The most popular cryptocurrency by market-cap, Bitcoin, has dropped in value to below the USD $40,000-mark, to $38,429 as of this writing. This amounts to a whopping 43% drop in value from its November 2021 peak of roughly $67,600. Ethereum has also seen an 8% fall over the past 24 hours, as has the value of several other cryptocurrencies. While we won't get into the nuts and bolts of Bitcoin volatility or hand out any financial advice, this could have an impact on graphics card availability owing to a multitude of reasons.

As of this writing, we see the GeForce RTX 3080 commanding a scalper price of roughly $1,500 (brand new), for the LHR variant (lower crypto-mining performance), while non-LHR cards that are used, start around $1,900. If the fall in cryptocurrencies continues, we could see increased availability of used graphics cards from crypto miners, as gamers would be willing to buy a used RTX 30-series or RX 6000 series graphics card that's still within its warranty period (of 2 years).

EK, is introducing a whole new dimension of liquid cooling for modern graphics cards. RTX 3080, 3080 Ti, and 3090 cards following the reference PCB design get their Vector² water block with passive backplate, new synergistic active backplate, and other aesthetic pieces to customize your water-cooled reference RTX GPU to your own desires. The EK-Quantum Vector² RE RTX 3080/3090 D-RGB is a complete liquid cooling solution including a new Vector² water block, black-anodized aluminium backplate, and mounting mechanism. The new look of the next-gen water blocks is dominated by minimalistic straight lines.

The 3rd-generation Vector cooling engine combines the jet plate with a 3D machined Plexi insert to improve flow distribution and thermal performance. This new cooling engine is still based on an Open Split-Flow cooling engine design, which proved to be a superior solution for GPU water blocks. It is characterized by low hydraulic flow restriction, meaning it can be used with weaker water pumps or pumps running on low-speed settings, and still achieve top performance. Great care was taken to achieve a symmetrical flow domain by utilizing an internal bridge to secondary components. This was done to ensure the cooling of secondary components without sacrificing flow distribution over the GPU core.

NVIDIA is indeed readying a 12 GB variant of the GeForce RTX 3080, positioning it between the current RTX 3080 (10 GB), and the RTX 3080 Ti, in what is an extremely cluttered lineup at the top. If NVIDIA's recent adventure in necromancing the RTX 2060 "Turing" with 12 GB memory is anything to go by, the RTX 3080 12 GB may not be a simple memory uplift, but come with other improvements in specs, starting with the wider 384-bit wide GDDR6X memory bus (compared to 320-bit for the original RTX 3080), a few more CUDA cores, and higher clocks. A picture of an EVGA-branded custom design board was scored by VideoCardz. Its design is standard EVGA fare, resembling the RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra, but with the box clearly labeling "RTX 3080" and "12 GB GDDR6X."

EK, is introducing a whole new dimension of liquid cooling for modern graphics cards. By popular demand, the EVGA FTW3 GeForce RTX 3080 and 3090 GPUs are the first to get their Vector² water block with passive backplate, new synergistic active backplate, and other aesthetic pieces to customize your water-cooled FTW3 GPU to your own desires. The EK-Quantum Vector² FTW3 RTX 3080/3090 D-RGB is a complete liquid cooling solution including a new Vector² water block, black-anodized aluminium backplate, and mounting mechanism. The new look of the next-gen water blocks is dominated by minimalistic straight lines.

The 3rd-generation Vector cooling engine combines the jet plate with a 3D machined Plexi insert to improve flow distribution and thermal performance. This new cooling engine is still based on an Open Split-Flow cooling engine design, which proved to be a superior solution for GPU water blocks. It is characterized by low hydraulic flow restriction, meaning it can be used with weaker water pumps or pumps running on low-speed settings, and still achieve top performance. Great care was taken to achieve a symmetrical flow domain by utilizing an internal bridge to secondary components. This was done to ensure the cooling of secondary components without sacrificing flow distribution over the GPU core.

