NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 leaked; GA102, 320-bit bus, 10 GB VRAM and 4,325 CUDA cores?

A picture supposedly of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 has surfaced online. Published on Chiphell and brought to our attention by @9550pro, Videocardz posits that the card is a prototype or an engineering sample. Hence, final retail units may look nothing like the one pictured here. Also, we cannot rule the image being fake or one that has been doctored somehow. The upside-down RTX 3080 is certainly odd, but the tiny NVIDIA logo on the shroud would be quite hard to fake.

The card has an unusual design, too. While there are two fans, they are placed on opposite sides. These are complemented by large heatsinks. The PCB also appears to have an irregular shape, as @cloudol and Videocardz have attempted to demonstrate. As the latter points out, the blue colouring is a protective wrap that covers the presumably aluminium shroud.

The card also carries the identifier DA217892. People have been offering potential specifications for the RTX 3080, too. One that has gained some traction is from @kopite7kimi, who has a history of providing accurate NVIDIA leaks. According to them, NVIDIA may have based the RTX 3080 on the GA102-200 GPU. Additionally, the card could feature up to 4,352 CUDA cores, 10 GB of VRAM and a 320-bit bus. If any of that is true, then the RTX 3080 has the makings of a compelling card.

NVIDIA is expected to release its first RTX 3000 series cards in Q3 2020. The company did not commit to a release date during its GTC 2020 keynote, but the appearance of these possible RTX 3080 prototypes could suggest that the unveiling of Ampere is not that far away. 

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