Question 'Ampere'/Next-gen gaming uarch speculation thread

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Ottonomous

Senior member
May 15, 2014
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How much is the Samsung 7nm EUV process expected to provide in terms of gains?
How will the RTX components be scaled/developed?
Any major architectural enhancements expected?
Will VRAM be bumped to 16/12/12 for the top three?
Will there be further fragmentation in the lineup? (Keeping turing at cheaper prices, while offering 'beefed up RTX' options at the top?)
Will the top card be capable of >4K60, at least 90?
Would Nvidia ever consider an HBM implementation in the gaming lineup?
Will Nvidia introduce new proprietary technologies again?

Sorry if imprudent/uncalled for, just interested in the forum member's thoughts.
 

Stuka87

Diamond Member
Dec 10, 2010
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I was pretty sure that nvidia has Ampere shipping from TSMC in the form of other "professional" products.

I just spent way too long comparing A100 and GA102 on wikipedia. The 400W GA100 leads me to at least believe that if nvidia showed up with truckloads of money there could be some Ti/Super versions of Ampere to be had. Maybe.

I can't figure out if a A100 would even be a better consumer GPU than the GA102 at this point, there appears to be a huge difference in CUDA cores between the two of them.

A100 literally is not a video card. It doesn't have any ability to output video.
 

Stuka87

Diamond Member
Dec 10, 2010
6,240
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Wow.... every site is completely unresponsive and shut down. Impressive. Demand is through the roof. NVIDIA is going to make a killing on the 3000 series.

Its first day of launch and bots around the globe and hammering sites to try and purchase. It is not an indicator of actual demand. Its like when some new high end car comes out, and they all sell for 20K over sticker. Doesn't mean the company will sell tons of them.

NOTE: Not that I am saying 3080 will be a flop. Just that you cannot determine demand based off today.
 
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blckgrffn

Diamond Member
May 1, 2003
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www.teamjuchems.com
A100 literally is not a video card. It doesn't have any ability to output video.

I get that, I was just trying to determine what the other differences might be. It seems like a mid cycle refresh from TSMC fabs makes more sense than a Samsung node change because "Ampere" is already working on TSMC 7nm and theoretically nvidia could be working on GA versions of cards there right now.

I am just trying to figure out how they are going have any room in the 3080/3090 space to squeeze any more performance out. 2 years is a long time, although I get it is not unprecedented.
 

Stuka87

Diamond Member
Dec 10, 2010
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I get that, I was just trying to determine what the other differences might be. It seems like a mid cycle refresh from TSMC fabs makes more sense than a Samsung node change because "Ampere" is already working on TSMC 7nm and theoretically nvidia could be working on GA versions of cards there right now.

I am just trying to figure out how they are going have any room in the 3080/3090 space to squeeze any more performance out. 2 years is a long time, although I get it is not unprecedented.

Unlikely given TSMC currently doesn't have any available 7nm or 5nm capacity. The big three (Apple, etc) are buying up all the 5nm capacity, and AMD is buying up all the 7nm capacity. Now next year more 7nm capacity will be available, but the current gaming Ampere cards are not compatible with TSMC's 7nm process. I don't see nVidia re-spinning those. If nVidia goes back to TSMC, it will be for the next generation cards.
 

Kenmitch

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
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Starting to look like they only made a few FE cards solely for reviewers...
Or that the Scalper bots got them...

I'm leaning towards the FE's very limited availability rumor myself. It's not like I was going to buy one anyways, but I'd imagine at least a few people would have at least seen them as available.

Maybe somebody will pop in and show they actually bought one?
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
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I was on Nvidia's site refreshing every second. I was also on best buy's site too. Went from "notify me" to "out of stock".

Never saw one available.

I mentioned this before, but my guess is that you're seeing are bots/scripts jumping on inventory as soon as it's available. I doubt they're grabbing everything, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're putting a hefty dent in the availability. Also, after the issues with Switch availability, I am curious if we're seeing more normal consumers (i.e. people not looking to resell) use them too. If I really wanted one, I'd consider using it, but I'd also want to use my 10% Best Buy coupon, which works on all the 30-series cards. I don't think those scripts handle adding on offers.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,177
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I mentioned this before, but my guess is that you're seeing are bots/scripts jumping on inventory as soon as it's available. I doubt they're grabbing everything, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're putting a hefty dent in the availability. Also, after the issues with Switch availability, I am curious if we're seeing more normal consumers (i.e. people not looking to resell) use them too. If I really wanted one, I'd consider using it, but I'd also want to use my 10% Best Buy coupon, which works on all the 30-series cards. I don't think those scripts handle adding on offers.
If I really want a 3090 I think I'll have to use a script as well. The other option is wait and see if this holds true:

 

ozzy702

Golden Member
Nov 1, 2011
1,151
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Its first day of launch and bots around the globe and hammering sites to try and purchase. It is not an indicator of actual demand. Its like when some new high end car comes out, and they all sell for 20K over sticker. Doesn't mean the company will sell tons of them.

NOTE: Not that I am saying 3080 will be a flop. Just that you cannot determine demand based off today.

I'm sure that's a big part of it. I also know a dozen other guys personally that haven't been able to get their hands on a 3080 either, and that's somewhat abnormal for a launch. It was cake to pickup 1080TIs, 2080s, and 2080TIs, but it really does feel like demand for 3080 this go around is through the roof and they won't be able to keep up with demand.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
If I really want a 3090 I think I'll have to use a script as well. The other option is wait and see if this holds true:


I was wondering whether or not the 3090 might require some automation to ensure picking one up. I would assume it has less demand given the significantly higher price and what's likely not a lot more performance. Although, I don't know what the supply looks like and how its memory pool might cause other types of users to pick one up (i.e. the compute users). We'll also have to wait for reviews to really see that performance delta.

As for worrying about whether a higher memory, non-3090 model will come out. At worst, you could likely leave the card boxed until AMD's event. Most places have at least a 30-day return period, and that will work with the timing of AMD's event. I know you've talked about using G-Sync, which means you're unlikely to want one of AMD's cards. However, the possibility of AMD forcing Nvidia's hand in lowering a price or announcing another model to combat an AMD offering is certainly plausible.