During the CES 2022 keynote, we have witnessed NVIDIA update its GeForce RTX 30 series family with GeForce RTX 3050 and RTX 3090 Ti. However, this is not an end to NVIDIA's updates to the Ampere generation, as we now hear industry sources from Wccftech suggest that we could see a GeForce RTX 3080 GPU with 12 GB of GDDR6X VRAM enabled, launched as a separate product. Compared to the regular RTX 3080 that carries only 10 GB of GDDR6X, the new 12 GB version is supposed to bring a slight bump up to the specification list. The GA102-220 GPU SKU found inside the 12 GB variant will feature 70 SMs with 8960 CUDA, 70 RT cores, and 280 TMUs.

This represents a minor improvement over the regular GA102-200 silicon inside the 8 GB model. However, the significant difference is the memory organization. With the new 12 GB model, we have a 384-bit memory bus allowing GDDR6X modules to achieve a bandwidth of 912 GB/s, all while running at 19 Gbps speeds. The overall TDP will also receive a bump to 350 Watts, compared to 320 Watts of the regular RTX 3080 model. For more information regarding final clock speeds and pricing, we have to wait for the alleged launch date - January 11th.

Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers (Hong Kong Stock Code: 1337), is kicking off 2022 with new Razer Blade gaming laptop models including the Razer Blade 14, Razer Blade 15, and Razer Blade 17. The world's fastest laptops for gamers and creators are equipped with the recently announced NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series Laptop GPUs, up to an RTX 3080 Ti, making the new Blades better than ever, now shipping with Windows 11. All new Razer Blade gaming laptops now also include groundbreaking DDR5 memory, providing blistering clock speeds up to 4800 MHz, an increase in frequency by up to 50% compared to the previous generation.

"The Razer Blade series continues to be the best gaming laptop by providing desktop-class performance on-the-go," says Travis Furst, Senior Director of Razer's Systems business unit. "Additionally, we've enabled creators to work anywhere with gorgeous displays, available NVIDIA Studio drivers, and up to 14-Core CPUs. Users will have the ability to choose any model or configuration that best fits their gaming or creating needs, while getting the latest and greatest in graphics, memory and processing technology."

NVIDIA is preparing to launch an ultimate solution for high-end laptops and gamers that could benefit from the high-performance graphics card integration in mobile systems like gaming laptops. Rumored to launch sometime in January, NVIDIA is preparing a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti mobile GPU SKU that supposedly offers the highest performance in the Ampere mobile family. According to sources close to VideoCardz, team green has prepared to announce RTX 3080 Ti mobile design with faster memory and higher total graphics power (TGP). The memory speed will get an upgrade to 16 Gbps, compared to the 14 Gbps speed in RTX 3080 mobile SKU.

Similarly, the total overall TGP will also receive a bump to 175 Watts. This is just a tad higher than the 165 Watt TGP of RTX 3080 mobile. The Ti version will upgrade the CUDA core count and other things like TMUs to undetermined specifications. Currently, it is rumored that the Ti version could carry 7424 CUDA cores, which is an upgrade from 6144 of the regular RTX 3080 version.

LG Electronics USA today unveiled its first gaming laptop, expanding its premium UltraGear lineup and bringing exciting news to gamers worldwide. A powerful performer with a seriously sleek design, the CES 2022 Innovation Award-winning laptop delivers sublime gaming experiences that can be enjoyed anywhere, at any time. LG's take-anywhere gaming rig features an 11th Gen Intel Tiger Lake H processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q graphics card, dual-channel memory and an ultra-fast dual SSD setup. In addition to a 17-inch IPS panel with a 1 millisecond response time and a 300 Hz refresh rate, the LG UltraGear gaming laptop ensures immersive, fluid gameplay for even the most graphically demanding PC games thanks to the latest top-of-the-line hardware. Also, LG's cooling system with vapor chamber keeps the laptop running cool, even when pushed to the limits.

