Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090: Photos leak for gigantic graphics card

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 is expected to launch within a matter of weeks, with Nvidia teasing a countdown for its next-gen graphics cards. 

Rumoured to replace the RTX 2080 Ti as Nvidia’s most powerful consumer graphics card, the RTX 3090 looks to be a supremely powerful GPU. Recent ‘leaked’ photos have only emphasised its potential colossus power, showing it to be significantly larger than the RTX 2080. 

Here’s a quick rundown of the rumoured details and specs:

• The RTX 3090 will become the most powerful consumer graphics card
• A leaker on Twitter suggest it will cost $1400 
• Nvidia set to reveal RTX 2090 on 1st September
• RTX 3090 will use Ampere architecture, featuring Samsung’s 8nm process
• Memory manufacturer Micron claims it will feature 24GB GDDR6X video memory
• Power draw could be a mighty 400W
• Founder Edition models could require 12-pin power connector
• RTX 3090 will be larger than the RTX 2080

For more information on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090, keep reading on and keep this page bookmarked for future updates.

Related: Nvidia Ampere

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 release date – When will it launch?

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 could hit stores on 17 September 2020 if Chinese publication IThome is to be believed.

September at least looks nailed on to be the month of release, with Nvidia almost guaranteed to unveil the new graphics card during its September 1 GeForce showcase. 

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 price – How much will it cost?

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 will cost $1400, according to Twitter poster @GarnetSunset. Since the poster isn’t a renowned graphics card leaker, it’s advised you retain some scepticism regarding this pricing details, although they did provide the seemingly authentic photos of the upcoming graphics card.

The $1400 figure seems pretty plausible too. This would make the RTX 3090 the most expensive consumer graphics card Nvidia has ever launched, but the rumoured specs arguably justify the price jump. 

Related: Best Graphics Cards

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 specs 

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 will use the upcoming Ampere architecture, which is rumoured to use Samsung’s 8nm process. This means the node won’t be quite as compact as the upcoming AMD RDNA 2 architecture, but Nvidia is making up for that by pushing up the video memory to dizzying heights. 

Memory manufacturer Micron (spotted by VideoCardz) claims it will feature 24GB GDDR6X video memory. Considering the RTX 2080 Ti only features 11GB GDDR6, those specs look very impressive. 

What’s more, Micron suggests this amount of video memory ‘will be able to break the 1TB/s of system bandwidth barrier’, which is a big landmark for graphics cards since consumer options have never really come close to hitting that record. 

It’s also looking increasingly likely that the RTX 3090 will require a new 12-pin PCIe power adapter, with Hardwareluxx writer Andreas Schilling showing the Seasonic-made connector in photos. The accompanying box reads ‘Nvidia 12-pin PCIe Molex Micro-Fit 3.0 Connector’. It’s thought that only Founder Edition models of the graphics cards will require this connector.

The RTX 3090 is also speculated to feature a whopping 400W power draw, which is unsurprisingly high given the graphics card potential size and performance power. For context,  Nvidia claims the RTX 2080 Ti has a 260W power draw. 

Related: Nvidia Ampere vs AMD Big Navi

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 performance

Outside of the leaked specs, there isn’t much information about the potential performance of the Nvidia RTX 3090. Judging from the bar set by the RTX 2080 Ti though, it’s likely the RTX 3090 will allow for more stable frame rates in 4K gaming.

The RTX 2080 Ti currently struggles to push past 60fps when running modern AAA games in 4K. We expect the RTX 3090 to offer boosted frame rates at this resolution, although this is complete guesswork. 

It’s also expected that Nvidia will continue to push fancy features such as ray tracing, with more Tensor cores allowing for improved quality when rendering the advanced lighting effects. 

It’s always possible that Nvidia has a couple more tricks up its sleeve too, with the likes of DLSS proving a big surprise for the last generation. 

Related: AMD Big Navi

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 design

Twitter user @GarnetSunset has posted pictures that seemingly show the RTX 3090 sitting next to the existing RTX 2080. While there’s every chance these pictures have been doctored or faked, they certainly look legitimate, and show the new graphics card to be significantly larger than its Turing counterpart. 

Such a large size means you’ll need a largish PC case to accommodate the RTX 3090, with @GarnetSunset also pointing out that this is a 3-slot graphics card. 

The photos also show the RTX 3090 has back-to-back dual fans. We’re not sure whether this will help improve heat dissipation, but we reckon it looks really cool nonetheless. 

Deputy Computing Editor

Formerly the Staff Writer at Stuff Magazine, Ryan's been writing about tech since he graduated from Cardiff University. At Trusted Reviews he is focussed on everything computer-related, giving him a v…

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