Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Although the Ampere lineup of GPUs found in the Geforce RTX 30 series seemed pretty complete, there was one SKU that didn’t entirely make it to the desktop lineup. The GA103 GPU was apparently supposed to be the heart of the original RTX 3080, and later rumours suggest it should have been used in the RTX 3070 Ti, and yet a graphics card utilising this 7424-shader GPU never quite made it all the way to market.
In this video, I test a full-size GA103 from a laptop-based RTX 3080 Ti Mobile that has been adapted into a desktop-compatible PCI-Express graphics card, to see what might have been.
Thanks to Alexi for providing the graphics card for this video.
Sources:
Kopite7kimi, X.com
https://x.com/kopite7kimi/status/1323438754426548224
https://x.com/kopite7kimi/status/1457733233940975617
Moore’s Law is Dead “RTX 4070 & GA103 Truth Leak” (around the 13:49 mark)
youtube.com/watch?v=l5ZDOHI3IkM
Videocardz “NVIDIA GA103 graphics processor pictured, features 496 mm² die area”videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-ga103-graphics-processor-pictured-features-496-mm%C2%B2-die-area
Digital Trends “Nvidia's Enigmatic GA103 GPU Finally Spotted In The Wild”digitaltrends.com/computing/nvidias-enigmatic-ga103-gpu-finally-spotted-in-the-wild
Techspot “Nvidia is reportedly partnering with TSMC for 7nm Ampere production next year”techspot.com/news/87098-nvidia-reportedly-partnering-tsmc-7nm-ampere-production-next.html
Chips & Cheese “Nvidia’s Ampere & Process Technology: Sunk by Samsung?”chipsandcheese.com/p/nvidias-ampere-process-technology-sunk-by-samsung
00:00 GA103 - Nvidia's Lost GPU01:01 History of the Nvidia GA103
02:59 How I got hold of one
04:58 The graphics card
08:31 The games
14:57 Conclusion
A D S
The following links are affiliated. Everything costs the same to you, but I get a commission.
G E A R
Audio:
Focusrite Scarlett amzn.to/490cUGe
Shure MV7X amzn.to/4e91KkR
Generic microphone arm amzn.to/339yZRC
Video:
Fujifilm X-T3 amzn.to/3nGapRY
Fujifilm 23mm f2 amzn.to/3udXvgn
FeiyuTech G6 Max Gimbal amzn.to/3nHndYs
Interfit LM8 Video LED amzn.to/2SkESJL
Neewer 120cm Softbox amzn.to/2RjlMDm
Raleno Rechargeable Bicolour Video LED Panel amzn.to/3f2l7hV
Although the Ampere lineup of GPUs found in the Geforce RTX 30 series seemed pretty complete, there was one SKU that didn’t entirely make it to the desktop lineup. The GA103 GPU was apparently supposed to be the heart of the original RTX 3080, and later rumours suggest it should have been used in the RTX 3070 Ti, and yet a graphics card utilising this 7424-shader GPU never quite made it all the way to market.
In this video, I test a full-size GA103 from a laptop-based RTX 3080 Ti Mobile that has been adapted into a desktop-compatible PCI-Express graphics card, to see what might have been.
Thanks to Alexi for providing the graphics card for this video.
Sources:
Kopite7kimi, X.com
https://x.com/kopite7kimi/status/1323438754426548224
https://x.com/kopite7kimi/status/1457733233940975617
Moore’s Law is Dead “RTX 4070 & GA103 Truth Leak” (around the 13:49 mark)
youtube.com/watch?v=l5ZDOHI3IkM
Videocardz “NVIDIA GA103 graphics processor pictured, features 496 mm² die area”videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-ga103-graphics-processor-pictured-features-496-mm%C2%B2-die-area
Digital Trends “Nvidia's Enigmatic GA103 GPU Finally Spotted In The Wild”digitaltrends.com/computing/nvidias-enigmatic-ga103-gpu-finally-spotted-in-the-wild
Techspot “Nvidia is reportedly partnering with TSMC for 7nm Ampere production next year”techspot.com/news/87098-nvidia-reportedly-partnering-tsmc-7nm-ampere-production-next.html
Chips & Cheese “Nvidia’s Ampere & Process Technology: Sunk by Samsung?”chipsandcheese.com/p/nvidias-ampere-process-technology-sunk-by-samsung
00:00 GA103 - Nvidia's Lost GPU01:01 History of the Nvidia GA103
02:59 How I got hold of one
04:58 The graphics card
08:31 The games
14:57 Conclusion
A D S
The following links are affiliated. Everything costs the same to you, but I get a commission.
G E A R
Audio:
Focusrite Scarlett amzn.to/490cUGe
Shure MV7X amzn.to/4e91KkR
Generic microphone arm amzn.to/339yZRC
Video:
Fujifilm X-T3 amzn.to/3nGapRY
Fujifilm 23mm f2 amzn.to/3udXvgn
FeiyuTech G6 Max Gimbal amzn.to/3nHndYs
Interfit LM8 Video LED amzn.to/2SkESJL
Neewer 120cm Softbox amzn.to/2RjlMDm
Raleno Rechargeable Bicolour Video LED Panel amzn.to/3f2l7hV
