Nvidia’s RTX 5080 will reportedly be available in 16GB and 24GB flavours

Nvidia may create a 24GB RTX 5080

Rumour has it that Nvidia plans to release two versions of its RTX 5080 graphics card. One model will be a 16GB version, and the other will offer users a HUGE 24GB frame buffer.

Specifications for Nvidia’s RTX 5080 have recently been leaked. These specifications give the RTX 5080 a 400W TDP, 10752 CUDA cores, and a 256-bit memory bus. Note that this leak specifies that the RTX 5080 will feature 16GB of GDDR7 memory. However, this doesn’t mean that a 24GB model is impossible.

Nvidia will need to use 2GB GDDR7 memory modules over a 256-bit memory bus to have 16 GB of GDDR7 memory. To offer gamers 24GB of memory, Nvidia could use a wider 384-bit memory bus and more 2GB memory chips. Alternatively, they could use 3GB GDDR7 memory chips over the same 256-bit memory bus. Only one of these options makes sense for an alternative RTX 5080 model. That option is the 3GB GDDR7 chip route.

If Nvidia created a GPU with a wider memory bus, it wouldn’t be an RTX 5080 anymore. A 50% wider memory bus would give users 50% more bandwidth (assuming that memory speeds don’t change), making this hypothetical RTX 5080 a completely new GPU with different silicon. Thankfully, we know that the GDDR7 standard does include 3GB chip options. However, we don’t think these 3GB chips are in production yet.

(PolyMorph – Chiphell)

Why make a 24GB RTX 5080?

Nvidia’s rumoured RTX 5080 24GB model will reportedly be released after Nvidia’s initial 16GB RTX 5080 launch. This makes a lot of sense, as we believe that only 2GB GDDR7 memory modules are currently available. Nvidia could use this GPU to appeal to creators, workstation users, AI enthusiasts, and forward-looking gamers. This will plug what is likely to be a huge price gap between the 16GB RTX 5080 and 32GB RTX 5090.

You can join the discussion on Nvidia’s rumoured 24GB RTX 5080 plans on the OC3D Forums.