Looks Like NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3080 And 3070 Ti Are Getting Memory Upgrades Too
Hot on the heels of NVIDIA launching a refreshed GeForce RTX 2060 with 12GB of GDDR6 memory, which is twice as much as the original version, two other existing models appear bound for more onboard memory too. They include the GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, both of which are modern generation cards based on Ampere.
NVIDIA's presumed intent with the GeForce RTX 2060 16GB is help feed an insatiable market for GPUs by tapping its last-generation Turing architecture, as those older chips might be a little easier to source from TSMC. Unfortunately for gamers, it looks like the retooled card is pretty good at mining crypto, and so it will probably end up as another part that is always out of stock. We'll see.
As for the GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, those are both rocking 7-nanometer Ampere GPUs, so adding more memory to the same models wouldn't serve the same assumed goal. It could make them even more attractive, though, especially for higher resolution gaming. Whatever the reason, it looks like updated SKUs with more memory are coming.
Click to Enlarge (Source: EEC)
This is revealed in a recent Gigabyte filing with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), as shown above. Gigabyte registered a whole bunch of SKUs, including several GeForce RTX 3080 12GB models and half a dozen GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 16GB models. It also listed a brand new Radeon RX 6500 XT cards from Team AMD.
The existing GeForce RTX 3080 sports 10GB of GDDR6X memory while the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti sports 8GB of GDDR6X. According to Gigabyte's listings, the GeForce RTX 3080 is about to get 2GB of additional memory, while the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti will double up on memory.
Here are the specific entries...
GeForce RTX 3080 12GB GDDR6X
- Gigabyte Aorus Extreme (GV-N3080AORUSX W-12GD)
- Gigabyte Aorus Extreme (GV-N3080AORUSX WB-12GD)
- Gigabyte Aorus Master (GV-N3080AORUS M-12GD)
- Gigabyte Gaming OC (GV-N3080GAMING OC-12GD)
- Gigabyte Gaming (GV-N3080GAMING-12GD)
- Gigabyte Vision OC (GV-N3080VISION OC-12GD)
- Gigabyte Vision (GV-N3080VISION-12GD)
- Gigabyte Eagle OC (GV-N3080EAGLE OC-12GD)
- Gigabyte Eagle (GV-N3080EAGLE-12GD)
- Gigabyte Aorus Gaming Box (GV-N3080IXEB-12GD)
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 16GB GDDR6X
- Gigabyte Aorus Master (GV-N307TAORUS M-16GD)
- Gigabyte Gaming OC (GV-N307TDGAMING OCV-16)
- Gigabyte Gaming (GV-N307TGAMING-16GD)
- Gigabyte Vision (GV-N307TVISION-16GD)
- Gigabyte Eagle OC (GV-N307TEAGLE OC-16GD)
- Gigabyte Eagle (GV-N307TEAGLE-16GD)
It's not clear if any other specifications will change. In addition to getting a memory bump, the GeForce RTX 2060 12GB also features more CUDA cores (2,176 versus 1,920 on the original), a higher base clock (1,470MHz versus 1,365MHz), and a slightly lower boost clock (1,650MHz versus 1,680MHz). We'll have to wait and see if the GeForce RTX 3080 12GB and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 16GB deviate from the current models in CUDA core counts or clock speeds as well.
Gigabyte also registered a trio of Radeon RX 6500 XT cards, including Gaming (GV-R65XTGAMING-4GD), Eagle OC (GV-R65XTEAGLE OC-4GD), and Eagle (GV-R65XTEAGLE-4GD) models. These entries seemingly confirm that AMD's upcoming card will feature 4GB of memory. Other than that, there really isn't anything else to glean.
