Gigabyte product codenames confirm planned 20GB RTX 3080 and 16GB RTX 3070 models

Nvidia’s RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 products were announced with 8GB and 10GB frame buffers respectively, but as we expand further into the 4K era, it has become clear that the VRAM requirements of gamers s expanding rapidly. 

Gigabyte’s redemption Website for Watch Dogs Legion codes, which will be available for free with RTX 30 series graphics cards for a limited time, Gigabyte has listed several unannounced RTX 30 series graphics cards, including planned 16GB RTX 3070 and 20GB RTX 3080 models. 

Within the product list below, via Videocardz, Gigabyte has also listed RTX 3060 series graphics cards and S (Super?) models for Nvidia’s RTX 3060, 3070 and 3080 graphics cards. Note that all of Gigabyte’s S series RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 models appear to feature two times as much VRAM as Nvidia’s standard RTX 3080 and RTX 3070 models. 

Based on the information below, Nvidia’s RTX 3060 will offer its users 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM. This change makes sense given the high VRAM requirements of modern games and how bandwidth-limited Nvidia’s RTX 2060 6GB graphics card could be. 

 

   

As console gaming enters its next-generation and developers start to fully utilise the hardware within the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5, PC gamers should expect to see VRAM requirements for games rise and for their hardware to be stressed in new and exciting ways. 

The idea of future-proofing will make Nvidia’s high capacity RTX 30 series graphics cards attractive to gamers, though it is worth noting that video editors and workstation users will also benefit from this increased allotment of VRAM. 

Please note that Micron plans to release its 16Gb/2GB GDDR6X memory chips in 2021. This means that we are unlikely to see 20GB RTX 3080 GPU models before 2021. 

Those who are interested in Gigabyte’s RTX 3080 graphics cards can read our review for their RTX 3080 Gaming OC here. 

You can join the discussion on Gigabyte’s confirmed 20GB RTX 3080 designs on the OC3D Forums.