Nvidia RTX 3080 Ampere Graphics Card Specification, RTX 3080 Ti & RTX 3070 Launch Date Rumors

Back in June 2020, we came to know that the Nvidia RTX Ampere Series Graphics card developments are finalized, and in July 2020 we came to know that the next-gen RTX GPU was lining up for the production phase. As already Nvidia is leading the GPU market with a lead of a mile ahead than AMD Radeon, that is why this time even the enthusiast GPU users are also a bit surprised about what Nvidia is going to offer. We know that without any doubt the Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti is the best GPU on the planet even in August 2020. Clearly the latest flagship GPU from AMD Radeon, the RX 5700 XT is not a worthy competitor to the RTX 2080 Ti. Though RX 5800 XT, RX 5900, RX 5950 XT, etc. are about to be launched, Nvidia is again leading the competition ahead with their next-gen GPU launch.

So that AMD still falls behind the trail. The upcoming RTX 30 “Ampere Architecture” series graphics cards are going to replace the RTX 20 “Turing Architecture” series graphics cards which were designed in 2018. While getting an RTX 20 series GPU is still a dream for many (including me), there is no shortage of rumors and discussion on how powerful the RTX 30 series is going to be. As far as the specification and price range is concerned, it is for sure the “Ampere” series GPUs are not going to be cheap at all, as the whole series is about to be launched as flagship series. Also, there are very thin chances for Nvidia to come back to the budget segment GPU production, as AMD is fulfilling the budget segments users’ needs very well, whether it is CPU, APU or GPU. Even the AMD RX 5500 and RX 5600 are quite a more budget-friendly solution in comparison with Nvidia GTX 1650 Super and RTX 2060. 

In this article, we are going to be discussing the specifications of the RTX 30 series Graphics cards in detail. Also, we are going to mention the expected date of the launch and the time of availability as per the official sources. The Price range and the expected performance of the Ampere Series GPU are also a matter of discussion.

All We Know about Nvidia RTX 3080

The “Ampere” architecture RTX 30 series would feature with four models initially, which are RTX 3080 Ti, RTX 3080, RTX 3070, and RTX 3060. Though later with the help of third-party developers like Zotac, Sapphire, MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, the Super, and OC versions would be introduced after a couple of months of the launch. 

RTX 3080 Launch Date

According to official sources, the announcement is going to take place on 9th September 2020. Yeah! The launch is quite more sooner than any of us expected, especially under this COVID-19 scenario.

• The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 alongside the RTX 3080 Ti would be launched in September 2020.
• The Nvidia Geforce RTX 3070 would be launched in October 2020.
• The Nvidia Geforce RTX 3060 would be introduced in November 2020.

 

RTX 3080 Specification

Even before the launch of AMD RX 5800 and RX 5950 XT, the RTX 3080 is going to be launched, hence the crown of being the world’s fastest graphics card will be upon the RTX 3080 Ti for sure. The medal would pass from the RTX 2080 Ti, but if the RX 5950 would have launched by now, the story may have been different. As the most powerful GPU of its time, the RTX 3080 must be packed with some serious specifications apart from the new “Turing” GPU architecture. 

The list of Rumored and confirmed news about the Nvidia RTX 30 series specs came out from the Twitter a/c of KittyCorgi and a Chinese website MyDrivers. 

According to Nvidia, the RTX 30 series would be powered by a 7nm chipset, which is to date the largest GPU chipset ever build. The 7nm chipset which is being used in the Ampere class 30 series GPU, had actually been designed to power data centers, and now the same configured to power a single PC graphics card, insane!! isn’t it? 

