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Updated | The curious case of missing CUDA cores: Dell G15 listing suggests that its GeForce RTX 3060 isn't as powerful as it should be

The Dell G15's GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card seems to have a reduced CUDA core count
The Dell G15's GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card seems to have a reduced CUDA core count (image via own)
Dell may be up to its CUDA core cannibalizing shenanigans again. A cursory glance at the Dell G15 listing tells us that its CUDA core count is set at 3,584 instead of 3,840. One could have dismissed it as an error had it not been for Dell's recent Alienware m15 R5 debacle. Update: The GeForce 3060 on the Dell G15 has the correct number of CUDA cores

UPDATE 12/06/2021: Dell has officially corrected the typo and has released the following statement: "We can verify that all CUDA Cores in Dell G series systems have been validated and accounted for. This error was simply a typo on the Dell.com product page, which has been corrected."

UPDATE 11/06/2021: A reader reached out to us with proof that the Dell G15's GeForce RTX 3060 has 3,840 CUDA cores. Hence, the reduced CUDA core count on the Dell G15 listing could be the result of a typo.

Original article: It appears that Dell hasn't learned much from its Alienware m15 R5 fiasco, where it deliberately reduced the CUDA core count of the laptop's Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card. Jarrod's Tech has discovered yet another glaring discrepancy in the official Dell 15 listing this time around. The notebook runs a GeForce RTX 3060 with 3,584 CUDA cores instead of 3,840.

Interestingly enough, only the GeForce RTX 3060 seems to have a reduced CUDA core count. SKUs running the GeForce RTX 3050 Ti and 3050 are on spec. Currently, we do not have a Dell G15 running a GeForce RTX 3060 on hand. Hence we are unable to confirm if the listing is factual. In all likelihood, some Dell employee may have used the RTX 3060 desktop's spec sheet as a reference, as it runs 3,584 CUDA cores. It could, in all likelihood, be an innocent mistake, but giving Dell the benefit of the doubt is a tad hard, given the past few weeks. We should know soon enough, though. 

This time around, both the Intel and AMD variants of the Dell G15 appear to be affected. That rules out any Intel-favoured shenanigans, as Dell is notorious for upholding Intel hardware over AMD. We also reached out to Dell's support for a comment on the matter. The support representative stated that the listing is correct but could not elaborate further. We will update the article once we have more information. Watch this space for more details.

Official Nvidia Ampere mobile spec sheet (image via Nvidia)
Official Nvidia Ampere mobile spec sheet (image via Nvidia)
Dell G15 spec sheet (image via Dell, edited)
Dell G15 spec sheet (image via Dell, edited)
Our chat with the Dell support representative (image via own)
Our chat with the Dell support representative (image via own)
Dell G15 GeForce RTX 3060 specs submitted by one of our readers
Dell G15 GeForce RTX 3060 specs submitted by one of our readers
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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2021 06 > The curious case of missing CUDA cores: Dell G15 listing suggests that its GeForce RTX 3060 isn't as powerful as it should be
Anil Ganti, 2021-06-10 (Update: 2021-06-13)