It seems that speculation on NVIDIA's next-gen naming scheme is coming to a close - finally. FinalWire have recently posted an updated, beta version of their popular AIDA 64 tool, which on its 5.97.4679 beta version comes with a mention for NVIDIA's GV102, GV102GL, GV104 and GV104M silicon. Digging deeper, associated to the GV104 chip, is the Device ID 1e87 - which results in a listing identified as a GeForce GTX 1180. It's not final a reveal yet, but this is a strong indication as to how exactly NVIDIA's naming scheme will pan out.

Here are some of the first pictures of the bare printed circuit board (PCB) of NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce GTX 1180 graphics card (dubbed PG180), referred to by the person who originally posted them as "GTX 2080" (it seems the jury is still out on the nomenclature). The PCB looks hot from the press, with its SMT points and vias still exposed. The GT104 GPU traces hint at a package that's about the size of a GP104 or its precessors. It's wired to eight memory chips on three sides, confirming a 256-bit wide memory bus. Display outputs appear flexible, for either 2x DisplayPort + 2x HDMI, or 3x DisplayPort + 1x HDMI configurations.

The VRM setup is surprisingly powerful for a card that's supposed to succeed the ~180W GeForce GTX 1080, which can make do with a single 8-pin PCIe power input. The card draws power from a combination of 6-pin and 8-pin PCIe power connectors. There is a purportedly 10-phase VCore side, which in all likelihood is a 5-phase setup with "dumb" phase-doubling; and similarly, a 2-phase memory power (which could again be doubled single-phase). The SLI-HB fingers also make way. There's a new connector that looks like a single SLI finger and an NVLink finger arranged side-by-side. NVIDIA still hasn't given up on multi-GPU. NVLink is a very broad interconnect, in terms of bandwidth. NVIDIA probably needs that for multi-GPU setups to work with not just high resolutions (4K, 5K, or even 8K), but also higher bit-depth, higher refresh-rates, HDR, and other exotic data. The reverse side doesn't have much action other than traces for the VRM controllers, phase doublers, and an unusually large bank of SMT capacitors (the kind seen on AMD PCBs with MCM GPUs).

NVIDIA put out invitations to an August 20 event in Cologne, Germany. Dubbed "GeForce Gaming Celebration." There are ominous signs that the company could unveil its next-generation GeForce GTX 1180 graphics card. The GTX 1180 succeeds the GTX 1080, and is based on the new "Turing" silicon. The event is being held exactly a day before Gamecom 2018 gets underway.

An August 20 unveiling also bolsters credibility of an older report, which had pinned market availability of the GTX 1180 on 30th August, exactly 10 days from the event. The same report also foretells September 30 availability of the cheaper GTX 1170, and the pricier GTX 1180+, and October 30 availability of the performance-segment GTX 1160.

An e-mail correspondence between an NVIDIA AIC (add-in card) partner and a retailer was leaked to the web by Gamer Meld. It confirms launch dates of at least four GeForce 11-series client-segment graphics card SKUs. These include the GeForce GTX 1180, the GeForce GTX 1170, a curiously named GeForce GTX 1180+, and the mid-range GeForce GTX 1160. The dates mentioned in the e-mail could be availability dates, if not launch dates. This could mean product launches and reviews earlier than these dates.

Mark your calendars for 30th August, 2018. This is when NVIDIA will debut to market its first GeForce 11-series graphics card, the GTX 1180. This card is the spiritual successor to the GTX 1080, and will initially be launched as an enthusiast product, but will settle down as an upper-performance-segment SKU. Exactly a month after, on 30th September, NVIDIA will launch two SKUs - the GTX 1170, and the GTX 1180+. The GTX 1170 is slightly cut-down from the GTX 1180, and succeeds the GTX 1070. The GTX 1180+, on the other hand, is a brand new "premium" brand extension. It's not a GTX 1080 Ti successor, since it's probably based on the same silicon as the GTX 1180, but will probably ship with higher clock speeds, or a premium reference design. AMD gave its RX Vega 64 a similar treatment with its RX Vega 64 Liquid Edition. A month after that, as the mercury begins to drop, on 30th October, NVIDIA will launch the mid-range GTX 1160 to rake in Holiday sales.The Gamer Meld video follows.

A Vietnamese online store put up the first listing of a GeForce GTX 1180 based ASUS ROG Strix graphics card. The store even put out some specifications of the card, beginning with it being based on the "GT104" silicon, based on the "Turing" series. With "Turing" NVIDIA appears to be forking its GPU architectures on the basis of chips that feature DPFP (double-precision floating point) cores and Tensor cores, and those that lack both (and only feature SPFP cores). "Turing" is probably a fork of "Volta" that lacks both DPFP CUDA cores and Tensor cores; and sticks to the cheaper GDDR6 memory architecture, while "Volta" based GPUs, such as the TITAN V, implement pricier HBM2 memory.

Among the specifications of the GeForce GTX 1180 are 3,584 CUDA cores, and 16 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 256-bit wide memory interface. The memory is clocked at 14 GHz (GDDR6-effective), which works out to 409.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Pre-launch prices, just like most specifications, tend to be bovine excrement, which in this case converts to a little over USD $1,500, and isn't really relevant. What is, however, interesting is the availability date of September 28.

A Lenovo spokesperson inadvertantly disclosed that NVIDIA's next GeForce GTX consumer lineup will follow the numbering sequence "11-series" (eg: GTX 1180), laying to rest rumors that it could even follow the "20-series" (eg: GTX 2080) naming convention. Speaking with Brainbean at the company's E3 booth (published last week), the spokesperson was shown describing the company's Legion Cube gaming desktops, which ships with a GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card in its base variant. The spokesperson is then heard saying that along the road, the company would expand its graphics options to include GeForce "11-series."

This should mean that the company will follow a predictable launch cycle of introducing its next-generation graphics architecture with the GeForce GTX 1180 and possibly GTX 1170; following it up with smaller GTX 1160 and GTX 1150; and in the following months, release the big GTX 1180 Ti. The spokesperson hints at the likelihood of Lenovo adding these as options to the Legion desktops by "Fall 2018," which could mean a DIY channel launch by late-Summer or early-Fall.The video follows.