NVIDIA preparing a new wave of Ampere GPUs
Not just RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3060 will feature a Cryptocurrency mining limiter.
At least three sources have now confirmed that NVIDIA is refreshing its lineup with newer Ampere graphics processing unit revisions. We have already reported last month that NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti will feature a cryptomining limiter, just as the GeForce RTX 3060 did. Just shortly after this leak, NVIDIA accidentally released a driver that removed the limitation on RTX 3060 graphics cards, which raised questions about whether there is still a point in implementing the same limiter on other SKUs.
As it turns out, NVIDIA is not giving up. Just recently NVIDIA announced that it expects Q1 revenue from its just-announced CryptoMining Processor (CMP) series to triple compared to the previous outlook. At the same time, the manufacturer is developing new Ampere GPU variants that would also feature an upgraded mining limiter, the sources claim.
Igor’sLAB reports that newer GPU revisions are now being shipped to board partners for their GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics cards. Unlike earlier revisions, the new GPUs have mining limiter enabled. In his article Igor Wallossek explains that AIBs are required to update all RTX 3080 Ti qualification samples that they have to a newer revision, which is an irreversible process.
When the news broke that RTX 3060 will soon feature a newer GA106-302 GPU, a known NVIDIA leaker @kopite7kimi confirmed that NVIDIA will also update its GA102 and GA106 GPUs:
I've said before, maybe not GA106 only.
For example, we would meet GA102-302/202 and GA104-302/202. https://t.co/pGghHbikbV— kopite7kimi (@kopite7kimi) April 15, 2021
This means that the whole lineup is to feature newer revisions with cryptocurrency mining limiter. However, it should be noted that updated GPUs will also feature ResizableBAR support.
We are still awaiting news on RTX 3080 Ti / 3070 Ti launch schedule and confirmation on RTX 3060 Ti ‘302’ revision. Our sources claim that the new revisions of existing models should be expected in May.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series Roadmap | |||
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Q3 2020 | Q4 2020 | Q1 2021 | Q2 2021 |
Source: Igor’sLAB, @kopite7kimi, Wccftech