We're not entirely sure when Nvidia plans on releasing their next-gen GPUs, and with the pivot to AI, the PC hardware company doesn't seem in any rush to get out new graphics cards.
The most recent rumors from way back in May suggested that we might see the desktop RTX 5090 later this fall, with potentially the laptop variants released by CES 2025.
A new leak on Weibo, spotted by Notebook Check, has given us a slight idea of what might be available on the laptop variant. According to Weibo user and well-regarded leaker Golden Pig Upgrade, upcoming GeForce RTX 50 GPUs will launch with GDDR7 VRAM. Current RTX 40 cards feature GDDR6X.
Reportedly, the GeForce RTX 5050 laptop card might only feature 8GB of video memory, forcing the laptop to rely on DLSS, Frame generation and AI-upscaling to play games at a high framerate. Again, that is not surprising considering Nvidia's big push into AI this year. Allegedly, the RTX 5070 might come with 12 GB.
Additionally, the TDP will be capped at 115 watts, compared to 140 watts on current models. However, as far as we know, no laptops draw up to 140 watts anyway. Most are probably topping out at 100W, which makes a 115 cap sensible.
In response to their leak, Golden Pig said we might not see the 5060 card early next year. They said, "there are too many things to change," but did not elaborate on what those "things" might be.
Based on this leak and other reports, it sounds like Nvidia has been a bit lackadaisical with their next-gen cards. We might see desktop GPUs in late 2024, but they might also get pushed to 2025. The laptop variants seem to be the forgotten child, and we might not see them until the middle of 2025.
