Nvidia’s pepped-up version of the RTX 3080 graphics card which doubles the RAM on-board to 20GB is indeed inbound, at least going by another nugget of info from the rumor mill – in this case, direct from a GPU manufacturer.
Videocardz highlighted a slide from a presentation delivered by Galax (GPUs which are branded KFA2 in Europe) which clearly shows the existence of a 20GB version of the RTX 3080 (alongside the launch variant which has 10GB).
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The slide also lists an RTX 3060 at the bottom of the range, and it’s no secret that this GPU will be incoming from Nvidia – it’s just a question of when, and maybe this is a hint that it’ll be sooner rather than later.
What reinforces this particular leak is that Gigabyte also recently spilled the beans on the RTX 3080 20GB version, the existence of which was accidentally leaked via a website detailing Watch Dogs: Legion codes (the game that’s being given away free with Ampere graphics cards).
Gigabyte’s listing also revealed the existence of an RTX 3060 ‘S’ version with 8GB of RAM, which could mean a Super variant, although this new leak from Galax just lists a plain RTX 3060 (which makes more sense to us for an initial launch).
The Galax presentation also highlights an as yet unnamed card in the middle of the range – the ‘PG142 SKU 0’ – which will likely be the beefed up variant of the RTX 3070 with 16GB of VRAM (so either the Super or Ti model, presumably). If a supercharged RTX 3080 is coming, of course it makes sense that a 3070 will be too; it’s just a matter of timing, but with the latter still being unnamed in this slide, presumably that’s scheduled for arrival further down the line.
Note that all of this remains speculation and it should be treated carefully, as ever – none of the above might happen, but given the amount of rumors churning around the RTX 3080 spin with 20GB of VRAM (which may or may not be branded a Super GPU), including two leaks from GPU makers now, it’s seeming a safer and safer bet that this is in the cards.
Thunder stealing
What also makes sense is the purported timing for the launch of this alleged 20GB version: Nvidia hasn’t yet pinned down a timeframe, mainly because the firm wants to release the new RTX 3080 to steal the thunder from AMD’s Big Navi reveal.
Again, that’s just theorizing, but this is the case according to Videocardz’s sources, and as mentioned, it’s perfectly believable. And of course, bringing in the RTX 3060 perhaps sooner rather than later would challenge AMD’s RX 6000 offerings in the mid-range market.
AMD aside, currently nobody can buy an RTX 3080 anyway, thanks to huge demand and stock issues, but there may be some folks who will be glad they were made to wait if a 20GB version is to become available in the near future.
While Nvidia insists that 10GB of RAM is enough for the RTX 3080 and running contemporary games, there have certainly been those who have expressed disappointment at that quantity of memory, and would probably go for a heftier RAM loadout given the chance. At least as long as the pricing isn’t pushed too much higher by doubling up to 20GB.