Sharing DNA with LG's lightweight gram laptops, the 17G90Q has a streamlined, highly-portable design. The new, slim laptop features a large screen and 93Wh battery while maintaining a thickness of under 0.84 inches and a weight of less than 5.952 pounds. The LG UltraGear gaming laptop's aluminium casing offers style and durability, while the winged UltraGear badge on its exterior clearly communicates the power and quality for which LG's premium gaming brand is known.

Optical computing has been the research topic of many startups and tech companies like Intel and IBM, searching for the practical approach to bring a new way of computing. However, the most innovative solutions often come out of startups and today is no exception. According to the report from EETimes, optical computing startup Lightelligence has developed a processor that outperforms regular GPUs by 100 times in calculating some of the most challenging mathematical problems. As the report indicates, the Photonic Arithmetic Computing Engine (PACE) from Lightelligence manages to outperform regular GPUs, like NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3080, by almost 100 times in the NP-complete class of problems.

More precisely, the PACE accelerator was tackling the Ising model, an example of a thermodynamic system used for understanding phase transitions, and it achieved some impressive results. Compared to the RTX 3080, it reached 100 times greater speed-up. All of that was performed using 12,000 optical devices integrated onto a circuit and running at 1 GHz frequency. Compared to the purpose-built Toshiba's simulated bifurcation machine based on FPGAs, the PACE still outperforms this system designed to tackle the Ising mathematical computation by 25 times. The PACE chip uses standard silicon photonics integration of Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) for computing and MEMS to change the waveguide shape in the MZI.

The RTX 3080 12 GB is still a rumored card, despite the increasing amounts of evidence towards its eventual release. The card's refreshed VRAM amount in particular seems to be an important part of NVIDIA's competitiveness plan, not only against AMD's RX 6000-series, which sport a psychological (and sometimes practical) advantage with their 16 GB VRAM capacities; but against Intel and its upcoming ARC Alchemist launch, which are expected to also offer 16 GB of VRAM at competitive shading performance levels.

But it seems that NVIDIA's refresh of the RTX 3080 graphics card won't be limited to a VRAM and bus width increase - CUDA core counts are now reported to have also increased by 2.9%, up to 8,960 from the RTX 3080 10 GB's 8,704 CUDA cores. The card is naturally still expected to make use of the GA-102 chip. An expected increased memory bus width of 384-bits will also bring about an increase in memory bandwidth, at 912 GB/s, the same as the RTX 3080 Ti (it stands at 760 GB/s for the RTX 3080).

NVIDIA has reportedly pushed midlife refreshes to its GeForce RTX 30-series "Ampere" graphics card family to beyond January, according to a report by Igor's Lab. The company was supposed to launch as many as three high-end graphics card SKUs in early-Q1, which include a 16 GB variant of the RTX 3070 Ti, which maxes out the GA104 silicon, a refreshed RTX 3080 12 GB variant, which keeps the CUDA core count of the original RTX 3080, but maxes out the 384-bit memory bus width of the GA102; and the RTX 3090 Ti, which maxes out both memory and CUDA cores on the GA102.

It's being reported that while the RTX 3090 Ti launch is on schedule, with announcements slated for NVIDIA's 2022 International CES presentation; the RTX 3070 Ti 16 GB and RTX 3080 12 GB could be launched only after the Chinese New Year (at least mid-February). The three SKUs, we predict, are designed to calibrate NVIDIA's lineup against a possible refresh of AMD's RDNA2 graphics architecture on the TSMC N6 (6 nm) node, which could allow the company to dial up engine clocks across the board, along with faster 18 Gbps GDDR6 memory, to better compete against the RTX 30-series. AMD is expected to announce these 6 nm GPUs in its CES presentation.

Get into the game quicker with the latest GeForce NOW update starting to roll out this GFN Thursday. Learn more about our latest app update—featuring Ubisoft Connect account linking for faster game launches—now rolling out to members, and the six new games joining the GeForce NOW library. The update also improves the streaming experience on Mac. So, this GFN Thursday also takes a look at how GeForce NOW transforms Macs into powerful PC gaming rigs.

