It's been just over a year since Nvidia released its Ampere series of graphics cards that swiftly became some of the most highly in-demand products on the market. With the ongoing chip shortage and competition from cryptominers, it's been almost impossible to get your hands on coveted GPUs like the GeForce RTX 3060 and GeForce RTX 3080, but rumors are circulating that new, juiced-up models of the RTX 30-series range are coming.
Trusted hardware leaker kopite7kimi shared potential specifications for the GeForce RTX 30-series Super lineup, though they also stated they were critical of the information.
Let's make a summary. 3090S 10752 24GB G6X3080S 8960 12GB G6X3070S 5888 8G G6X3060S 5632 12G G6Although I doubt the specs of some of them and the name of 90S. 👀👀👀September 22, 2021
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Upgrades people, upgrades
It goes without saying that you shouldn't treat these 'leaks' as gospel so take the specifications with a pinch of salt. That said, it was highly likely that the Ampere series would get its own Super upgrade so the leak isn't out of the realms of possibility, even if the specs seem a little funky.
This isn't the first leak that's appeared for the RTX 3090 Super, and that also suggested that it would have 10,752 CUDA cores, and only two more Compute Units at 84 compared to the RTX 3090's 82. Given that this was the same difference between the RTX 2080 Super and the original RTX 2080 though, again, there's every chance these specs could be genuine.
3090 Super10752 FP32August 25, 2021
Further evidence can also be found in a recent listing for the HP Envy AIO all-in-one PC that mentions the GeForce RTX 3080 Super, though as WCCFTech mentions in its reporting, this would likely be the Max-Q variant and not a desktop discrete graphics card given the restrictions of building into an all-in-1 machine.
This could easily be a typo for the RTX 2080 Super so again, let's not get ahead of ourselves. If a refreshed series of Ampere cards are going to be announced, we're willing to bet that CES 2022 is probably where they will be officially revealed, so if you've been waiting for a beefier RTX 3070 and the Ti variant didn't catch your eye, there might be an opportunity on the horizon before the anticipated Lovelace RTX 4000 series arrives.
Analysis: Is this all a bit pointless?
We've been critical in the past regarding new GPU releases in the current market, so if these rumors about a refreshed Super series are true, production is likely to impact other graphics cards to accommodate. People across Reddit and social media platforms are voicing their frustrations over being unable to find available stock, and when inventory does appear, its price tag is typically inflated to a ridiculous level.
It's little wonder, then, why some folk are moving away from PC gaming, feeling outpriced and exhausted trying to upgrade existing rigs or buy components for their first build. It's unlikely that this GPU drought will kill PC gaming, but releasing another series of graphics cards with ongoing supply issues would feel like a real kick in the teeth.
If Nvidia can do more to combat scalpers and increase production then this rumored Ampere Super range might be well received, especially if the price is right. But even so, there are plenty of options available in the current Nvidia RTX 30-series lineup for people looking for a specific range of power consumption, graphical output, and budget – the inventory just needs to be available, and closer to MSRP.
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