NVIDIA is reportedly planning to announce updated versions of three existing desktop graphics cards next month, including a 16GB model of the RTX 3070 and 12GB variants of the RTX 3080 and RTX 2060. The rumor comes amidst a crippling chip shortage that has rendered graphics cards almost impossible to buy, with no respite in sight within the next year. Graphics cards are expected to remain in short supply in the foreseeable future, so the faster and more powerful offerings could potentially increase demand and put even more strain on supplies.
The chip shortage has not only resulted in gamers not being able to buy new GPUs for their gaming rigs, but it has also incentivized scalping and price gouging by unscrupulous sellers. While both AMD and NVIDIA say they are trying to increase supply going forward, semiconductor companies like Intel and TSMC have expressed their doubt about how much the situation will improve next year, with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger recently stating that the shortage could last "a couple of years."
The latest tip comes from Twitter user and prolific graphics card leaker 'hongxing2020' who had earlier claimed that NVIDIA will launch three new cards early next year. According to the rumors, the RTX 2060 12GB will be announced on December 7th and will be available for purchase with immediate effect, while the RTX 3080 12GB and RTX 3070 Ti 16GB will be announced on December 17th before being launched for retail buyers on January 11th. Of course, it is highly likely that NVIDIA will struggle to keep up with demand amid the chip shortage, so it will be interesting to see how many units will be available at launch for end-users.
RTX 3080 12GB May Have Higher Memory Bus Than 10GB Model
According to sources quoted by VideoCardz, the upcoming RTX 30-series models will be based on Ampere architecture, while the updated RTX 2060 12GB will be based on Turing. It is further claimed that the RTX 3070 Ti 16GB will feature the GA104-401 GPU with 6144 CUDA cores, the same as the 8GB model. Meanwhile, the RTX 3080 12GB will ship with the GA102-220 GPU, which suggests the memory bus might be increased from 320-bit in the 10GB model to 384-bit in the new variant. As for the RTX 2060 12GB, it will reportedly rock the same TU106-300 GPU as the 6GB model. Basically, it will be the exact same card as the existing RTX 2060 but with double the memory.
With Ampere shortages expected to continue in the near future, the best option to experience gaming with NVIDIA's graphics card is to subscribe to the new tier of the company's GeForce NOW cloud gaming service that promises remote access to RTX 3080 GPUs for high-performance gaming. Gamers can also consider buying the new XPS desktop from Dell if they want to get their hands on NVIDIA's RTX 3090.
Source: hongxing2020/Twitter, VideoCardz