The newest GeForce NOW app update is rolling out to members on PC and Mac, beginning this week. Version 2.0.36 includes a new feature that links NVIDIA and Ubisoft accounts to enable faster Ubisoft Connect game launches by automatically logging into a user's account. Skip the sign-in process and stream your favorite Ubisoft games this week. The update also includes a fix for streaming at the correct aspect ratio on the Apple MacBook Pro M1 Max, as well as improvements to the countdown timer when viewed on the in-game overlay.

Gigabyte has recently listed several new graphics cards with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) confirming the existence of various upcoming models from NVIDIA and AMD. Gigabyte has initially listed 10 RTX 3080 12 GB cards across various levels including AORUS Xtreme, AORUS Master, Gaming, Vision, Eagle, and Mini-ITX. The entry also includes 6 RTX 3070 Ti 16 GB models without any AORUS Xtreme or Mini-ITX cards initially planned. These upcoming cards from NVIDIA follow their recent release of the RTX 2060 12 GB where they have bumped the memory capacity on existing cards. The AMD RX 6500 XT which is rumored to launch in January 2022 with 4 GB of memory also makes an appearance with 3 models listed. The full list of all registered cards from Gigabyte can be found below.

Prominent chip designers like AMD and NVIDIA could bless consumers with a broader offering of their new products as soon as CES 2022 arrives. AMD should present its rumored Rembrandt-H lineup of processors based on the enhanced Zen 3 core, sometimes referred to as Zen 3+. According to the latest report coming from MyLaptopsGuide, Bluetooth SIG has some data entry about ASUS'es upcoming ROG Zephyrus Duo GX650 laptop that integrates AMD Rembrandt-H processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30-series graphics. As the website claims, the heart of this laptop will be AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX processor built on TSMC's 6 nm manufacturing process. We don't know much about this model, but we expect it to refine the previous Ryzen 9 5900HX.

We again see the rumored NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card for mobile, powering the graphics side of things. This model is supposedly based on GA103S GPU SKU, which is likely tailor-made for laptops in mind and exclusive to them. ASUS has also paired 16 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM with an AMD Ryzen processor, suggesting that Rembrandt-H has a new memory controller in place. This laptop model also has a 16-inch 300 Hz Full HD screen with anti-glare; however, the amount of information ended there. We have to wait for CES 2022 launch to find out more.

NVIDIA today reported record revenue for the third quarter ended October 31, 2021, of $7.10 billion, up 50 percent from a year earlier and up 9 percent from the previous quarter, with record revenue from the company's Gaming, Data Center and Professional Visualization market platforms. GAAP earnings per diluted share for the quarter were $0.97, up 83 percent from a year ago and up 3 percent from the previous quarter. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $1.17, up 60 percent from a year ago and up 13 percent from the previous quarter.

"The third quarter was outstanding, with record revenue," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. "Demand for NVIDIA AI is surging, driven by hyperscale and cloud scale-out, and broadening adoption by more than 25,000 companies. NVIDIA RTX has reinvented computer graphics with ray tracing and AI, and is the ideal upgrade for the large, growing market of gamers and creators, as well as designers and professionals building home workstations.

Alphacool today presents the Eiswolf 2 "All-in-One" solution for Geforce RTX 3080/3090 Gigabyte Aorus Master/Xtreme and Radeon RX 6800XT/6900XT Sapphire Nitro+graphics cards. The Eiswolf 2 uses the Alphacool 360 mm NexXxoS ST30 full copper radiator. For the fans, we use the 120 mm Alphacool Aurora Rise. This impressive fan with a max. static pressure of 3.17 mm/H2O, offers a max. air flow of 119.8m³/h. The speed range of the fan, from 0-2500rpm, is adjustable via PWM. The AIO is completed by the Eisblock Aurora water cooler. This not only cools the GPU chip, but actively cools all relevant components such as the memory and VRAM. It also has brilliant aRGB lighting.

