NVIDIA Special Event September 1st - likely the new RTX cards being announced

[ir_cow]

Sept 17th it looks like for the 3080 and 24th for 3090. Did anyone catch the 12pin connector in the middle of the card when the 3070 was shown (31:10)? I didn't think about it until now, but the PCB is really small so that connector is actually like dead center. Its going to drive people crazy for cable management. 

Edit: NVIDIA also says the 3070 is faster than the 2080 TI for only $499. Wow It looks like anyone with a RTX Titan or 2080 Ti isn't going to be able to see it used for very much here shortly.

 

[Guest_Jim_*]

I caught the 12 pin connector on the RTX 3070. Cable management typically does not worry me too much, as I do not look inside my cases much, but I will admit, the placement on the RTX 2060 FE is a little annoying when I swap it in or out in the test system. We'll see what AIBs do, especially as I think they are going to be able to use the more traditional 6-pin and 8-pin connectors. Would make sense they can move the connections around. (Now I'm also wondering if the AIB partners will get to use the Founder's Edition PCBs, since that may lock-in the cooling method,)

Those prices are definitely looking good, which is good both for anyone wanting to upgrade and so we are not continuing the price/perf ratio set by Pascal-Turing. Will definitely be interesting to see what AMD does for its RDNA2 GPUs, as it seems there is significantly less room to under-cut NVIDIA pricing for this series, assuming comparable performance is achieved.

[ir_cow]

Well AMD rumored Big NAVI is only 80 CU, so double the 5700XT. It will probably end up slightly above the 3070, but it better be the same price. Unfortunately that will be AMDs top dog it seems. It might have  been scrapped in favor of RDNA2. Or it is the same but with improved IPC of RDNA2. A 10% increase will still put it well below the 3080.

As for the reference PCB. I think this time around all AIB partners will use their own design.  Because the work around for years has been to slap a blower fan on the OEM and cheap units to see it for $100-200 less. Now with this mini PCB, it is unlikely any of current air cooler will easily fit without a different PCB or drastic rework. So like EVGA who often uses the reference PCB for the Ultra and SC lineup will be forced to either use the FTW PCB for everything or keep NVIDIA cooler.

It costs a lot of money to re-tool a cooler. It is cheaper to slap a GPU on empty PCB like MSI does. Same cooler for multiple series. Technically a different PCB for each, but the size is usually about the same for sub-set. Meaning the use of the same cooler and fans for a lot of the products. Also it keeps the branding nice.

[Guest_Jim_*]

The Big Navi term has been shifted around a lot, but is now treated to be the top RDNA2 GPUs. Still, the 80 CU rumor, if treated as just a doubling of performance over the RX 5700XT would come in under the RTX 3080 at best. More like double the RTX 2070 Super, right?

The thing is I'm not sure if there are any rumors or leaks concerning specific IPC improvements with RDNA2. The best I can remember are just descriptions of RDNA1 being a transitional design, meaning the improvements might be greater than just a second generation of the same architecture. There are also supposed to be significant efficiency improvements, from lessons learned and applied to the APUs, so clearly there will be some re-design relative to RDNA1 to achieve.

Will be interesting to see the AMD's eventual announcements and, of course, independent reviews of everything. (And at more than 4K resolution, which is what was used for a lot of the graphs.)

[ir_cow]

I really want AMD to come out with something big to bring the prices down on NVIDIA side. At least this time around NVIDIA is "affordable". 2080 Ti performance for $499 is really good. Anyone playing at 1080 or 1440 will be set for years to come. Anyone that must play at 4K max settings can get a 3080 and those who want to dabble in 8K or maybe play Control (RTX ON) without DLSS will be happy. That game brings the 2080 SUPER down to 14 FPS. unplayable. I can only imagine what Cyberpunk 2077 will do with 4K (RTX On). Its the new crysis benchmark for the next 5 years.

[Guest_Jim_*]

Completely agree. My hope is to upgrade my desktop-GPU later this year, so seeing these price/performance targets help me visualize what I may have to spend for the level and features I want. Definitely nice to see it will hopefully be around or less than $500.

[Nyt]

Impressed by what I saw, but I wish the 3090 was a bit cheaper.

The VRAM gap between a 10Gb 3080 and 24Gb 3090 is just too big. I would've liked something with more VRAM than a 1080Ti/2080TI for around $999 to $1199

[Guest_Jim_*]

I wouldn't be surprised if 10 GB of VRAM proves to be more than enough in the future, at least to 4K, thanks to things like Sampler Feedback. That should allow for more efficient use of the memory capacity, so less can feel like more without issue by intelligently moving things in and out. The RTX 3090 probably has 24 GB because it is the Titan RTX successor, and that has non-gaming uses that require far more data than games.

[ir_cow]

I haven't found a real use above 8GB. Besides a select few games with HD texture packs, not much use for 10-24GB. I don't play every new game, but only Monster Hunter World HD textures at 4K goes above 8GB that I have seen. In fact its closer to 12. Maybe Flight Sim 2020 will have a use for it?

[ir_cow]

Don't worrt jim. NVIDIA will release the RTX Titan AX with 48GB of ram and a full Ampere die for $3000. You can almost count on it.

[Guest_Jim_*]

That's Nyt that wants the VRAM, but at 48 GB I could, theoretically, load entire review playthrough parts for video processing. Still would rather use x264 than NVENC, but that is the kind of use-case for Titan-class cards.

[ir_cow]

Been watching ebay all morning. 2080 Ti started at 1K before the event, now its down to $650. A few went for $500. If you have a 2080 Ti and want to sell it to me, send me a PM. You basically getting a Titan RTX performance if you sell the card above $400.