The first RTX 4090 GPUs to say hello to the camera are from Zotac, Gigabyte, and Lenovo. As expected, they are all ridiculously large. The TBP is reported to be only 450W, which is the same as the RTX 3090 Ti. Although, the specs say that can be pushed beyond 600W too, which is a spicy meatball. Still, that’s a far cry from earlier rumors of it being an 800W GPU. Rumors suggest Nvidia will release a Ti version of the 4090 at a later date. This “full-fat” chip will consume 600W without overclocking, so it could be up to 800W when the smoke clears. It will also reportedly have 48GB of GDDR6X memory, so that will be the true beast of the family.
The Zotac RTX 4090 AMP. (Image: Baidu)
The first GPU to break cover is from Zotac. Images of the card in production were posted to Baidu and have since been deleted. Thankfully, Videocardz saved them. This company is known for producing gigantic GPUs, so naturally, its RTX 4090 is as big as an Xbox. The company has gone for a design with rounded edges, making it look like a huge flip-flop sandal. However, the image is labeled AMP, which is its upper-midrange GPU design. Zotac usually offers an overclocked, extra-large design named AMP Extreme too, so we anticipate an even larger version at some point. Also, these GPUs are mid-production as they’re missing power connectors. It’s expected the high-end 40-series GPUs will offer a single 12+4 power connector, there’s room on these for two of those. Each cable offers up to 600W of power.
The box for the Gigabyte RTX 4090 Gaming OC. (Image: @wxnod on Twitter)
Next up is the Gigabyte RTX 4090 Gaming OC Windforce. Though there are no images of the card, Wccftech has renders of it showing a lone 12+4 pin power connector. It’s a triple-fan GPU with what appears to be a quad-slot design, but it’s hard to tell. It doesn’t look dramatically larger than Gigabyte’s current flagship GPUs either.
Finally, the same Twitter user posted several images of an OEM RTX 4090 installed in a Lenovo Legion PC (image at top). The GPU runs all the way across the length of the chassis and has a remarkable number of heat pipes. By our count, there are 13 of them, which is ludicrous. Still, if that is what it takes to keep the card quiet, we’re all for it. The card looks like a triple-slot affair, so it’s going for length instead of thickness.
The RTX 4090 will apparently require a ridiculous number of heat pipes. (Image: @wxnod on Twitter)
Finally, specs for the RTX 4090 and 4080 variants have also leaked via videocardz. Apparently, Nvidia will be offering two 4080s instead of a 4080 and 4070. Or at least, that’s how it might go down at launch. This seems like a shortsighted decision because they have different specs and use different dies. Here’s the summary:
- RTX 4090: 16,384 CUDA cores, 2,520MHz Boost Clock, 24GB G6X @384-bit, 450W TGP, 660W max.
- RTX 4080 16GB: 9,728MHz CUDA cores, 2,505MHz Boost Clock, 16GB G6X @256-bit, 340W TGP, 516W max.
- RTX 4080 12GB: 7,680 CUDA cores, 2,610Mhz Boost Clock, 12GB G6X @192-bit, 285W TGP, 366W max.
That last GPU sounds a lot like an RTX 4070, but apparently, Nvidia wants to sell two RTX 4080s. It’s also clear the company really wants to differentiate the 4090 from the rest of the GPUs. This is a marked departure from its Ampere strategy. The RTX 3080 and 3090 are only within ~10 percent of each other, but these rumors indicate that the gulf will be much larger this time around. For Ada Lovelace, if you want the absolute best performance, you’re going to have to pay for it. After all, only the 4090 has the flagship AD102 die, which was not the case with Ampere.
For pricing, we’ll have to wait and see what Jensen reveals on Sept. 20. One rumor is that Nvidia will price the 40-series outrageously high to help clear the channel of its existing 30-series inventory. For example, if the RTX 3080 is currently $1,000, and the RTX 4080 is $2,000, that will make the decision easier for a lot of folks. The chances of an RTX 4080 being twice as powerful as an RTX 3080 and being even remotely close to its price are zero. Nvidia has already said it will sell Ampere alongside Ada Lovelace, so we expect prices to be vastly different.
The RTX 4090 is expected to be available first, sometime in October. The RTX 4080s will follow in November. All three GPUs will constitute the company’s offerings for the 2022 holiday season. It’s expected it’ll unveil the RTX 4060/4070 at CES in January 2023. AMD is expected to unveil its RDNA3 GPUs around November as well, so it’s going to be one heck of a holiday season on the hardware front.
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