All components used (radiator, fan, cooler, DC-LT 2 pump) including fittings and tubing are part of the Alphacool DIY range and are therefore available separately. The combination of all components results in a solution that is as easy to install as an AIO, but offers the performance of a pre-assembled and pre-filled custom loop. Only the pump housing for the DC-LT 2 pump is a custom-made item that is only part of the scope of delivery of the AIO solution and is therefore not available separately.

This should be taken with a fair helping of salt, considering GFXBench 5.0 is mobile device focused benchmark, even though the company behind claims it's a platform independent benchmark. Regardless of that, it looks like the new 32 core GPU in Apple's M1 Max SoC offers some pretty competitive performance, as it manages GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU in said test.

However, this is a median score for the GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU and many of the tests that make up GFXBench 5.0 aren't using DirectX, which is one likely reason for Apple's M1 Max GPU beating the Nvidia card. On the other hand, all tests seem to support Metal, which is Apple's 3D API, whereas the Nvidia card has to fall back to using OpenGL which tends to offer lower performance than DirectX in games. In most of the tests we're looking at an average performance advantage of less than 10 percent in favour of Apple, but it's nonetheless impressive considering that Apple hasn't been in the GPU business for very long.

Acer announced the ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition laptop (CN715-73G), bringing eye-popping, glasses-free stereoscopic 3D to designers and developers. The mobile workstation supports creators with Acer SpatialLabs, a suite of optical, display and sensory technologies with real-time rendering capabilities to deliver a glasses-free stereoscopic 3D experience.It's also backed by the NVIDIA Studio ecosystem, featuring NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPUs with exclusive driver technology that enhances creative apps for optimal levels of performance and reliability. Simply put, the new ConceptD 7 is an ideal laptop for 3D modeling, and also an excellent laptop for developers.

"Acer is dedicated to breaking the barriers between people and technology," said Jerry Kao, Co-COO, Acer Inc. "SpatialLabs is a great example of how we try to let that goal guide everything we do. From product and architecture CAD to projects with 3D graphics, designers can finally see their 3D creations in 3D during the workflow to make better judgments, rather than having to wait till afterwards. Developers are also empowered with new ways to tell stories and bring their ideas to life."

EK, the leading computer cooling solutions provider, is introducing another long-awaited addition to the EK Quantum Line. The EK-Quantum Vector TRIO RTX 3080/3090 active backplate is made to complement the existing EK-Quantum Vector TRIO RTX 3080/3090 water blocks and actively cool the backside of MSI TRIO and SUPRIM GeForce RTX 3080 and 3090 GPUs.

EK-Quantum Vector TRIO RTX 3080/3090 Active Backplate links the water block and active backplate with a new terminal, which replaces the stock terminal that comes with your water block. This way, the whole enclosure requires only one inlet and one outlet, removing unnecessary additional tubing and reducing clutter. It is the ultimate aesthetic and performance solution that finds your GPU sandwiched between two water blocks, allowing maximum cooling.

The Kubuntu Focus Team announces the availability of the third-generation M2 Linux mobile workstation with multiple performance enhancements. RTX 3080 and RTX 3070 models are in stock now. RTX 3060 models can be reserved now and ship in the first week of November. The thin-and-light M2 laptop is a superb choice for anyone looking for the best out-of-the-box Linux experience with the most powerful mobile hardware. Customers include ML scientists, developers, and creators. Improvements to the third generation include:

• Cooler and faster Intel 11th generation Core i7-11800H. Geekbench scores improve 19 and 29%.
• Double the iGPU performance with Intel Iris Xe 32EU Graphics.
• Increased RAM speed from 2933 to 3200 MHz, up to 64 GB dual-channel.
• BIOS switchable USB-C GPU output.
• Upgrade from Thunderbolt 3 to version 4.

