Nvidia reportedly cancels their 20GB RTX 3080 and 16GB RTX 3070 launch plans

Nvidia reportedly cancels their 20GB RTX 3080 and 16GB RTX 3070 launch plans

Nvidia reportedly cancels their 20GB RTX 3080 and 16GB RTX 3070 launch plans

Even before Nvidia’s RTX 30 series launched, there were rumours of upcoming enhanced models which featured additional VRAM. These GPU models were Nvidia’s rumoured RTX 3080 20GB and RTX 3070 16GB. 

Today, a report from Videocardz has stated that two independent sources have confirmed that Nvidia’s 20GB RTX 3080 and 16GB RTX 3070 graphics cards have been cancelled, stating no known reason behind the cancellation of these GPU models. That said, these GPU models may never have “officially” existed to begin with. 

With new consoles like the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 featuring 16GB GDDR6 memory, many PC gamers want to see graphics cards on PC with more VRAM. Video editors/workstation users want more VRAM for productivity, and PC gamers desire more VRAM to handle the needs of future games and 4K-ready high-resolution texture packs.

In the eyes of some hardware enthusiasts, 10GB of VRAM is not enough for Nvidia’s RTX 3080 graphics card in the long term. Nvidia’s use of 24GB of GDDR6X memory for their RTX 3090 graphics card supports this notion, though it remains to be seen how long it will be before 10GB of VRAM won’t be enough for new games at 4K. 

Nvidia’s 20GB RTX 3080 may have been delayed or cancelled because of production issues/delays for Micron’s 16Gb (2GB) GDDR6 memory chips, which were due to become available in early 2021. This would prevent Nvidia from creating 20GB RTX 3080 graphics card without doubling the number of memory chips that they are using, increasing the manufacturing complexity and production cost of 20GB RTX 3080 graphics cards significantly. 

Without a 20GB RTX 3080, releasing a 16GB RTX 3070 would bring a lot of unnecessary confusion to the GPU market. With this in mind, it makes sense for Nvidia to cancel both their 20GB RTX 3080 and 16GB RTX 3070 at the same time, even though 2GB GDDR6 memory chips are readily available for RTX 3070 production. 

It has also been speculated that Nvidia may be planning to refresh their Ampere designs using TSMC’s 7nm process technology to release new graphics card models sooner than expected, limiting the shelf life of Nvidia’s RTX 30 series. This speculation only makes sense if AMD’s upcoming RX 6000 series of graphics cards can best Nvidia’s RTX 30 series offerings. 
   

Nvidia reportedly cancels their 20GB RTX 3080 and 16GB RTX 3070 launch plans  

Another reason behind the rumoured cancellation of 20GB RTX 3080 GPU models could also be down to the fact that a 20GB RTX 3080 would reduce the market’s demand for Nvidia’s 24GB RTX 3090 graphics cards. 

Right now, AMD’s flagship RX 6000 series GPUs are expected to launch with 16GB of GDDR6 memory, offering two times as much memory as Nvidia’s RTX 3070 and 60% more memory than Nvidia’s RTX 3080. At this time, it remains to be seen how AMD’s RX 6000 series will compare with Nvidia’s latest offerings in performance terms. 

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