If you have been keeping tabs on the upcoming NVIDIA‘s next-generation GeForce RTX Ampere graphics cards, you are probably aware that an event will take place on September 1/2 (depending on your region). While NVIDIA’s #UltimateCountdown has begun ticking, photos of an alleged RTX 3090 PCB just showed up on the web. The photos just revealed and confirmed the authenticity of some previous rumors. In addition to that, Micron just confirmed that the RTX 3090 will feature 12pcs of GDDR6X memory. Check out more details below.
Looks Like A Custom RTX 3090 PCB – Traversal Coprocessor Confirmed?
Somebody just leaked photos of an alleged PCB of the upcoming RTX 3090 Ampere graphics cards. This was spotted by Videocardz.com and interestingly it has confirmed some of the previous rumors or “leaked” reports surrounding the upcoming RTX Ampere graphics cards. Let’s check out the first leaked photo below.
What you are seeing above is a heavily censored PCB of the alleged RTX 3090. It looks like a custom PCB, most probably from an AIB partner; since it doesn’t look similar to the previously leaked photo of an alleged RTX 3080 graphics card. Anyway, there are three 8-pin PCIe power connectors and I don’t think NVIDIA would use such a design for their Founders Edition.
Also, you are looking at the backside of the PCB and the photo is not mirrored as well. This also confirms the report that the RTX 3080 (Ti) / RTX 3090 will feature a complex memory layout. We don’t usually see memory chips installed at the backside of the PCB. Let’s take a closer look at that blurred “processor” in the middle.
If you think it looks familiar, that’s because that’s an Intel CPU. The leaker simply covered that area with an Intel CPU, don’t be fooled about it. A couple of months ago, there were reports that NVIDIA’s RTX 3080 / RTX 3090 graphics cards will feature a “traversal coprocessor”. Most probably that’s the traversal coprocessor being covered there by the leaker. The Ampere GPU is actually on the other side.
Finally, the NVLink or SLI bridge looks different compared to the previous RTX 20 series graphics cards. You can see from the image below that the fingers look somewhat similar to the older SLI fingers, pre-RTX cards.
Micron Confirms GDDR6X Memory On RTX 3090?
In addition to the leaked photos, Micron just confirmed that NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3090 will feature 12 pcs of GDDR6X memory that will enable the graphics card to break the 1TB/s of system bandwidth barrier. Below is an excerpt from Micron.
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. 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.
If Micron mentioned “RTX 3090” on their table, does this mean the “RTX 3090” naming is confirmed? Based on this, the flagship GeForce RTX 3090 will feature 21Gbps of GDDR6X memory modules capable of reaching up to 1TB/s speed. Interestingly, that number “21” has been appearing several times in line with the release of this new Ampere graphics card. “21 days, 21 years” as NVIDIA put it.
What do you think? Are you excited anxiously waiting for the next gen RTX 30 series graphics cards? But more importantly, are your wallets ready as well? 😉
