As per rumors, the RTX 4080 and 4090 should offer twice as much performance as the contemporary Ampere parts. The AD102 flagship is rumored to feature 144 SMs distributed across 12 GPCs. That means 18,432 FP32 cores and a peak compute rating of more than 66 TFLOPs, resulting in a 71% gain in raw compute performance over the GA102. Add to that the fact that Team Green is leveraging TSMC’s advanced N5 process node for Lovelace, and the resulting frequency boost should net a ~2.2x gain over the RTX 3090
NVIDIA RTX 4080/4090 Specifications
If the AD102 includes a total of 18,432 cores, we can expect roughly 16,000 cores on the RTX 4080 and 18,000 on the RTX 4090. Considering that we’re likely to see the AD102 fabbed on Samsung’s 5nm/6nm node, the increase in transistor density should absorb the otherwise expected increase in die size.
With the next generation of GeForce graphics cards, we’re not only looking at phenomenal performance targets but also considerable increases to the TDP. According to Greymon and Kopitekimi, the Lovelace-based RTX 4080/4090 will draw as much as 500W of power under load. This is despite the use of one of the most advanced and efficient process nodes on the planet. However, running the numbers kind of adds up. The AD102 flagship is expected to feature 144 SMs/12 GPCs, a gain of 71% in terms of logic compared to the GA102. Even if TSMC’s N5 node is 30% more power-efficient than Samsung’s 8nm LPP node, we’re looking at an increase of at least 80% in hardware units. That should easily result in a power draw at least 30-50% more than the top-end (RTX 3080/3090) Ampere offerings.
NVIDIA RTX 4080/4090 TDP
According to a report from Igor, this will be facilitated by the new 12VHPWR power connector. As part of the next-gen PCIe Gen 5 standard, the PCI SIG has defined a new “High Power Connector” or H+ for graphics cards with a power requirement of up to 600W. The 12VHPWR connector is a major departure from the existing PCI Express 2×3/2×4 Auxiliary Power connectors. While the pins of the former have a spacing of 3.0 mm, the latter has a larger spacing of 4.2 mm. Therefore, they won’t be compatible with the same hardware and require changes on both the PSU and the GPU PCB.
The 12VHPWR power connector can supply up to 55A of continuous power to the graphics card via its 12V power rail with a maximum power of 600W. The PCI SIG specifies a pin current capability (excluding sideband contacts) of 9.2 A per pin/position with a limit of 30 °C T-rise above ambient temperature at + 12 VDC with all twelve contacts energized. This results in 55.2 amps in one direction for the 12-volt power rail or 662.4 watts.
Taking the tolerances and safety precautions into place, up to 600W of power can be safely supplied to the add-in board (a reduction of 11% over the max possible). The added power consumption may seem like a step back for GPUs, but the new connector will simplify plug and PCB design quite significantly. NVIDIA’s RTX 40 series graphics cards, most notably the RTX 4080 and 4090 should leverage this new power connector along with support for PCIe Gen 5.
Prices
The same can be said for the prices of the next generation of graphics cards. The reasons are twofold. For starters, TSMC’s N5 node is quite a bit pricier than Samsung’s 8LPP node. Secondly, the die sizes will also grow despite a node shrink, meaning worse yields and therefore, higher production costs.
My personal estimates are as follows:
- RTX 4090 – $2,000
- RTX 4080 Ti – $1,500
- RTX 4080 – $999
- RTX 4070 – $549
- RTX 4060 – $399
- RTX 4050 Ti – $299
- RTX 4050 – $250
