Nvidia RTX 3080 12 GB specs leak: wider memory bus and bandwidth, more CUDA cores and slightly raised TGP

Even though the release date for the RTX 3080 12 GB version remains shrouded in mystery, Videocardz is now able to confirm that this new model has already been distributed to Nvidia’s board partners, plus the publication obtained exclusive spec information that suggests Team Green is readying these SKUs as a direct response to Intel’s ARC Alchemist GPUs launching in Q2 2022.

Apart from the obvious upgrade to 12 GB VRAM, the new RTX 3080 model will feature a wider 384-bit memory bus dictated by the amount of VRAM. Consequently, the maximum bandwidth will be upped from 760 GB/s to 912 GB/s, which will also boost Ethereum crypto mining hasinh speeds by around 20%, from 43 MH/s to 52 MH/s (Lite Hash Rate limiter still implemented). As far as CUDA cores go, the 12 GB version is supposed to integrate 256 more cores over the 10 GB version, bringing the total to 8690. Twitter user kopite7kimi previously mentioned that the 12 GB SKU with 8690 CUDA cores could end up named RTX 3080 SUPER. Clock speed info is not yet available, yet the TGP is said to be increased to 340-350 W, which almost matches that of the RTX 3080 Ti.

Videocardz is expecting this model to launch some time in the second half of January. The first half of the month will see the release of the RTX 3090 Ti and possibly the RTX 3050 entry level version, while the RTX 3070 Ti 16 GB may only launch in February.

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