Nvidia's RTX 3080 12GB Could Be a Blessing for Crypto Miners

Preliminary specifications of Nvidia’s unannounced RTX 3080 12GB GPU have been leaked, revealing several enhancements over the standard 10GB model.

The video card was expected to be revealed on December 17, but the unveiling was said to be delayed amid a shortage of components. According to VideoCardz, however, the RTX 3080 12GB variant does indeed exist and has already been distributed to board partners.

As for what will be powering the upgraded graphics card, the RTX 3080 12GB will reportedly sport the GA102-220 GPU. Wccftech notes that the GA102 is an Ampere-based GPU that has been developed for the high-end gaming market. Currently, it’s Nvidia’s fastest gaming GPU. Measuring 628mm2, it’s the second-biggest gaming GPU ever manufactured by the company.

The RTX 3080 12GB variant will also offer 8960 CUDA cores, which would result in 256 more cores (nearly 3%) than the original model’s cores count. In terms of power consumption, the GPU will come with a TDP of 340 to 350 watts. Clock speeds, meanwhile, have yet to be revaled.

In addition to the memory upgrade, the card will apparently feature a wider 384-bit memory bus interface, thus providing 912 GB/s of bandwidth. Comparatively, the original RTX 3080 offers bandwidth of 760 GB/s, so it’s certainly a noticeable boost.

While faster memory will be enticing for gamers, crypto miners stand to gain even more so. In regard to ETH crypto mining, the Lite Hash Rate (LHR) is said to be 20% faster at 52 MH/s compared to the 43 MH/s that the original delivers for crypto enthusiasts. In other words, expect a huge increase in price over the GPU’s MSRP when the card eventually releases.

The GeForce RTX 3080 12GB card is most likely set to be Nvidia’s response to Intel’s upcoming Arc Alchemist GPU series — particularly the high-end segment — which is due for a release during the second quarter of 2022. Prior to the launch of the new RTX 3080 model, Nvidia is expected to release its flagship RTX 3090 Ti GPU on January 27.

Elsewhere, Nvidia could be looking to integrate its RTX 3080 Ti GPU into gaming laptops. FinalWire recently launched an update for its AIDA64 benchmark software, with the new 6.60 version providing support for some of the latest hardware technologies such as Intel’s 12th-gen Alder Lake processors. Another system mentioned is the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti laptop, which has yet to be officially revealed by Nvidia. If the product does exist, the company will most likely introduce it at its CES 2022 presentation on January 4.