Video Cards News - Page 1

NVIDIA's next-gen Ada Lovelace GPU architecture has been in the headlines for the last couple of weeks, with rumors and rumbles, and everything in between -- now we have some more solid specs based on all of the rumors swirling about Ada Lovelace.

3DCenter.org has compiled a list of the NVIDIA AD102 GPU specs, which are all based on rumors from @kopite7kimi and @greymon55. 3DCenter.org actually did this in December 2020, but we have some firmer specs here and some beefy upgrades to the expected TFlops performance from AD102.

In the specs, NVIDIA's next-gen AD102 is expected to be made on TSMC's fresh new 5nm node, with an insane 18,432 CUDA cores (GA102 in the RTX 3090 has 10496 CUDA cores for comparison). The GPU clocks expected are now 2.2GHz and above, which will result in around 81 TFLOPs of compute performance (35.5 TFLOPs on the GA102 or RTX 3090).

We've heard some ridiculous early pricing -- most likely placeholder pricing, on AMD's upcoming Radeon RX 6600 XT but new rumors state the mid-range RDNA 2 graphics card will cost $349.

AMD's new Radeon RX 6600 XT is rumored to be priced at $349 while the Radeon RX 6600 will be priced at $299, after previous rumors of a $399 price tag on the Radeon RX 6600 XT. I'd say that rumors of NVIDIA stockpiling GA106 GPUs ready to deploy waves of GeForce RTX 3060 and GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards had something to do with that.

You would be surprised at how pricing on a GPU can be set in the day before, even hours leading up to the launch. I know of major GPUs launched by either side, with the teams slapping prices on them at the very, very last minute.

Amazon's brand new game New World is killing graphics cards -- with the first reports that it was bricking EVGA's flagship GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra -- and then extending to many other GPUs.

YouTuber JayzTwoCents tried to recreate the problem of New World bricking an EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra, but it didn't kill his GPU -- the power consumption was above average, with power numbers hitting 500W+ which is far and beyond the 360W or so that the GPU normally consumes.

EVGA is replacing the bricked GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra graphics cards as quickly as they can, where they're sending out replacement units as soon as users submit RMA of their bricked GPU. No other GPU manufacturers on the planet have stepped up and made statements about bricked GPUs, and Amazon's PR department is just pumping out copy-paste email responses which is pathetic considering their game is killing expensive hardware.

AMD is gearing up into the release of its mid-range Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics card, with AIB partner PowerColor having its new Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics cards listed with a New Zealand retailer for $868... yeah.

PowerColor seems to have a few different variants of the RDNA 2-powered Radeon RX 6600 XT, with the Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB Fighter, Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB Hellhound, and the Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB Red Devil. They're all listed with New Zealand retailers, with the same flat price of around $1250 NZD -- or around $868.

I don't think we'll be paying that price, they're most likely placeholder pricing for NZ retailers -- because as VideoCardz points out the higher-end Radeon RX 6700 XT is the same price. We're expecting AMD's new Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics card to launch on August 11, with no reference board on offer -- AIB partners will be offering all Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics cards.

What a way to experience the weekend -- super juicy GPU rumors of NVIDIA and AMD's next-gen Ada Lovelace, Hopper, and RDNA 3 architectures. We have some more news on NVIDIA... big news...

According to leaker Kopite7kimi, NVIDIA can't reach a point with its monolithic design on Ada Lovelace to beat AMD's next-gen RDNA 3 architecture then the company will deploy the Hopper GPU architecture. We could see the flagship GH202-based GPU powering the next-gen GeForce RTX 4080, RTX 4080 Ti, or RTX 4090.

This would be above the AD102 GPU, which is the Ada Lovelace architecture -- expected to power the GeForce RTX 40 series. NVIDIA's next-gen Ada Lovelace GPU architecture was recently rumored to be powering Nintendo's next-gen Super Switch console, but we'll have to wait and see for that in the coming months and more so into 2022.

It was only yesterday that we heard NVIDIA's next-gen Ada Lovelace GPU architecture could be used for Nintendo's next-gen Super Switch portable, but now we're back to regular programming -- regular leaks -- that say the next-gen Lovelace GPU architecture will power the new GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs.

