Please note that this post is tagged as a rumor.
NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs
New rumors on NVIDIA’s next-gen Blackwell architecture points towards the company’s first MCM design.
NVIDIA’s upcoming GPU architecture, codenamed Blackwell, is poised to be the successor to Ada Lovelace. In contrast to the Hopper/Ada architecture, Blackwell is set to extend its reach across both datacenter and consumer GPUs. NVIDIA is gearing up to introduce several GPU processors, with no major alterations to core counts, but there are hints of a significant restructuring of the GPU architecture.
The name “Blackwell” for this architecture was unveiled by a reputable leaker known as kopite7kimi back in 2021, who has been consistently sharing tidbits of information about the series month by month. However, consumers should not anticipate the immediate launch of Blackwell. NVIDIA’s RTX 40 series is yet to celebrate its first anniversary, and the company’s presentations have indicated no plans to update their architecture until 2025.
According to the latest series of tweets from Kopite, Blackwell is not expected to feature a substantial increase in core counts. While it remains unclear whether this pertains to both data-center and gaming series, the core count for Blackwell is anticipated to remain relatively unchanged, while the underlying GPU clusters will undergo significant structural modifications. Kopite has not disclosed further details at this point, but it is said that GB100 GPU might feature twice as many cores as GB102, both are data-center GPUS.
Although the number of units(like GPCs or TPCs) in Blackwell will not increase significantly, there are significant changes in its unit structure.
— kopite7kimi (@kopite7kimi) September 18, 2023
Additionally, there has been mention of GB100, the data-center GPU for Blackwell, adopting a Multi Chip Module (MCM) design. This suggests that NVIDIA will employ advanced packaging techniques, dividing GPU components into separate dies. The specific number and configuration of these dies are yet to be determined, but this approach will grant NVIDIA greater flexibility in customizing chips for consumers, mirroring AMD’s intentions with the Instinct MI300 series.
After the dramas of GA100 and GH100, it seems that GB100 is finally going to use MCM.
— kopite7kimi (@kopite7kimi) September 18, 2023
While detailed specifications for Blackwell are not yet available, Gigabyte, a provider of NVIDIA HPC ecosystems, anticipates a rise in power consumption once again.
| NVIDIA GPU Architectures | ||
|---|---|---|
| HPC | ||
| – | – | |
| GAMING | ||
| – | ||
| – | – | |
Source: Kopite7kimi
