After much anticipation, great speculation, and even some leaks, the long awaited GeForce RTX 30 series is finally here! While the entire series is truly spectacular, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 is an absolute colossus and it has specs that seem almost too good to be true.
Substantially more powerful than their current 20 series, Nvidia’s 30 series is a combination of the RTX 3070, RTX 3080 and the RTX 3090.
In their introduction pitch at the launch of this new series, Nvidia put forward the statement that the RTX 3080 is twice as fast the RTX 2080. That is, to put it mildly, fast! Looking at it from a completely raw specs point of view, though, this is totally accurate.
If you are one of the hopefuls that are waiting to get their hands on the majestic RTX 3090 or RTX 3080, you may have to act really quickly because, according to a report at TweakTown, there are only a limited number of these cards available in this first launch. And by limited we mean a substantially minuscule amount as compared to past launches.
To make sure you don’t miss out, you can sign up for preorder notifications on the GeForce RTX 30 series on their website. Currently, none of these GPU’s is available for preorder but once you are signed up for notifications, you will be kept in the loop the second they go live for preorder.
These new GPU’s span the spectrum in price and performance and offer something for all serious gamers. They are revolutionary on the AI front and will provide a gaming experience worth every dollar paid. In this article, we’ll be discussing all the phenomenal aspects of this series and taking a more in-depth look at the specs for these GPU’s.
In Comparison
The RTX 3080 is Nvidia’s flagship GPU and it is definitely a phenomenal one at that, however, seeing that the RTX 3080 is such a monster, it definitely makes you wonder what the RTX 3090 is going to be like. Looking at the RTX 30 series next to each other, it is clear that the RTX 3090 is definitely a beast of a card in comparison to the other two.
The RTX 3090 measures 313x138mm and takes up a total of three slots, compared to the RTX 3070 which measures 242x112mm and takes up only two slots. The RTX 3080 measures 285x110mm and also takes up two slots. The RTX 3070 looks slightly different to the other two, as it has two front fans and a dissimilar cooler.
While the RTX 3080 was announced as Nvidia’s new flagship, it looks quite small compared to the RTX 3090. However, it will be the first of the graphics cards to be launched, going live on the 17th of September. The RTX 3090 will follow close behind on its heels, launching on the 24th September. And last, but not least, will come the RTX 3070, launching later in October.
This new GeForce RTX 30 series is apparently going to knock the ball completely out the park compared to the GeForce 20 series. They are twice as powerful, not to mention twice as fast! The Ray Tracing cores have been improved, now rendering 1440p at 60fps as compared to the previous 720p at 60fps. It is quite the massive leap and promises to be spectacular.
Following are the official specifications for each of the GPU’s in this series and you will then be able to see just how much more improved they are as compared to the RTX 20 series.
The RTX 30 Series’ Specifications
According to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, the new RTX 30 Series is “the greatest generational leap in company history.” The flagship GeForce RTX 3080 has no less than 28 billion transistors and it is built on a custom 8N manufacturing process, connecting to Micron’s new GDDR6X memory, which is the fastest graphics memory that has ever been made. Now that is definitely a leap that is worth taking!
Not to mention that the RTX 3090 is the first graphics card that is capable of playing games at 8K resolution. What with the cutting edge GDDR6X memory, the new RTX 30 series has been created to perform at speeds that are exponentially higher than the previous series!
