memory. Besides more shaders, the card has been given higher clock speeds than a production RTX 3060, with up to 1875 MHz boost, compared to 1777 MHz. Alas, this is one of many unofficial rare graphics cards that never went into production, and which NVIDIA doesn't officially support with driver updates.

TechPowerUp today released the latest version of TechPowerUp GPU-Z, the graphics sub-system information and diagnostic utility. Version 2.45 introduces support for a number of new GPUs. On the NVIDIA side, we have the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, RTX 3060 Ti (GA103-based), RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, T1000 8 GB, T400, CMP 170HX, and A16. On the AMD side, we have the Radeon RX 6950 XT, RX 6750 XT, RX 6800S, RX 6700S, RX 6850M XT, RX 6650M XT, W6400, "Barcelo" APU, "Rembrandt APU," and Valve Steam Deck GPU. Preliminary support is also added for Intel Arc "Alchemist" series. Memory size reporting of NVIDIA "Ampere" was improved. Also improved is support for Intel "Alder Lake" iGPUs, support for HBM and DDR4 memory on NVIDIA, and improved "GA106" transistor count.

DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 2.45

A Chinese PC components OEM started making desktop graphics cards with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU. Why, you ask? NVIDIA did not feel the need to enable LHR (lite hash-rate) limiters for its Laptop GPUs. This genius contraption also benefits from the lower TDP and aggressive power management of the mobile GPU. What's more, the OEM combined the GPU with 6 GB of memory as per its specification, not having to do 12 GB.

Pairing this with a fairly basic-looking cooling solution, the card is able to sell for as low as $540 a piece when bought in bulk quantities. Based on the same "GA106" silicon as its desktop counterpart, the RTX 3060 Laptop GPU has more CUDA cores—3,840 vs. 3,584, albeit with lower memory amount (which doesn't matter for mining), and tighter clock-speeds. The increased CUDA core count, along with lack of LHR, make this an interesting contraption.

When NVIDIA launched the GeForce RTX 3050 "Ampere" based on the "GA106" silicon with specifications that could be fulfilled with the smaller "GA107," we knew that the company could eventually start making RTX 3050 boards with the smaller chip, and they did. Igor's Lab reports that RTX 3050 cards based on GA107 come with a typical board power of 115 W, which is about 11 percent lower than that of the GA106-based cards (130 W).

There's no difference in specifications between the two cards. Both feature 2,560 CUDA cores across 20 streaming multiprocessors, 80 Tensor cores, 20 RT cores, and a 128-bit wide GDDR6 memory interface, holding 8 GB of memory that ticks at 14 Gbps data-rate (224 GB/s bandwidth). The GA106 and GA107 ASICs share a common fiberglass substrate, and hence are pin-compatible for the convenience of board partners, with the latter having a smaller die, so any cooling solution designed for the launch-day RTX 3050 should work perfectly fine with those based on GA107.

The desktop RTX 3050 is now rumored to arrive in two variants with the GA106-140 featuring 4 GB of GDDR6 video memory and 2304 CUDA cores while the GA106-150 would include 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 2560 CUDA cores according to Twitter leaker @kopite7kimi. These two new models will both feature a 128-bit memory bus however further details such as the memory speed or TDP have not yet been leaked. We don't have any information on the MSRP or availability for these two cards at launch but as with all other recent launches we wouldn't expect anything radical. The most likely announcement date for these cards is currently January 4th alongside various other new products from NVIDIA at CES 2022, with availability from January 27th.

With the need for SLI compatibility out of the way, NVIDIA has been harvesting its larger GPUs to create lower-end SKUs to good effect, since the GeForce 10-series. Its latest such creation is select batches of GeForce RTX 3060 graphics cards sold through its AIC partners, which are based on the larger "GA104" silicon, over the "GA106" that it's natively based on. Nearly half of the 6,144 CUDA cores physically present on the chip are disabled to arrive at the 3,584-core count of the RTX 3060, besides a narrowing of the memory bus down to 192-bit. Since it is based on a different silicon, these RTX 3060 cards come with a different device-ID of "2487." The TechPowerUp GPU Database, which interoperates with the TechPowerUp GPU-Z Validation Database, localizes these oddball RTX 3060 cards to China.

MSI's iconic Hydrogen series of graphics cards are making a comeback. According to the latest Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) listings, we have information about the latest addition to MSI's lineup of graphics cards. For starters, MSI has filled EEC reports about its upcoming GeForce RTX 3060 LHR variants, which feature an updated GA106-302 GPU. The new cards will carry the LHR name as a part of the official product name, to be easily separated from non-LHR variants, so buyers know exactly what model they are getting.

