ASUS on its support website has inadvertently confirmed some of the rumors and speculations of recent months - ever since the official release of AMD's RX 6000-series, really. Not to be outdone by AMD, NVIDIA apparently sees the need to fill the gap between its RTX 3080 10 GB graphics card at a virtual $699 and its top-of-the-line RTX 3090 graphics card at #$1,499 - better to compete with the RX 6900 at (an also virtual) $999. Thus ASUS listed a ROG-STRIX-RTX3080TI-O20G-GAMING and a ROG-STRIX-RTX3080TI-20G-GAMING, alongside some... interesting ROG-STRIX-RTX3060-O12G-GAMING and ROG-STRIX-RTX3060-12G-GAMING.

Thus it is seemingly confirmed that NVIDIA dropped official plans to offer the RTX 3080 in 20 GB GDDR6X flavor, and is instead packing its RTX 3080 Ti with that amount of graphics memory - that should serve to make the model even more attractive to users who were still trying to get an RTX 3080 series, as the drama surrounding that cards' 10 GB of VRAM is well-known across the tech industry and consumers. However, the RTX 3060 being listed in a 12 GB GDDR6 version (with a certain 6 GB version being on its way as well) really is puzzling; that graphics card, which is expected to pack only 3840 CUDA cores in its GA106 chip, will run out of shading and RT power long before that VRAM pool is exhausted. NVIDIA's chip structure is becoming ever more confusing in this 30-series, at least. The announcement for the new graphics cards is expected to take place come January 12th.

Anticipation for next year's Consumer Electronics Show is building up, and companies are starting to tease their events. Today, NVIDIA has decided to surprise us and give us a "heads up" about its upcoming event. Called "GeForce RTX: Game On", the company is going to host it as a virtual event (due to the pandemic concerns) and present new technologies. As the goal of the show, NVIDIA states that it will "unveil the latest innovations in gaming and graphics". That means only one thing - new graphics cards are incoming. With the current industry rumors pointing towards a high-end GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU, we can only speculate that it will be presented at the show. This launch date would contradict previous reports that this specific GPU is landing in February due to the supposed postponing. We have to wait and see what the event is about, so stay tuned on January 12th at 09:00 am PST for our coverage of the event.

In the past, we heard rumors about NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card. Being scheduled for January release, we were just a few weeks away from it. The new graphics card is designed to fill the gap between the RTX 3080 and higher-end RTX 3090, by offering the same GA102 die with the only difference being that the 3080 Ti is GA102-250 instead of GA102-300 die found RTX 3090. It allegedly has the same CUDA core count of 10496 cores, same 82 RT cores, 328 Tensor Cores, 328 Texture Units, and 112 ROPs. However, the RTX 3080 Ti is supposed to bring the GDDR6X memory capacity down to 20 GBs, instead of the 24 GB found on RTX 3090.

However, all of that is going to wait a little bit longer. Thanks to the information obtained by Igor Wallosek from Igor's Lab, we have data that NVIDIA's upcoming high-end GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card is going to be postponed to February for release. Previous rumors suggested that we are going to get the card in January with the price tag of $999. That, however, has changed and NVIDIA allegedly postponed the launch to February. It is not yet clear what the cause behind it is, however, we speculate that the company can not meet the high demand that the new wave of GPUs is producing.

A new HP OEM GeForce driver points to the two distinct approaches NVIDIA is possibly taking to develop its new high-end GeForce RTX 30-series SKU positioned between the $699 RTX 3080 and the $1,499 RTX 3090; particularly in the wake of the $999 AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT launch. The OEM driver's GPU support list references a number of unreleased graphics cards based on the "GA102" silicon, including engineering samples of 11 GB and 12 GB variants of the RTX 3080; and an RTX 3080 Ti.

The 11 GB and 12 GB variants of the RTX 3080 (which are unreleased engineering samples at this point) could possibly be SKUs carved out with the same core-configuration as the RTX 3080, but with slightly wider memory interfaces, with the 11 GB variant using a 352-bit interface, and the 12 GB variant maxing out the full 384-bit interface of the "GA104," albeit with 8 Gbit memory chips, unlike the RTX 3090, which uses twenty four 8 Gbit chips (2 per 32-bit path), to achieve 24 GB. The RTX 3080 Ti appears to be a whole different beast. Although the HP document doesn't mention its core-configuration or memory size, older reports have pointed at the possibility of this SKU featuring 9,984 CUDA cores, and the full 384-bit wide memory bus (possibly with 12 GB of memory). Even older reports point to the likelihood of the RTX 3080 Ti retaining the 320-bit memory bus of the RTX 3080, but doubling the memory amount to 20 GB.

