With the expected reveal of thesuccessors to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti and RTX 2080getting ever closer, more leaks are emerging which provide more details about the cards, as well as revealing a potential new surprise. The latest comes from BiliBili user YuuKi_AnS via known Twitter leaker kopite7kimi, and shows a non-reference board from Chinese brand Colorful, replete with 24 GB of dual-sided GDDR6X memory, although one of the memory chips appears to be in a blurred out part of the image.
The leak uses the product name 3090, rather than following the 2080 Ti naming system of the current generation, matching recent rumors thanNvidiawould adjust its naming system for their flagship card. It also reveals the card will usethree 8-pin power connectors, not the twin 12-pin connectorsthat were previously rumored, although these may still appear on the reference cards. Either way, it backs up suggestions that the RTX 3090 will use a lot of power to reach significantly higher performance levels than the current generation cards, whether the rest of the Ampere based range will use the same power configuration is unknown.
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Perhapsthe biggest mystery from the leaked imagesis what appears to be a secondary chip sitting below the main GPU on the underside of the board, which has been covered up with an Intel CPU to avoid discovery. The confidential nature of this chip, along with its proximity to the GPU suggests that it may be performing a significant function, potentially handling certain instructions on behalf of the GPU.
The details in the reveal are supported by a recent technology brief from Nvidia’s long-standing memory supplier Micron, which states it has been working with the company to supply GDDR6X memory for itsAmpere based cards, meaning the RTX 3090, 3080, 3070, and 3060. The new generation of memory will likely provide a decent performance boost over the current generation cards, with the brief detailing that GDDR6X memory will reach up to 21 GB per second data rate per pin, compared to 16 GB per second for GDDR6. The document also uses the RTX 3090 product name, supporting the PCB leak images.
Gradually the rumors are coming together to reveal a solid picture of the specifications for Nvidia’s flagship card, which now appears highly likely to be called the GeForce RTX 3090. With a high power draw, a large allocation of next generation memory, and a mystery chip that may play an impactful supporting role, gamers can start to see just howthe leaked RTX 3090 performance benchmarks were so significantly higherthan the current generation RTX 2080 Ti.
Of course just how much all this expected power is going to cost is yet to be revealed, but withNvidia’s GeForce Special Event coming on September 1, it shouldn’t be long before gamers learn just how deep their pockets will need to be.
