Asus (via Twitter user HXL) has inadvertently confirmed the memory specifications for Nvidia’s forthcoming GeForce RTX 3060 and RTX 3080 Ti graphics cards. Although we’ve heard multiple rumors of the graphics cards, Asus is the first Nvidia partner to acknowledge their existence.
Apparently, Asus has already added the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3060 12GB and ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 Ti to its support database. The entries are at the bottom of the drop-down list, suggesting that Asus must have added the graphics card recently. The entries don’t lead to anywhere, for now; however, the part numbers do lend credence to some of the rumored specifications that have made their rounds around town.
The GeForce RTX 3060 rumors already pointed to the possibility of a 6GB and 12GB model. The ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3060 12GB seemingly confirms the existence of the 12GB variant. Nvidia’s decision to slap introduce 12GB of GDDR6 memory on the GeForce RTX 3060 seems way overkill, considering that the higher-up models, such as the GeForce RTX 3070 and GeForce RTX 3080 perform admirably with their 8GB and 10GB configurations, respectively.
Graphics Card | Part Number | |
---|---|---|
ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 Ti OC Edition | ROG-STRIX-RTX3080TI-O20G-GAMING | |
ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | ROG-STRIX-RTX3080TI-20G-GAMING | |
ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3060 OC Edition | ROG-STRIX-RTX3060-O12G-GAMING | |
ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3060 | ROG-STRIX-RTX3060-12G-GAMING |
It’s always handy to have an abundant amount of memory on a graphics card since it allows you to push up into the higher resolutions and enable more eye-candy in games. In the GeForce RTX 3060’s case, however, it seems like an unnecessary measure that would just add to the cost of the graphics card. Even the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, the closest relative to the GeForce RTX 3060, does just fine with its 8GB of GDDR6.
Fortunately, Nvidia will reportedly offer the GeForce RTX 3060 with a 6GB setup as well, which will likely be the favorite flavor for many mainstream gamers. However, it would have been better if Nvidia had upped it to 8GB since 8GB is pretty much the standard in the contemporary gaming world.
The rumors paint the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti as a cut-down version of the GeForce RTX 3090 with less memory and bandwidth. The graphics card reportedly features the same 10,496 CUDA cores but lands with 20GB of GDDR6X memory instead of 24GB. The memory supposedly runs at the same 19.5 Gbps, albeit across a narrower memory interface.
Looking like business as usual, Asus will give the GeForce RTX 3060 12GB and GeForce RTX 3080 Ti the ROG Strix treatment. The graphics card will come in both standard and overclocked flavors. However, the Ampere-powered offerings trickle down to Asus’ other families of graphics cards, such as the TUF and Dual series.