According to the unknown manufacturer (AIB) based in Taiwan, NVIDIA is preparing to launch the new GeForce RTX 3000 series "Ampere" graphics card. As reported by the HKEPC website, the Santa Clara-based company is preparing to fill the gap between its top-end GeForce RTX 3090 and a bit slower RTX 3080 graphics card. The new product will be called GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. If you are wondering what the specification of the new graphics card will look like, you are in luck because the source has a few pieces of information. The new product will be based on GA102-250-KD-A1 GPU core, with a PG133-SKU15 PCB design scheme. The GPU will contain the same 10496 CUDA core configuration as the RTX 3090.

The only difference to the RTX 3090 will be a reduced GDDR6X amount of 20 GB. Along with the 20 GB of GDDR6X memory, the RTX 3080 Ti graphics cards will feature a 320-bit bus. The TGP of the card is limited to 320 Watts. The sources are reporting that the card will be launched sometime in January of 2021, and it will come at $999. This puts the price category of the RTX 3080 Ti in the same range as AMD's recently launched Radeon RX 6900 XT graphics card, so it will be interesting to see how these two products are competing.

A leak from renowned (and usually on-point) leaker Kopite7kimi claims that NVIDIA has finally settled on new graphics cards to combat AMD's RX 6800 threat after all. After the company has been reported (and never confirmed) to be working on double-memory configurations for their RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 graphics cards (with 16 GB GDDR6 and 20 GB GDDR6X, respectively), the company is now reported to have settled for a 20 GB RTX 3080 Ti to face a (apparently; pending independent reviews) resurgent AMD.

The RTX 3080 Ti specs paint a card with the same CUDA core count as the RTX 3090, with 10496 FP32 cores over the same 320-bit memory bus as the RTX 3080. Kopite includes board and SKU numbers (PG133 SKU 15) along a new GPU codename: GA102-250. The performance differentiator against the RTX 3090 stands to be the memory amount, bus, and eventually core clockspeed; memory speed and board TGP are reported to mirror those of the RTX 3080, so some reduced clocks compared to that graphics card are expected. That amount of CUDA cores means NVIDIA is essentially divvying-up the same GA-102 die between its RTX 3090 (good luck finding one in stock) and the reported RTX 3080 Ti (so good luck finding one of those in stock as well, should the time come). It is unclear how pricing would work out for this SKU, but pricing comparable to that of the RX 6900 XT is the more sensible speculation. Take this report with the usual amount of NaCl.

This generation's GPU release is shaping up to be one of the most interesting in late years; for some good reasons, and bad reasons alike. We've heard - keep in mind, not seen - NVIDIA back down from multiple graphics card releases (the double VRAM versions of RTX 3070 and 3080 come to mind); postponing the RTX 3070 until after they have gleaned exactly what AMD will be offering with their RX 6000 series; preparing to launch an RTX 3060 Ti with no announcement whatsoever and before the RTX 3060 is ever launched; and now, apparently, the company is readying a response to AMD's as-of-yet-unannounced RX 6000 series in the form of the RTX 3080 Ti.

Recent performance leaks have placed an unclear AMD GPU (and apparently, not even the fastest Big Navi chip at that) at the same performance level as NVIDIA's RTX 3080, which is a tremendous increase in performance for the red team, coming from years of only being able to effectively compete in the midrange offerings. Now, Kopite7kimi, a known leaker with a proven track record, has claimed that NVIDIA is already prepping a new GA102-based graphics card, sitting in performance between the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090. He lists identifies the GPU as GA102-250-A1, 9984FP32, 384bits GD6X - let's call it the RTX 3080 Ti. If those details are correct, this is yet another product demanding the same 628 mm² GA102 GPU be available for it - in a scenario with inadequate availability of the RTX 3080, 3090, and likely 3070 Ti graphics cards already, should that later one actually materialize. The memory bus on this prospective RTX 3080 Ti is apparently inheriting the same design as the RTX 3090, with a 384-bit solution (compared to the RTX 3080's 320 bit), and likely 12 GB of GDDR6X memory.

NVIDIA themselves have shared performance slides for their imminent RTX 3090 graphics card, the new halo product that's been marketed as the new Titan. Previous-gen Titans have achieved extremely meager performance uplifts compared to NVIDIA's top-of-the-line cards (see RTX 2080 Ti vs RTX Titan, an average of 8% performance difference in favor of the Titan. According to the company, users should expect a slightly higher performance uplift this time around, though the 10-15% higher performance in 4K still seems meager - in pure price/performance terms - for the average consumer.

The average consumer who isn't the main focus for this graphics card and its gargantuan 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, anyway - this is more aimed at the semi-professional or professional crowds working with specialized software, whether it be in rendering or AI-based workloads. The RTX 3090 is thus not so much a product for the discerning computer enthusiast, but more of a halo product for gamers, and a crucial product for professionals and academics.

September is emerging as a busy month for PC hardware announcements - if not actual product launches or availability. A report by Chinese tech publication MyDrivers suggests that the upcoming GeForce RTX 3000 series "Ampere" graphics cards could have a staggered market availability. Although the technology and product family is expected to be announced in September 17, 2020, the month could see the release of only the top-dog (read: low volume) parts, namely the flagship RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3080 (or the SKUs that succeed the RTX 2080 Ti and RTX 2080).

