FinalWire has released the latest beta version (via Komachi_Ensaka) of its popular AIDA64 software, which confirms a ton of upcoming Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-series (Ampere) graphics cards. The newly added support insinuates that the graphics cards could be right around the bend.
The changelog didn't add any additional information to what we already expect from the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. It does, however, confirm that the looming graphics card would utilize the GA102 silicon. The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti squeezes in between the GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 to contend with AMD's recently-released Radeon RX 6900 XT.
While Nvidia has launched the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, the non-Ti variant is still behind closed doors. The GeForce RTX 3060 Ti shares the GA104 silicon with the GeForce RTX 3070. If FinalWire's information is accurate, the GeForce RTX 3060 will debut with brand new silicon, the GA106. There have been whispers that the GeForce RTX 3060 could possibly arrive with 3,840 CUDA cores.
| Graphics Card | Silicon | Header Cell - Column 2 |
|---|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | GA102 | Row 0 - Cell 2 |
| GeForce RTX 3060 | GA106 | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
| GeForce RTX 3050 | GA106 | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
| GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile / Max-Q | GA104M | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
| GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile 16GB | GA104M | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
| GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile / Max-Q | GA106M | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
We haven't heard much about the GeForce RTX 3050 up to this point, except that the graphics card might feature up to 2,304 CUDA cores. Apparently, Nvidia has a lot of different Ampere silicon stored away as FinalWire listed the GeForce RTX 3050 with the GA107 silicon, which hasn't been used in any Ampere graphics cards as of yet.
It turns out that Nvidia may break away from using the same silicon on both its desktop and mobile variants as the chipmaker has done in the past. The change is reflected in AIDA64's changelog as the GeForce RTX 3070 and RTX 3060 Mobile seemingly employ the GA104M and GA106M silicons, respectively.
It's just conjecture, but the "M" suffix likely means mobile to differentiate the mobile silicon from the desktop equivalent. It remains an open question whether Nvidia will retain the core specifications on the mobile SKUs instead of the desktop versions.
The last tidbit of juicy details is related to the GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which popped up earlier today in a ray tracing benchmark. If the specifications are true, Nvidia could offer a 16GB version of the GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile. That's double the amount of memory that's on the GeForce RTX 3070. The idea certainly sparks our curiosity on whether we could potentially see a desktop version with 16GB as well. Even before Ampere's launch, there were already rumors of a GeForce RTX 3080 with 20GB of memory.
If you believe in hearsay, the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, RTX 3060, and RTX 3050 are rumored to launch in January 2021. The mobile GeForce RTX 30-series' fate is still unknown, but there have been retailer listings of Ampere-powered gaming laptops, so mobile Ampere might not be far off either.