• The chipset is going to be a 7nm chipset, the largest GPU chipset made to date.
• The memory bandwidth would be 1.6 TB/Sec. 
• As the original design was meant for data center implementations, so better power efficiency can be expected in comparison with the RTX20 series.
• RTX 3080 would have 3840 Cores and the RTX 3070 would have 3072 cores.
• The RTX 3080 would have 10GB and 20 GB VRAM.
• The RTX 2070 would have 8GB and 16 GB VRAM.
• The RTX 3080 and 3080 Ti would feature a 320-bit memory bus interface.
• The RTX 3070 would feature a 256-bit memory bus interface.
• RTX 3080 would be using GA103 GPU Chipset, RTX 3070 would be using GA104 GPU Chipset and the RTX 3080 Ti would be using GA102 GPU chipset.
• The RTX 3080 Ti-powered by GA102 Ampere GPU chipset would contain 5248 Cuda Cores within it. 
• The RTX 3080 would provide a directly 50% boost in performance in comparison with RTX 2080 while consuming less power.
• The RTX 3080 Ti would provide a 25% boost in performance in comparison with RTX 2080 Ti Xtreme.
• The VRAM would be the GDDR6 class for all the Ampere series GPUs. But it is being rumored that the Ampere series GPUs may come powered with GDDR6X, which is a more powerful version of GDDR6.
• The RTX 3060 would have only an 8GB variant with 256-bit memory interface.

 

RTX 3080 Ti Price

As there is no doubt that the upcoming Ampere class RTX 30 series is going to rule over the GPU market for the next coming 2-3 years, so the price is going to dam high. We already have seen the price range of RTX 20 series, and we can make a good guess of the RTX 3080 price if we consider the RTX 2080 Ti, RTX 2080, and RTX 2070 Price. The RTX 20 series GPUs were high end and costly, where RTX 2060 price was the lowest and that was also around $350. So, we can expect the price range would not fall from the $350 barrier but it would go up surely. This is just our logical good guessing. Now let’s talk about the RTX 3080 Price according to various sources. 

• According to various posts on Reddit and Toms-hardware forum, the RTX 3060 would be priced between $350-$400. 
• While the mid-ranged RTX 3070 price would be around $500, a little more over the former RTX 2070 price.
• The RTX 3080 Ti would be priced between $1400-$1500, yes the price tag is hefty, juts like the RTX 2080 Ti was. Also, the third-party build up with RGB lighting and extra features may make it even more-costlier.
• The RTX 3080 Price would be quite less than the RTX 3080 Ti price, as per the trend price tag of RTX 2080 Ti price and RTX 2080 Price. The RTX 3080 would cost around $800-$900.
• Though you can expect a reduced price tag in the USA and Canada; in Asia, South America, Europe, and Australia the price tag would be a little bit higher as always.

There is also another news coming up where Nvidia is moving towards Samsung for the bulk production of Ampere class 7nm GPU chipsets. Right now Nvidia is working with the TSMC for production and manufacturing purposes. As the relationship between China and the USA is getting more complicated, the Nvidia is thinking about the switch. Also according to various reports, Samsung can manufacture the chipsets with reduced costing, which in turn reduces the overall price. If that happens for real then you can expect a reduced price tag than expected for all the RTX 30 series GPUs. If you are wondering how Samsung can produce the 7nm Ampere Chips at a reduced price, the answer is Samsung’s 7nm Extreme Ultraviolet or EUV manufacturing system, where TSMC does not have such tech. 

 

Wrapping Up

Though I would not end up buying an Nvidia 30 series GPU due to the hefty price, but still I am very much excited about the prospect. As the RTX 30 series is going to take the overall GPU hardware segment to another level. Nvidia is the global leader in GPU technology, so any advancement from their side is going to affect the users around the whole world. It is not only about gaming, but also about the advancement of designing tech, rendering tech, and overall computer technology. The RTX 30 series GPUs are for sure meant for the enthusiast gamers and developers only. Apart from that the GTX 1650, GTX 1660 along with the RTX 20 series GPUs are also available in the market, and they are going to be there for the next 1-2 years more. So, if you want to buy a decent GPU then you need not wait for the RTX 20 series, especially if you are budget segment or intermediate segment user. But if you are a super enthusiast GPU user then only RTX 30 can be your catch.