Micron’s ridiculously fast GDDR6X video memory could make the Nvidia RTX 4090 obsolete

Micron builds super-fast GDDR6X memory to ‘feed the beast’ of Nvidia’s next-gen GPUs

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Micron has revealed that it is working on new super-fast GDDR6X video memory, which will be powering the upcoming next-generationNvidiaGPUs, including the rumoredRTX 4090.

While GDDR6X has been included in the ultra-high-endRTX 3090 TiGPU at 21Gbps, it looks like the RTX 4090, 4080, and 4070 will all use that speed of GDDR6X, with the amount and memory bus being different between models.

So, rumors suggest theGeForce RTX 4070will come with 12GB of GDDR6X at 21 Gbps, along with a 192-bit memory bus.

TheGeForce RTX 4080is rumored to have 16GB of GDDR6X at 21 Gbps, and a larger 256-bit memory bus.

The Flagship RTX 4090, then, could come with 24GB of GDDR6X memory at 21 Gbps and a 384-bit memory bus.

These numbers alone suggest a big performance increase over the previous generation ofNvidia GPUs– but it seems that Micron is holding back its very fastest memory for a mystery Nvidia GPU instead.

Analysis: What is this mystery GPU?

The latest leaks have appeared on Twitter (see below), and they suggest that not only is Micron making 21 Gbps GDDR6X memory – but also 24 Gbps GDDR6X memory.

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If true, this would be incredibly fast memory – and certainly the fastest we’ve seen on a consumer GPU.

24Gbps가 있었는지 몰랐네… pic.twitter.com/yaLhbcx8EDAugust 8, 2022

But, if it’s not coming to the flagship RTX 4090, which many people assume will be the most powerful of theRTX 4000 series ‘Lovelace’ GPUs. So, if it’s not going to appear in the RTX 4090, where will it show up?

Current rumors suggest thatNvidia is working on a mystery GPU, which could be a new entry it its line of Titan graphics cards. These are supremely powerful GPUs that straddle the line between consumer gaming GPUs and professional-grade graphics cards, and showcase the very best hardware Nvidia has made.

There hasn’t been a Titan since theRTX Titanback in 2018, which was built on Nvidia’s Turing architecture.

There was no Titan released during theRTX 3000 “Ampere” architectureyears, and many people assumed the RTX 3090 (and then RTX 3090 Ti) had replaced it, with better performance and lower price.

However, there are rumors that Nvidia is going to release an incredibly powerful GPU with 48GB of GDDR6X memory, which could run at those 24 Gbps speeds.

Such a GPU would be outrageously powerful and would dwarf even the mighty RTX 4090 when it comes to power.

Does that mean this mystery GPU could have made the RTX 4090 obsolete already? After all, many people planning to splurge on the RTX 4090 are doing so because they want the very best cutting-edge tech from Nvidia.

Instead, they may be tempted to go for this much more powerful GPU. However, it’s worth pointing out that these rumored specs suggest a GPU that would offer more power than anyone really needs right now. For playingPC games, then, this spec would be a bit wasted, and you’d end up paying for a GPU you don’t use to its full potential.

On the other hand, if you’re a creative professional that needs some seriously heavy-duty graphics performance, this could be a great investment. Alongside raw performance, the mystery GPU will likely beveryexpensive – and with a rumored power draw of 800W, you’d likely need a newPSUto handle it – and that’s before we even go into the impact running this might have on your energy bills.

So, while this mystery GPU is shaping up to be pretty exciting, we still think the RTX 4090 will be theultimate gaming GPUin the end.

Matt is TechRadar’s Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there’s no aspect of technology that Matt isn’t passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he’s reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.

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