Not only that, but NVIDIA's new Ada Lovelace GPU architecture would be made on TSMC 5nm -- and that the Ada Lovelace GPU architecture design is finalized. The news is coming from new leaker on the scene Greymon55, which said that NVIDIA is finished with the entire Ada Lovelace GPU project -- with no more changes planned, with the tape out of Lovelace happening soon.

• Read more: NVIDIA's next-gen Ada Lovelace GPU: for Nintendo Super Switch, not PC?

NVIDIA is reportedly using TSMC 5nm but the leaker isn't sure if it's regular N5 or the newer N5P, but with previous reports that Apple has over 50% of TSMC's production of 5nm in 2021... 2022 could be the year of 5nm for consumer GPUs. We are currently on 7nm (AMD Radeon + Ryzen CPUs made with TSMC 7nm) and on 8nm (NVIDIA GeForce RTX made with Samsung 8nm).

Nintendo revealed its upgraded Switch OLED without any upgrades to the CPU, GPU, or RAM -- and while for some that's surprising, it didn't surprise me and many of those with their own independent sources throughout the tech industry.

We heard rumors of the next-gen Nintendo Super Switch for a while, but then Nintendo dropped the Switch OLED without any upgrades into gamers' laps -- if you thought Nintendo was finished with that, you were very wrong. Why would Nintendo which is in the middle of its most successful run of all time, just release a half-baked, no-upgrades Nintendo Switch OLED?

• Read more: Nintendo Super Switch rumor: powered by NVIDIA's new Ada Lovelace GPU
• Read more: Nintendo NX will powered by an NVIDIA Tegra processor, not an AMD chip

A few months ago we heard rumors that NVIDIA's next-gen Ada Lovelace GPU architecture would be inside of the next-gen Nintendo Super Switch... and now according to Tom from Moore's Law is Dead in his latest video, it seems that could be the case.

If you've been expecting GPU prices to come down because you're hearing your favorite TechTubers say prices will fall back down by the end of summer... sorry, but yeah that is "absolute BULLS**T" says Tom from Moore's Law is Dead, and I agree.

In the video at the 9-minute mark, Tom goes into detail that even if AMD were able to launch 500,000+ of its new Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics cards... and NVIDIA pushed out 1 million+ of its stockpiled GeForce RTX 3060 and GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards that this still wouldn't satisfy demand.

According to his sources, there are well over 2 million PC gamers who are still itching to secure themselves a new Ampere or RDNA 2 graphics card. Tom continues that there would be 1/6 of the supply required, at most -- adding: "TechTubers only have 1 part of the picture, and these cards are coming -- and they are -- prices will go down slowly, but don't expect them to crash overnight".

AMD is about to launch its new mid-range RDNA 2-based GPU in the Radeon RX 6600 XT, but NVIDIA has a counter for that... and it's going to be big.

The new Radeon RX 6600 XT is expected to be priced at under $400, with YouTuber Tom from Moore's Law is Dead saying that he expects pricing somewhere between $349 and $379. Btu the thing is, NVIDIA has reportedly been stockpiling supplies of its GA106 GPU, the chip inside of the GeForce RTX 3060 -- for this very day.

NVIDIA knows that AMD is ready to launch the Radeon RX 6600 XT and the company doesn't even need to reply with a GPU launch... given that it reportedly has stockpiles of GA106 GPUs ready to unleash a tsunami of GeForce RTX 3060 graphics cards to counter the Radeon RX 6600 XT.

NVIDIA made a big deal about its stance on crypto mining, and then gimped GPU drivers to hurt crypto mining... and then pushed out the LHR (Lite Hash Rate) series... but is it that big of a deal? It seems AIB partners don't give a sh*t.

In his latest video, Tom from Moore's Law is Dead has had sources reach out to him and say: "You know now that you mention it Tom, the overwhelming majority of our arriving [GeForce RTX] 3070 stock is non-LHR. Last week I thought this was just the last remaining stock... but now it's late July, and most of our arriving 3070s remain as non-LHR models. The majority of upcoming deliveries are non-LHR as well".

An anonymous AIB source said: "Keep in mind that we are buying these dies from NVIDIA, and they are different from the LHR dies. So NVIDIA has to be mindful of what is going on, and letting some AIBs drag their feet more than others. LHR might be the standard for every SKU eventually, but we (AIBs) are going to drag this process out if they let us..."