Well, it looks like NVIDIA’s next-gen Ampere-based GeForce RTX 3090 is going to be a true new performance beast — with leaked images teasing a gigantic triple-slot reference GeForce RTX 3090 graphics card.
I mean, just look at it — it’s absolutely huge. We don’t know much else from this new leak apart from the physical size comparison between the Ampere-based GeForce RTX 3090 graphics card (which should have 24GB of ultra-fast GDDR6X memory at 1TB/sec) against the Turing-based GeForce RTX 2080.
The second image shows off the back of the card with that fan on the rear of the card, just like the previous leaks teased. Inside, the GeForce RTX 3090 should pack the Ampere-based GA102 GPU with at least 5248 CUDA cores and 24GB of next-gen GDDR6X memory.
NVIDIA is expected to unveil the new Ampere-based GeForce RTX 3000 series graphics cards at its new special event on September 1, 2020.
The PCB of the RTX 3090: A juicy leak of the purported PCB of a custom variant of the GeForce RTX 3090 leaked out a few days ago. It is reportedly the COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 3090 Vulcan-X. You can see this model has 3 x 8-pin PCIe power connectors, unlike the RTX 3090 Founders Edition that should pack just a single 12-pin PCIe power connector.
Micron reveals RTX 3090 name, 24GB GDDR6X memory @ 21Gbps: I’m sure this is part of the marketing or else all of us tech media websites would be receiving calls from lawyers, but Micron revealed its next-gen GDDR6X memory that the GeForce RTX 3090 (it admits the card by name) will be clocked at a bonkers-high 21Gbps.
12-pin PCIe power connector on Founders Edition ONLY: NVIDIA will be using a special new 12-pin PCIe power connector on its GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition graphics cards, something that I’ve confirmed with a few industry sources of mine now (to confirm the rumors floating around online).
Many, many 8-pin PCIe power connectors on custom AIB: But, custom GeForce RTX 3000 series graphics cards from AIBs like ASUS, COLORFUL, EVGA, MSI, etc will not be using the 12-pin PCIe power connector and rather multiple (2 and even up to 3 x 8-pin PCIe power connectors).
Traversal coprocessor: We have had more leaks on NVIDIA’s next-gen GeForce RTX 3000 series than any family of graphics cards before it, with an interesting “traversal coprocessor” on the new GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards. You can read more on that here.
NVCache: Ampere is meant to have something called NVCache, which would be NVIDIA’s own form of AMD’s HBCC (High Bandwidth Cache Controller, more on that here). NVCache would use your system RAM and SSD to super-speed game load times, as well as optimizing VRAM usage. You can read more on NVCache here.
Tensor Memory Compression: NVCache is interesting, but Tensor Memory Compression will be on Ampere, and will reportedly use Tensor Cores to both compress and decompress items that are stored in VRAM. This could see a 20-40% reduction in VRAM usage, or more VRAM usage with higher textures in next-gen games and Tensor Memory Compression decreasing that VRAM footprint by 20-40%.
How fast is the GeForce RTX 3090? Freaking fast according to rumors, with 60-90% more performance than the current Turing-based flagship GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. We could see this huge performance leap in ray tracing titles, but we’ll have to wait a little while longer to see how much graphical power NVIDIA crams into these new cards. You can read more on those rumors here.
Power hungry: As for power consumption, GA102 reportedly uses 230W — while 24GB of GDDR6X (which we should see on the new Ampere-based TITAN RTX) consumes 60W of power. You can read more on that here.
Production begins soon: NVIDIA is reportedly in the DVT (or Design Validation Test) range of its new GeForce RTX 3000 series graphics cards. Mass production reportedly kicks off in August 2020, with a media event, benchmarks, and more in September 2020 as I predicted many months ago. More on that here.
I’ve already written about rumors that NVIDIA’s next-gen Ampere GPU architecture would be up to 75% faster than current-gen GPUs such as the Turing architecture, right after rumors that Ampere would offer 50% more performance at half the power of Turing. This is pretty crazy stuff right there.
Not only that, but we’ve got some rumored specs on the purported GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3070 graphics cards, which will both be powered by NVIDIA’s new Ampere GPU architecture.
We’ve already heard that Ampere would offer 50% more performance at half the power of Turing, which sent the hairs on my neck standing up.
Originally published at tweaktown