The board can reveal a lot about the new graphics cards from Nvidia.
The RTX 4000 series is the new graphics card generation from Nvidia. It should increase the performance compared to the current cards again. According to rumours, the top models will consume up to 600 watts of power. For comparison: The RTX 3080 comes with a power consumption of 350 watts TDP.
The well-known Europe Youtuber and technology expert Igor Wallossek from Igor’s Lab
From this, the hardware expert can derive some details about the cooling and also the expected memory of the upcoming cards. While he doesn’t show the image of the board itself, he has technically traced it to show what the build looks like. You can see the drawing of the expected reference board here:
Igor Wallossek made a drawing of the reference board. Source: Igor’s Lab
You can see 24 voltage converters for the graphics card. The board can generate 8 phases, so a total of three voltage converters are probably controlled per phase. According to Igor, there are a maximum of 12 soldering spots for the GDDR6X memory. It comes from Micron and is available in one and two GB modules.
From this he concludes that a maximum of 24 GB is possible with a full configuration. With 1 GB modules it would of course only be 12 GB in total. Slimmed-down versions of the graphics card that use the same chip could then also be equipped with 8 or 16 GB.
RTX 4000 as a power guzzler?
Nvidia’s new cards could more than double consumption
This is how the RTX 4090 and 4080 could be cooled
Another exciting question is the right cooling for the high power consumption. According to Igor’s sources, the chips of the RTX 3080 and 3090 and those of the RTX 4080 and 4090 should be pin-compatible. This means that graphics card manufacturers do not necessarily need the new chip to work on cooling solutions for the new generation. With the board and an open BIOS, you can simulate the 600 watt TDP and thus develop suitable coolers.
Nvidia itself is said to rely on a triple-slot air cooler for the Founders Edition, as is already the case with the Founders Edition of the RTX 3090 the case is. Nvidia’s board partners probably even work with a 3.5 slot design. The new graphics cards seem to be really big.
Alternatively, water cooling and AiO coolers are also suitable for such high power consumption. However, these are usually a bit more expensive, which is why they are probably not offered as the main solution.
You can find more information about the next generation of Nvidia in these articles:
Do graphics cards really need that much memory? Or is that a sensible addition with a view to the future? Do air coolers reach their limits with such power consumption or would you rather use water cooling here? Please let us know!
