A render of NVIDIA’s upcoming GeForce RTX 30 series Ampere gaming graphics cards in its reference Founders Edition design. (Image via Reddit User u/dertpert88)
Micron has seemingly confirmed in a blog post that they are indeed preparing the next-generation GDDR6X memory which would be featured on NVIDIA’s Ampere based GeForce RTX 30 series cards including the flagship RTX 3090. The next-generation GDDR6X memory interface will deliver higher bandwidth and improved performance efficiency compared to the existing GDDR6 memory that is incorporated by the GeForce RTX 20 ‘Turing’ and Radeon RX 5000 ‘RDNA’ graphics cards.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series Confirmed To Featured GDDR6X Memory – Up To 21 Gbps Clocks & 1 TB/s Bandwidth For Flagship GeForce RTX 3090 Graphics Card
As per Micron, the GDDR6X memory interface is an evolution of the existing GDDR6 memory dies which are designed in collaboration with NVIDIA to power its next-generation Ampere GeForce RTX 30 series lineup. We have heard rumors about the GDDR6X memory interface till now but it looks like the GDDR6X has been the second-best kept secret with the first one being the GeForce RTX 30 series lineup itself.
In Summer of 2020, Micron announced the next evolution of Ultra-Bandwidth Solutions in GDDR6X. Working closely with NVIDIA on their Ampere generation of graphics cards, Micron’s 8Gb GDDR6X will deliver up to 21Gb/s (data rate per pin) in 2020. via Micron (Videocardz)
This adds in
In the blog post, Micron mentions not only the specifications of its GDDR6X DRAM but also the RTX 3090 graphics cards which also confirms the existence of this specific card. The GDDR6X memory is purely designed as an ultra-bandwidth solution which is made up of 8 Gb dies that deliver speeds of up to 21 Gb/s. In the case of the GeForce RTX 3090 which would feature a 384-bit bus interface, we can expect a total bandwidth of 1 TB/s which is insane amounts for a flagship tier graphics card.
At 21Gb/s, a graphic card with 12pcs of GDDR6X will be able to break the 1TB/s of system bandwidth barrier! Micron’s roadmap also highlights the potential for a 16Gb GDDR6X in 2021 with the ability to reach up to 24Gb/s. GDDR6X is powered by a revolutionary new PAM4 modulation technology for Ultra-Bandwidth Solutions. PAM4 has the potential to drive even more improvements in data rate. via Micron (Videocardz)
Micron mentions that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 will feature 12 GDDR6X DRAM dies for a total of 12 GB memory however it looks like NVIDIA has changed that much and the card will be offering double the expected memory of up to 24 GB. This was also seen in the recently leaked PCB shot that shows the card with dual-sided DRAM dies. The GDDR6X memory dies are rated at 19 Gbps & 21 Gbps so the lineup itself can utilize from different speeds depending on their market segment.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series Ampere ‘GDDR6X’ Memory Specs:
| GPU Name | Memory Clock | Memory Bus | Bandwidth |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 | 21 Gbps | 384-bit | 1024 GB/s |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 | 20 Gbps | 384-bit | 960.0 GB/s |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 | 19 Gbps | 384-bit | 912.0 GB/s |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 | 21 Gbps | 320-bit | 840.0 GB/s |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 | 20 Gbps | 320-bit | 800.0 GB/s |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 | 19 Gbps | 320-bit | 760.0 GB/s |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 | 21 Gbps | 256-bit | 672.0 GB/s |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 | 20 Gbps | 256-bit | 640.0 GB/s |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 | 19 Gbps | 256-bit | 608.0 GB/s |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 “Ampere’ Graphics Card Rumored Launch/Specs:
| Graphics Card Name | GPU Name | SMs / CUDA Cores | Memory Capacity | Memory Bus | Memory Bandwidth | Launch Timeframe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti / RTX 3090 | Ampere GA102-300? | 5248 (82)? | 24 GB GDDR6 (X)? | 384-bit? | 1024 GB/s @ 21 Gbps | September 2020 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 | Ampere GA102-200? | 4352 (68)? | 20 GB GDDR6 (X)? | 320-bit? | 924 GB/s @ 21 Gbps | September 2020 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 | Ampere GA104-400? | 2944 (46)? | 8 GB GDDR6 (X)? | 256-bit? | 672 GB/s @ 21 Gbps | October 2020 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 | Ampere GA106-300? | TBD | 8 GB GDDR6 (X)? | 256-bit? | 672 GB/s @ 21 Gbps | November 2020 |
Here’s Everything We Know About The NVIDIA GeForce RTX Ampere Gaming Graphics Cards
As for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Ampere gaming graphics cards, it is stated that the lineup is expected to consist of four graphics cards for 2020, these include:
- NVIDIA RTX 3090
- NVIDIA RTX 3080
- NVIDIA RTX 3070
- NVIDIA RTX 3060
All four graphics cards are rumored for launch in 2020 but will have different launch schedules. The high-end cards will be prioritized first with the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and GeForce RTX 3080 slated to launch in September which is just about a month away from now. The GeForce RTX 3070 will be launch a month later in October while the GeForce RTX 3060 mainstream graphics card will hop on the retail shelves in November.
