In January of this year, Nvidia introduced the RTX 3080 12GB, a slightly more powerful RTX 3080 with more memory and a small bump in CUDA cores. Back then, Nvidia launched this SKU to create an alternative to the RTX 3090, which was too expensive to produce at the time. Five months later, production was halted, but the 12GB RTX 3080 may make a comeback soon.
The report comes from MEGAsizeGPU, which claims that Nvidia is producing the 12GB RTX 3080 again in an effort to help clear out additional stock. The SKU could also allow Nvidia to use up GA102 GPUs that didn't make the cut for the RTX 3090.
Because there is too much stock of GA102, Nvidia has resumed the supply of 3080 12G.
The 3080 12G just stopped production for less than two months, and recently resumed production quickly.— MEGAsizeGPU (@Zed__Wang) August 14, 2022
For those who don't remember, the RTX 3080 12GB is spec'd slightly higher than the standard RTX 3080. It has a GA102 GPU with a boost clock of 1,710MHz, and 8,960 CUDA cores enabled. For the memory subsystem, we have 12GB of GDDR6X at 19Gbps across a 384-bit memory bus. All this comes in a 350W TDP package.
Of course, due to GPU prices being in flux for much of the year, there was no MSRP attached to the 12GB RTX 3080. It'll be interesting to see if they drop once retailers get hands on new units – assuming the report is accurate. Nvidia has not officially made any new announcements regarding the 12GB RTX 3080.
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KitGuru says: This rumour is unverified for now, so we'll have to keep an eye out for any new 12GB RTX 3080 retail listings for confirmation.