After what seems like an age of hype, Nvidia's Ampere based graphics cards line-up has finally launched. The RTX 30 Series has received extremely positive reviews, particularly the high-end RTX 3080 which provides excellent 4K performance at just $699. However, a white paper from Nvidia has indicated that another version of the RTX 3080 is likely to emerge.
The newly released document "8 nm Ampere (GA102)" was discovered by hardware site Videocardz, detailing the hardware and performance differences between Nvidia's Turing and Ampere based cards. Where the document compares the RTX 3080, it does so using a "10 GB" description, which is not used for any other card. This suggests that a higher memory version of the card is either being planned, or ready for reveal.
When revealing the document, Videocardz stated it had confirmed the speculation of a 20 GB variant with multiple anonymous sources. There are also rumors that the RTX 3070 will also receive a higher memory variant, doubling from 8 GB to 16 GB, although no reference is made to this in the document. This is likely because the 16 GB RTX 3070 is rumored to have a tweaked GPU, as well as a Ti designation to distinguish it from the standard card.
The rumor of an RTX 3080 with 20 GB memory has been around for a while, but the white paper is the first indication in any official capacity that such a variant is coming. There is no official information available on when the card would be revealed or launch, though the same rumors that predicted the 20 GB variant also expected a launch within two months of the 10 GB card. Given AMD is expected to announce a 16 GB RX 6900 XT on October 28, it would be fair to presume that Nvidia will time the 20 GB model launch to challenge AMDs momentum following its big reveal.
While it makes perfect sense for Nvidia to offer an increased memory variant of the RTX 3080, especially given AMD's expected reveal of a 16 GB card in competition, announcing the new card too soon could risk angering those who have invested in the 10 GB model at launch. Given there is no higher spec option between the $699 3080 and the $1499 3090, it's fair to assume that a 20 GB card would have been the preferred choice for many if available. Particularly as the 10 GB memory allocation is considered to be one of the few weaknesses of the RTX 3080 for long-term 4K performance.
Even if a quick reveal disappoints some early adopters though, with so many exciting new products hitting the market, most gamers looking for graphics upgrades are likely to embrace the high performance and high value options becoming available to them.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB is available now.
Source: Videocardz