Nvidia may be planning to release a couple of different RTX 4080 graphics cards, said to come with 12GB and 16GB of video RAM, with both launching simultaneously if the latest rumors are to be believed.
This comes from MEGAsizeGPU on Twitter (via VideoCardz (Opens in a new tab)), a source we'd take with a bit more skepticism than usual.
4080 16G and 4080 12G will launch and ship at the same time, as will 1060 6G and 1060 3G https://t.co/nTWYuSGZUm September 6, 2022
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As mentioned, the floating theory is that there will be two different RTX 4080 models with 12GB and 16GB of VRAM, which, as the leaker points out, is certainly a route Nvidia has taken in the past, such as with GTX towers. 1060 6GB and 3GB. .
What is different here, however, is the claim that these two RTX 4080 variants will launch at the exact same time.
In a previous tweet, the leaker suggested that these RTX 4080 variants will actually have different designs, with the 16GB model sporting a 12-layer PCB (printed circuit board) and the 12GB model sporting a 10-layer PCB. . The theory is that the latter will be Nvidia's reference design (Founders Edition) and also for third-party graphics cards, while the older 16GB model will be third-party only.
The two RTX 4080 cards will have a "completely different" PCB layout, in fact, according to MEGAsizeGPU.
Analysis: many doubts, but maybe there is something here
So what to do with this? Well, the first possibility that cannot be ruled out is that this rumor is so fanciful; Like we said earlier, this isn't one of our most trusted regular sources on Twitter.
That being said, Kopite7kimi, who is a more well-known leaker on this platform, weighed in on this, saying (opens in new tab) that it's at least "possible", furthermore that the aforementioned RTX 4080 16GB variant could already be released. they have molded as an RTX 4090 version with an AD103 chip (instead of AD102).
To be honest, that last possibility doesn't make sense to us either, but at least it indicates that this talk is more likely to be genuine. What seems more likely to us is that these leaks may be spotting a few different RTX 4080 models that Nvidia has tested at various stages of development, so in that sense it could just be a bit of noise. One of these 4080 configurations could very well be the end product, probably the 16GB card in our book (because it's certainly the VRAM loading that's already rumoured).
If Nvidia really does plan on this pair of models, it's hard to see them launching at the same time. Yes, Team Green has certainly released different GPU configurations - just look at the RTX 3080, which comes in 10GB and 12GB versions, but the latter didn't show up until later.
Another possibility is that the supposed lower-spec RTX 4080 with 12GB could actually become a revitalized RTX 4070 (the Ti spin, presumably). Again, we guess that would still go a long way.
In the end, there is a big jeu de devinettes at the moment, but we can wait in terms of RTX 4080, c'est que, quelle que soit la façon dont ce GPU révèle, il pourrait arriver avant trop a long time. This is because a photo of a supposedly finished model of these graphics cards was spotted recently, and if it's genuine, that indicates that a November release deadline, as mentioned in the past, is still a distinct possibility.
That said, there are also rumors that Nvidia may need to delay all of its next-gen GPUs, except for the RTX 4090, until early 2023 to provide some breathing room to eliminate the troublesome overstock of RTX 3000 models from the current generation.
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