Nvidia’s upcoming RTX 4080 and RTX 4070 refreshes may feature different GPUs, according to a new rumor surrounding the next Lovelace graphics cards. The speculation suggests that the rumored RTX 4080 Super and 4070 Super could use a mix of chips, specifically the AD102 and AD103, which are currently powering the RTX 4090 and the vanilla RTX 4080 respectively.
This theory was proposed by Kopite7kimi, who noted the possibility of chip mixing for both the RTX 4080 Super and the RTX 4070 Super in a tweet. It suggests that some models of these graphics cards could utilize a technically superior chip compared to others, with the same being true for the RTX 4070 Super using both AD103 and AD104.
While this kind of approach is not unprecedented, it is uncommon to have such a mix. If true, it would result in two different spins of the Super refreshes, each using a different GPU. However, one spin would have a superior specification compared to the other. This raises the question of why consumers would choose the lesser one, even though some Super graphics cards may have the same specifications despite using a higher-tier chip.
To analyze this situation further, let’s focus on the RTX 4080 Super. If it is built with the AD102 chip from the RTX 4090, which has more CUDA cores, Nvidia can match the core count by disabling cores on the AD102 to match the AD103 used in other versions. A similar approach was taken with EVGA’s RTX 2060 KO Gaming graphics card in 2020, which used both TU106 and TU104 chips with the same core count.
This strategy allows Nvidia to make use of higher-tier GPUs that are not suitable for flagship models like the RTX 2080, extending their lifespan by disabling defective cores. The same principle would be applied to the AD102 chip in the RTX 4080 Super, providing a potential explanation for its utilization.
There is another existing rumor suggesting that Nvidia might use the AD102 GPU in the RTX 4080 Super to increase the VRAM to 20GB. However, if the company is using the AD102 chip to repurpose lower-quality chips instead of the RTX 4090, this contradicts the earlier VRAM rumor. It is possible the source of the VRAM rumor misunderstood their insider information.
As for the RTX 4070 Super, recent rumors indicate the possibility of a variant called the Ti Super. In this case, the AD103 version may be slightly more powerful than the standard Super variant. However, there are doubts regarding this naming scheme.
It is essential to approach these rumors with caution, as they may only represent concepts and possibilities currently being explored by Nvidia. The confusion surrounding the situation suggests that Nvidia’s plans for the future Lovelace graphics cards are still uncertain.
Source: VideoCardz
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