The GeForce RTX 3070, or the SKU that succeeds the RTX 2070 Super, could launch a month later, in October 2020, according to the MyDrivers report. The higher-volume performance-segment part, the RTX 3060, or the SKU that succeeds the RTX 2060, could launch only by November, just in time for the Holiday shopping season. The report goes on to state that NVIDIA has discontinued production of the popular RTX 2070 Super, following its decision to stop RTX 2080 Ti and RTX 2080 Super production, allowing the retail channel to digest existing inventories of these parts.

Here's possibly the first picture of an ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card, which not only confirms NVIDIA's nomenclature for its next-generation GeForce RTX graphics cards, but also provides fascinating insights into the direction ASUS is taking with its next-generation ROG Strix graphics cards. The design language involves matte black metal surfaces accented by brushed metal elements that conceal more RGB LED elements. ASUS's Axial Tech fans do the heavy lifting along with a large aluminium fin-stack heatsink underneath. The mention of "RTX 3080 Ti" also casts a shadow of doubt over "RTX 3090" leading the lineup. We should learn more about what ASUS and NVIDIA have in store, as we inch closer to the September unveil of this series.

Pictures of alleged next-generation GeForce "Ampere" graphics cards emerged over the weekend, which many of our readers found hard to believe. It's features a dual-fan cooling solution, in which one of the two fans is on the reverse side of the card, blowing air outward from the cooling solution, while the PCB extends two-thirds the length of the card. Since then, there have been several fan-made 3D renders of the card. NVIDIA is not happy with the leak, and started an investigation into two of its contractors responsible for manufacturing Founders Edition (reference design) GeForce graphics cards, Foxconn and BYD (Build Your Dreams), according to a report by Igor's Lab.

According to the report, the cooling solution, which looks a lot more overengineered than the company's RTX 20-series Founders Edition cooler, costs a hefty USD $150, or roughly the price of a 280 mm AIO CLC. It wouldn't surprise us if Asetek's RadCard costs less. The cooler consists of several interconnected heatsink elements with the PCB in the middle. Igor's Lab reports that the card is estimated to be 21.9 cm in length. Given its cost, NVIDIA is reserving this cooler for only the top three SKUs in the lineup, the TITAN RTX successor, the RTX 2080 Ti successor, and the RTX 2080/SUPER successor.

Here are what could be the very first pictures of a reference NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 "Ampere" graphics card revealing an unusual board design, which is the biggest departure in NVIDIA's design schemes since the original GeForce TITAN. It features a dual-fan aluminium fin-stack cooler, except that one of its fans is located on the obverse side, and the other on the reverse side of the card. The PCB of the card appears to extend only two-thirds the length of the card, ending in an inward cutout, beyond which there's only an extension of the cooling solution. The cooler shroud, rather than being a solid covering of the heatsink, is made of aluminium heatsink ridges. All in all, a very unusual design, which NVIDIA could implement on its top-tier SKUs, such as the RTX 3080, RTX 3080 Ti, and in a cosmetic form on lower SKUs. We get the feeling that "Cyberpunk 2077" has influenced this design.

PC hardware focused YouTube channel Moore's Law is Dead published a juicy tech-spec reveal of NVIDIA's next-generation "Ampere" based flagship consumer graphics card, the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, citing correspondence with sources within NVIDIA. The report talks of big changes to NVIDIA's Founders Edition (reference) board design, as well as what's on the silicon. To begin with, the RTX 3080 Ti reference-design card features a triple-fan cooling solution unlike the RTX 20-series. This cooler is reportedly quieter than the RTX 2080 Ti FE cooling solution. The card pulls power from a pair of 8-pin PCIe power connectors. Display outputs include three DP, and one each of HDMI and VirtualLink USB-C. The source confirms that "Ampere" will implement PCI-Express gen 4.0 x16 host interface.

With "Ampere," NVIDIA is developing three tiers of high-end GPUs, with the "GA102" leading the pack and succeeding the "TU102," the "GA104" holding the upper-performance segment and succeeding today's "TU104," but a new silicon between the two, codenamed "GA103," with no predecessor from the current-generation. The "GA102" reportedly features 5,376 "Ampere" CUDA cores (up to 10% higher IPC than "Turing"). The silicon also taps into the rumored 7 nm-class silicon fabrication node to dial up GPU clock speeds well above 2.20 GHz even for the "GA102." Smaller chips in the series can boost beyond 2.50 GHz, according to the report. Even with the "GA102" being slightly cut-down for the RTX 3080 Ti, the silicon could end up with FP32 compute performance in excess of 21 TFLOPs. The card uses faster 18 Gbps GDDR6 memory, ending up with 863 GB/s of memory bandwidth that's 40% higher than that of the RTX 2080 Ti (if the memory bus width ends up 384-bit). Below are screengrabs from the Moore's Law is Dead video presentation, and not NVIDIA slides.