Nvidia decided to delay the release of its 12GB RTX 4080 graphics card last month due to public criticism regarding naming and pricing issues. However, recent information suggests that the GPU, initially withheld, may re-enter the market with a different model designation. According to a well-known leaker, the “unlaunched” GPU is set to return as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti in January, marking an effort by Nvidia to address the confusion surrounding two RTX 4080 cards with distinct specifications.
Renowned tipster kopite7kimi (@kopite7kimi) shared details about the potential resurgence of the 12GB Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU. In response to inquiries about a January 2023 release date, the leaker responded with a thumbs up, indicating the anticipated launch.
This leaker has a track record of accurately predicting specifications for Nvidia GPUs, having previously disclosed details about the RTX 3090 and RTX 3080. The tipster also indicated that the RTX 4090 GPU would require 450 watts of power, as reported by The Verge.
The decision to reintroduce the 12GB RTX 4080 as the RTX 4070 Ti aligns with the logical need to differentiate between the two models, given their substantial differences. Nvidia faced significant backlash for labeling the 12GB variant as an RTX 4080, which was initially priced at $899 and featured 7,680 CUDA Cores, a 2.31GHz base clock (boosting up to 2.61GHz), 639 Tensor-TFLOPs, 92 RT-TFLOPs, and 40 Shader-TFLOPs.
In contrast, the 16GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 boasts greater power, with 9,728 CUDA Cores, a base clock of 2.21GHz (boosting up to 2.51GHz), 780 Tensor-TFLOPs, 113 RT-TFLOPs, and 49 Shader-TFLOPs. Nvidia originally unveiled the first two GPUs in its highly anticipated GeForce RTX 40 series, the GeForce RTX 4090 and GeForce RTX 4080, in September. These GPUs are based on the new ‘Ada Lovelace’ architecture, promising up to four times the performance of the previous ‘Ampere’ architecture, along with improved power efficiency. Nvidia also introduced its DLSS3 image upscaling technology and highlighted advancements in ray tracing and neural rendering capabilities with third-generation ray tracing cores and fourth-gen Tensor cores.