Alphacool today presents the Eiswolf 2 "All-in-One" solution for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080/3090 Gigabyte Gaming/Eagle graphics cards. The Eiswolf 2 uses the Alphacool 360 mm NexXxoS ST30 full copper radiator. For the fans, we use the 120 mm Alphacool Aurora Rise. This impressive fan with a max. static pressure of 3.17 mm/H2O, offers a max. air flow of 119.8m3/h. The speed range of the fan, from 0-2500rpm, is adjustable via PWM. The AIO is completed by the Eisblock Aurora water cooler. This not only cools the GPU chip, but actively cools all relevant components such as the memory and VRAM. It also has brilliant aRGB lighting.

All components used (radiator, fan, cooler, DC-LT 2 pump) including fittings and tubing are part of the Alphacool DIY range and are therefore available separately. The combination of all components results in a solution that is as easy to install as an AIO, but offers the performance of a pre-assembled and pre-filled custom loop. Only the pump housing for the DC-LT 2 pump is a custom-made item that is only part of the scope of delivery of the AIO solution and is therefore not available separately.

HP recently listed the NVIDIA RTX 3080 SUPER as one of the available options for their upcoming Envy 34 AIO-in-One PC before updating their site to remove the reference. NVIDIA is rumored to refresh its desktop and mobile GPU lineup early next year with the launch of RTX 30 SUPER most likely at CES 2022 in January. The current HP Envy 34 features an RTX 2080 Max-Q mobile card so any potential RTX 3080 SUPER option would also need to be a mobile variant considering the limited cooling capabilities of the AIO. The Envy 34 featured will go on sale next month for 1999 USD ruling out the possibility of it shipping with the RTX 3080 SUPER. While it is entirely possible that this was a simple mistake from HP it could be an indication that the PC will be upgraded to the SUPER model in the near future.

EK, is proud to show off its Full-Metal Special Edition high-performance GPU water blocks for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 and 3090 Founders Edition graphics cards. The EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3080 and 3090 - Full Metal water blocks come in the more popular Black color, featuring a black, completely metal enclosure with a nickel-plated brass terminal. These water blocks come with two types of connection terminals, offering versatility in tube routing. The performance is one of the key elements of the design, which is why this block features a 30% larger fin area compared to other water blocks from the Vector family.

The EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3090 D-RGB water block enclosure is the most complex GPU cooling solution developed by EK to date. Aside from the small form factor and unique shape of these PCBs, EK has built a hybrid cooling solution for the backplate that is so far unique to the EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3090 water blocks and their backplates.

INNO3D, a leading manufacturer of pioneering high-end multimedia components and innovations brings you the new INNO3D GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3080 iCHILL BLACK with Hybrid cooling solution that combines super-silent air-flow with ultimate water-cooling. The latest GPUs to receive the iCHILL BLACK treatment comes with 12 GB GDDR6X at a bit-rate of 384bit and a boost clock rate at 1710 MHz for the RTX 3080 Ti. The RTX 3080 comes with 10 GB GDDR6X with 320bit and a boost clock rate at 1770 MHz.

Founded in 1998 with the vision of developing pioneering computer hardware products on a global scale. Fast forward to the present day, INNO3D is now well-established in the gaming community known for our innovative and daring approach to design and technology. We are Brutal by Nature in everything we do and are 201% committed to you for the best gaming experience in the world.

EK, the leading computer cooling solutions provider, is now offering an enterprise-grade GPU water block for reference PCB layout NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series graphics cards. This new block incorporates a CNC-machined nickel-plated copper base with a laser-cut stainless steel top for a robust metal cooling solution.

EK-Pro GPU WB RE RTX 3080/3090 - Nickel + Inox water block is purpose-designed with a much thicker 11.2 mm copper base to clear the tall capacitors on most reference design graphics cards. This gives the water block a market advantage of having a clean design and wider compatibility list without sacrificing any coolant flow. The water block directly cools the GPU, VRAM, and the VRM (voltage regulation module) as cooling liquid is channeled directly over these critical areas.