Here is a rundown of the basic specifications for each of the graphics cards in this series, just to give you an idea of what to expect and so that you know what you’re dealing with:
| RTX 3090 | RTX 3080 | RTX 3070 | ||
| GPU Engine Specs | Nvidia CUDA Cores | 10496 | 8704 | 5888 |
| Boost Clock (GHz) | 1.70 | 1.71 | 1.73 | |
| Memory Specs | Standard Memory Config | 24 GB GDDR6X | 10 GB GDDR6X | 8 GB GDDR6X |
| Memory Interface Width | 384-bit | 320-bit | 256-bit | |
| Technology Support | Ray Tracing Cores | 2nd Generation | 2nd Generation | 2nd Generation |
| Tensor Cores | 3rd Generation | 3rd Generation | 3rd Generation | |
| Nvidia Architecture | Ampere | Ampere | Ampere | |
| Microsoft DirectX 12 Ultimate | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| NVIDIA DLSS | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| PCI Express Gen 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| NVIDIA GeForce Experience | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| NVIDIA Ansel | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| NVIDIA Freestyle | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| NVIDIA Shadow Play | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| NVIDIA Highlights | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| NVIDIA G-SYNC | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Game Ready Drivers | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| NVIDIA Studio Drivers | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| NVIDIA GPU Boost | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| NVIDIA NVLink (SLI Ready) | Yes | |||
| Vulkan RT API OpenGL 4.6 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| HDMI 2.1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| DisplayPort 1.4a | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| NVIDIA Encoder | 7th Generation | 7th Generation | 7th Generation | |
| NVIDIA Decoder | 5th Generation | 5th Generation | 5th Generation | |
| VR Ready | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Display Support | Max Digital Resolution | 7680×4320 | 7680×4320 | 7680×4320 |
| Std Display Connectors | HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | |
| Multi Monitor | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| HDCP | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.3 | |
| Founders Edition Card Dimensions | Length | 12.3inches (313mm) | 11.2inches (285mm) | 9.5inches (242mm) |
| Width | 5.4inches (138mm) | 4.4inches (112mm) | 4.4inches (112mm) | |
| Slot | 3-slot | 2-slot | 2-slot | |
| Founders Edition Thermal Power Specs | Max GPU Temp (in C) | 93 | 93 | 93 |
| Graphics Card Power (W) | 350 | 320 | 220 | |
| Required System Power (W) | 750 | 750 | 650 | |
| Supplementary Power Connectors | 2xPCIe 8-pin | 2xPCIe 8-pin | 1xPCIe 8-pin |
Performance Breakdown
These new graphics cards are ready to take the gaming and designing world by storm, with their faster ray tracing and next-generation AI powered tools to up performance to the maximum.
As you can see, the RTX 30 series literally leaves the older series choking on its high-powered gaming dust. And it is not just in the gaming industry where this new series shows exactly what it is made of.
While these new GPUs are definitely geared more towards the gaming industry, it is also making substantial waves in the world of graphic designing. Many designers are currently on the edge of their chairs, waiting for the moment when they will finally be able to order their very own RTX 30 GPU.
With the next generation of improved CUDA performance on the RTX 30 Series GPUs, combined with dedicated ray tracing cores, 3D rendering has been speeded up to double across top renderers.
To Buy or Not to Buy?
Lastly, let’s take a look at how much each one of these dreamboats is going to cost you.
The RTX 3080 will be available first and, as per Nvidia, it offers twice the performance of the previous generation GeForce RTX 2080. It will be offered with a starting price of $699.
The RTX 3090 will follow at a price of $1499. Considering what a behemoth this card is, this is definitely money that will be well spent!
Lastly, there is the RTX 3070, which is going to be offered at the incredible price of just $499. Again, for what you are getting, this is value for money, to be sure.
It really all boils down to how you want to play the game, to be honest. This new series is knocking the socks off the last series and it is most likely going to be in really high demand.
At the end of the day it is a case of whether to buy…or not to buy. You decide.
The New Standard – Or Not
With all said and done, one more question to ask would be whether or not the new GeForce RTX 30 Series will soon become the new standard for gaming GPUs. It’s a good question. Faced with all of the facts we have seen, it certainly does seem like it would be a great idea.
With everything in life being so focused on speed and driven by efficiency, and with the RTX 30 series being so amped up in these very departments, it is no wonder then that we are left with the distinct impression that it will become the new standard for gaming GPUs.
Whether or not it will, though, is not for us to say. Anything is possible in this day and age and it will definitely be very exciting to keep an eye on developments to see what transpires!
Nvidia has also made available a question and answer session which deals with some more in-depth technical questions regarding the new series of graphics cards and the answers to those questions.
As always, if you’re interested in more information from tech-centric experts on what the GeForce RTX 30 Series has to potentially offer, consider reaching out to HelpCloud Technicians for remote support.
