Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card could launch in September – alongside a surprise new GPU
RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 rumored
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New rumors have emerged thatNvidiais gearing up to launch itsRTX 3000 seriesof next-gen graphics cards this September with the widely-expectedGeForce RTX 3080going on sale alongside a rather unexpected addition – the RTX 3090.
The rumorscome from Igor’s Lab(andreported by Wccftech), which is based on a timetable reportedly provided by its reliable sources. According to the rumors, Nvidia will be starting mass production of the GPUs in August, with a reveal and media event (including first official benchmarks) in September 2020.
As Wccftech points out, with this timetable, it’s likely that Nvidia could show off the GPUs a bit earlier than the media event at a public event, possibly at Gamescom 2020 –which is going digital-only this year.
Surprise RTX 3090
While we’ve been expecting the Nvidia RTX 3080 to launch around that time, one thing that stands out about this new rumor is the mention of an RTX 3090 launching at the same time.
We’ve hearda few rumors about an RTX 3090before now, but if Nvidia actuallydoesrelease a GPU by that name, it’ll still come as a bit surprise.
This is because Nvidia hasn’t released a x90 chip since theGTX 690back in 2012. Before then, an x90 GPU was a dual-chip card – and that’s something Nvidia hasn’t made since theTitan Zin 2014.
Instead, Nvidia’s flagship consumer cards are the Ti cards, like theRTX 2080 Ti. At first we dismissed the idea of an RTX 3090, and assumed that previous rumors were either false, or they were mistakenly talking about the RTX 3080 Ti.
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However, the persistence of RTX 3090 rumors is giving us second thoughts. What we don’t know is thatif(and that’s a big ‘if’) the RTX 3090 exists, will it be a step above the RTX 3080 Ti, or will it simply replace it?
Also, would the RTX 3090 once again be another dual-chip GPU?
Nvidia going back to the x90 naming convention would certainly be an odd choice – and could end up confusing people.
Wccftech actually has an interesting theory about why Nvidia may be embracing the x90. With bothAMDandIntelreleasing ‘9’ series enthusiast products (the Ryzen 9 and Core i9 respectively), could Nvidia be aligning its products as well?
If consumers are beginning to associate products with a ‘9’ in their names with high performance, enthusiast, components, then that could be an explanation.
Either way, we shouldn’t have too long to wait to find out, if this new rumor is to be believed.
Matt is TechRadar’s Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there’s no aspect of technology that Matt isn’t passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he’s reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.
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