NVIDIA Trademark Filings Point To GeForce RTX, Quadro RTX Branding For Turing GPUs
We are getting oh-so-close to the launch of NVIDIA's next-generation of consumer graphics cards, presumably launching on August 20, if previous rumors and leaks turn out to accurate. As that date draws closer, there is more evidence of what is to come. That evidence can be found at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) where NVIDIA has filed a few interesting names.
One of the names is "Turing." Up until now, we have seen the Turing name show up only in unofficial leaks, but now NVIDIA has made the trademark official. This is the strongest evidence yet that NVIDIA's next-gen GPUs will carry the Turing codename, as opposed to Ampere or Volta (the latter of which is available on some professional cards).
The other trademarks are "GeForce RTX" and Quadro RTX," both seemingly in reference to the ability of upcoming graphics cards to handle real-time ray tracing, and specifically NVIDIA's RTX technology. This is further evidenced in a YouTube video by AdoredTV, with information that was obtained by a supposed NVIDIA employee.
We suggest taking the above video with a large dose of salt, but if it all turns out to be true, the video brings up an interesting point about branding. There is a certain brilliance in transitioning from GeForce GTX to RTX. The latter implies ray tracing capabilities that may not be available on current generation GTX cards, and also makes them appear obsolete. Forget for a moment that a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is a fast and capable card—it suddenly feels outdated next to newer cards with fresh branding.
The video also rounds up specific card names and internal performance claims, along with memory allocations and pricing information.
Again, we do not know if the information is accurate. Assuming it is, the upcoming GeForce RTX 2080 will launch alongside a new Titan card in August and deliver performance that is 50 percent faster than a GeForce GTX 1080, and 8 percent faster than a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. Pricing looks to be line with Pascal when it debuted, though there are rumors that NVIDIA's next round of cards will start at $499 and go up from there.
The only thing we do know for sure is that August 20 (or whichever date NVIDIA rolls with) can not come fast enough.