As for what we can expect from NVIDIA’s high-end GeForce RTX 30 series Ampere gaming graphics cards, we have speculated/rumored information provided below:
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 – The Fastest Ampere Gaming Graphics Card
According to the details, the GeForce RTX 3090 will feature the GA102-300-A1 GPU. The GA102-300-A1 GPU is said to be comprised of 5248 CUDA cores or 82 SMs. In total, that’s a 20% increase in cores over the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. No details such as clock speeds, TMU/ROP counts are provided and we can’t take the Ampere A100 die as a reference since gaming & HPC parts share a different configuration hierarchy.
Moving on to the memory side, things start to look interesting as it is stated that the card will get up to 24 GB memory with faster GDDR6X pin speeds. Since that’s a 384-bit bus we are looking at, it will be able to offer nearly 1 TB/s bandwidth.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 – GA102 For High-End Gaming
Moving on to the GeForce RTX 3080, the rumor reports that the card will be featuring the GA102-200-KD-A1 SKU. This cut down SKU will feature the same 4352 CUDA cores as the RTX 2080 Ti that will be arranged in a total of 68 SMs. The card is reportedly going to feature up to 20 GB of memory that is also going to be GDDR6X. Assuming the memory is running at 21Gbps across a 320-bit bus interface, we can expect a bandwidth of up to 924 GB/s.
The switch to GA102 from TU104 on the RTX 2080 is definitely an interesting one. A high-end SKU would also result in higher wattage and thermals but I believe this could be done to raise the bar up on the sub $500 segment which should comprise of GA104 based RTX 3070 and RTX 3060. The latest performance leaks also show a considerable performance improvement over the RTX 2080 and even the RTX 2080 Ti in synthetic benchmarks. If the same could translate over to the gaming performance, then Ampere does look like a super enticing product for gamers who have waited for almost 2 years now.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 “Ampere’ Graphics Card Rumored Launch/Specs:
| Graphics Card Name | GPU Name | SMs / CUDA Cores | Memory Capacity | Memory Bus | Memory Bandwidth | Launch Timeframe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti / RTX 3090 | Ampere GA102-300? | 5248 (82)? | 24 GB GDDR6 (X)? | 384-bit? | 1024 GB/s @ 21 Gbps | September 2020 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 | Ampere GA102-200? | 4352 (68)? | 20 GB GDDR6 (X)? | 320-bit? | 924 GB/s @ 21 Gbps | September 2020 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 | Ampere GA104-400? | 2944 (46)? | 8 GB GDDR6 (X)? | 256-bit? | 672 GB/s @ 21 Gbps | October 2020 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 | Ampere GA106-300? | TBD | 8 GB GDDR6 (X)? | 256-bit? | 672 GB/s @ 21 Gbps | November 2020 |
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 ‘Ampere’ Gaming graphics card lineup is expected to be announced on 1st September at a digital event which will be hosted by CEO of NVIDIA, Jensen Huang. We expect at the very least, three new graphics cards during the event which include the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (or RTX 3090), GeForce RTX 3080, and a next-generation Titan.
Recent reports have suggested that NVIDIA has halted the production of its higher-end GeForce RTX GPU lineup to prepare for the Ampere GeForce RTX launch. Only small quantities of the said GPUs are left in the retail channel thus suggesting that we are getting closer to the launch. There’s definitely a lot more to talk about regarding the Ampere GPUs but we will have to wait until more information comes our way.