Additionally, MSI is seemingly making a comeback of its Hydrogen series. Hydrogen lineup used to be popular with GeForce GTX 580 Hydrogen card, which delivered awesome overclocking performance enabled by a water block strapped onto the card. If MSI brings the series back, it will come in the form of the GeForce RTX 3090 Hydrogen model, which could represent the highest-end RTX 3090 design from the company. It remains to be seen what MSI does with it, and if we are getting it at all, so we have to wait for more information.

GALAX today debuted a new line of GeForce RTX 3060 and RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards that come with NVIDIA's latest hash-rate limiter that make the cards unsuitable for crypto-currency mining. The cards look identical to the SKUs already launched by the company based on these GPUs, but are based on revised LHR (low hash-rate) versions of "GA104" or "GA106" ASICs that feature the hash-rate limiter. The oldest (launch) drivers for the RTX 3060 or RTX 3060 Ti won't work with these cards, you'll need the latest driver on the NVIDIA website. Today's announcements come in the wake of last week's introduction of the RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 LHR graphics cards by GALAX.

Some time ago, NVIDIA introduced its GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card with GA106-300 Ampere GPU SKU. The GPU was the first to feature NVIDIA's latest additions like Resizable BAR and crypto mining algorithm limiter that limited the performance of the card while mining. However, despite NVIDIA's intention to keep the card out of the hands of crypto miners, there has been a lot of flaws in the plan. A lot of people discovered that the card still managed to turn in profits with the limiter enables. Later, NVIDIA accidentally released a driver that actually removes the limiter and enables the GPU to mine at full capacity, making the company's efforts useless.

Today we have new information that NVIDIA will launch an updated GeForce RTX 3060 GPU SKU that features a different ID, in the quest to limit card's mining performance. According to HKEPC, NVIDIA is producing updated GeForce RTX 3060 GKU SKUs with GA106-302 ID that should launch sometime in May, which are supposed to replace the GA106-300 SKUs now present. The software and the drivers will use the new ID to identify new SKUs and limit the performance of the card at mining tasks such as Ethereum mining. That way, it ensures that no driver version or bypass can trick the software to enable the card to use its full mining power and it shall render it unprofitable. Additionally, kopite7kimi, a known hardware leaker, claims that NVIDIA is also preparing updated GPU SKU IDs for GA104 and GA102 GPUs, with GA102-302/202 and GA104-302/202 variants supposedly coming.

NVIDIA is slated to launch its performance-segment GeForce RTX 3060 "Ampere" graphics card on February 25, 2021, according to a WCCFTech report. The company launches the card at an MSRP (starting price) of USD $329. 12 GB is the standard memory size for the RTX 3060. The card marks the debut of the new 8 nm "GA106" silicon, NVIDIA's 4th chip based on the GeForce "Ampere" graphics architecture.

While the "GA106" silicon features up to 3,840 CUDA cores across 30 streaming multiprocessors, the RTX 3060 is reportedly being carved out by enabling 28 SM, working out to 3,584 CUDA cores. It features 12 GB of 15 Gbps GDDR6 memory across a 192-bit wide memory interface, which means 360 GB/s memory bandwidth, slightly higher than the 336 GB/s of the RTX 2060. The card has a typical board power rating of 170 W, which means plenty of custom-design graphics card models should come with single 8-pin PCIe power connector configurations. NVIDIA's design goal for the RTX 3060 could be doubling performance over the GTX 1060 "Pascal," and a significant performance uplift over the RTX 2060.

The "GA106" will be NVIDIA's third GeForce "Ampere" silicon, following the "GA102" and "GA104." It will power several mid-range GeForce RTX 30-series graphics cards, including the recently announced GeForce RTX 3060. VideoCardz scored the first picture of the "GA106" ASIC. The chip is estimated to have a die-are of 272 mm², while its package (fiberglass substrate) is of the same size as the "GA104," possibly even with some degree of pin-compatibility.

Built on the 8 nm silicon fabrication process, the "GA106" physically features 3,840 "Ampere" CUDA cores, 120 3rd Gen Tensor cores, and 30 2nd Gen RT cores. Its memory bus width is unknown, but on the RTX 3060, it features a 192-bit wide interface, holding 12 GB of memory, using 16 Gbit GDDR6 memory chips. Besides the RTX 3060, NVIDIA is expected to carve out other SKUs, such as the RTX 3050 Ti and RTX 3050, out of this silicon. The "GA106" could also be prominently featured in upcoming RTX 30-series Mobile SKUs.