Nvidia’s more resilient version of the RTX 3080, which doubles the amount of RAM on the video card, from 10 GB to 20 GB, should definitely be on its way, at least judging by the news from the rumor mill – in this case, directly from a video card manufacturer.
Videocardz noticed that a page from a presentation made by Galax (video card from this manufacturer is often of the brand KFA2 in Europe), which clearly shows that there is a 20 GB version of RTX 3080 (this is side by side with the launch variant with 10 GB.)
The page from the presentation also shows an RTX 3060 listed at the bottom of the series, and it’s no secret that this card is also on its way from Nvidia – it’s just a matter of time, and maybe this suggests that it is not too long for launch.
One aspect that makes this leak notch more solid is that of Gigabyte not so long ago also came with information about an RTX 3080 with 20 GB. This became known through a website that provided details about the “Watch Dogs: Legion” tags which is released with Ampere video cards.
The Gigabyte entry also revealed the existence of an RTX 3060 “S” card with 8 GB of RAM, which we assume could mean a Super variant, although the new leak from Galax only lists a regular RTX 3060 (which anyway gives the most meaning now with the first.)
The Galax presentation also gave us insight into a card that so far has not been given a proper name, and which is placed more in the middle of the tree in the 3000 series – PG142 SKU 0 – which will probably be the slightly more rosy variant of RTX 3070, with 16 GB VRAM (either the Super or Ti model, probably.) If a notch better RTX 3080 card is on the way, then of course it makes sense that a notch better RTX 3070 card is on the way too – it all depends of timing. However, since the latter is not mentioned in this presentation, we assume that it is a question of a card that comes a little later.
Note that at the moment all this is only speculation, and should be taken with a pinch of salt – there is no guarantee that any of the above cards are on their way, but given the amount of rumors which is currently appearing regarding the RTX 3080 with 20 GB VRAM (which may be a Super variant), including two leaks from two different video card manufacturers, we are increasingly beginning to be sure that this is the case.
Should steal attention
What also makes sense is the actual timing of the alleged launch of the 20 GB version: Nvidia has not yet given an exact date, and it may be because the company will try to get the new RTX 3080 card at the perfect time to steal attention from AMD’s Big Navi unveiling.
Again, this is just a theory, but according to Videocardz’s sources, this is the case, and as mentioned, it makes sense, purely in terms of marketing. Of course, getting the RTX 3060 out relatively quickly will also challenge AMD’s RX 6000 series in the middle tier.
No matter what AMD does, no one can buy an RTX 3080 at the moment, thanks to huge demand and problems with a lack of cards, but it can also lead to some happy faces among those who failed to get a 10 GB variant, if the 20 GB version is just around the corner.
Although Nvidia insists that 10 GB of VRAM lasts a long time for the RTX 3080, and that it is enough to run today’s games, there have been many who have expressed disappointment when it comes to the amount of memory, and who probably prefer a larger amount of RAM, if given the opportunity – given that the price does not grow too much by doubling to 20 GB.