Why does this GPU exist? Does the RTX 3080 need more VRAM?
Published: 10th January 2022 | Source: WCCFTECH | Author: Mark Campbell
Nvidia's reportedly launching their RTX 3080 12 GB on January 11th
Nvidia revealed two new desktop graphics cards at CES 2022, their RTX 3050 and their RTX 3090 Ti . Based on a report from WCCFTECH , Nvidia's planning to launch another new graphics card tomorrow, outside of the fanfare of CES 2022 and outside of its spotlight.
It looks like Nvidia plans to reveal a new graphics card called the RTX 3080 12 GB, an upgraded version of their popular RTX 3080, which launched with 10 GB of GDDR6X memory.
No, this isn't just a 12 GB RTX 3080
Breaking outside the normal "names should mean something" tradition, Nvidia has reportedly decided to call their new graphics card the RTX 3080 12 GB. To make things clear, Nvidia has changed a lot more than the RTX 3080's frame buffer size.
With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory, Nvidia has had to increase its RTX 3080's memory bus from 320-bit to 384-bit. This results in a 20% increase in memory bandwidth, assuming the RTX 308's memory speeds have not changed. This upgrade is expected from a 12 GB RTX 3080 model, but Nvidia has changed more than this.
With 8960 (reported) CUDA cores, a 3% increase over a standard RTX 3080 and a higher TGP of 350W, Nvidia's RTX 3080 12 GB has the potential to offer users much more compute performance. This is both through higher clock speeds and the RTX 3080 12 GB's higher CUDA core count.
Frankly speaking, this graphics card is more than just an RTX 3080 with more VRAM. That said, we don't expect to see major performance improvements with this graphics card outside of areas where the RTX 3080's 10 GB frame buffer have proven to be inadequate (such as DOOM Eternal at 4K max settings).
With more CUDA cores, more memory, boosted memory bandwidth and a higher TGP, perhaps Nvidia should call this GPU an RTX 3850? Maybe an RTX 3080 Super?
Retail availability is expected tomorrow
According to WCCFTECH's report, Nvidia's RTX 3080 12 GB will be available to retailers tomorrow, either via pre-order or through retail sales.
This means that Nvidia plans to reveal and launch their RTX 3080 12 GB on the same day. With this action, Nvidia will make clear their plan to launch this graphics card under the radar, minimising media coverage.
Currently, there is no word on pricing for Nvidia's RTX 3080 12 GB, though its MSRP is due to sit somewhere between Nvidia's RTX 3080 and RTX 3080 Ti. We expect its pricing to be closer to the RTX 3080 Ti, and for real world pricing to be much higher for most consumers.
You can join the discussion on Nvidia's rumoured RTX 3080 12 GB graphics card on the OC3D Forums .