Nvidia’s current-gen graphics cards could soon be in relatively short supply from the mid-range and up, as rumors are now buzzing on the grapevine around potential changes for RTX 4000 GPUs ahead of the launch of next-gen Blackwell – and one possible alteration in particular for the RTX 4070.
We should underline that all of this is speculation, and starting with the latter nugget about the RTX 4070, according to Chinese tech site Benchlife, Nvidia could possibly switch from GDDR6X video RAM to slightly slower GDDR6 modules with this Lovelace graphics card.
RTX 4070 12GB “GDDR6” may be on the wayThe old yellow knife method is about to reappear... Of course, this is definitely not "clearly" saying that RTX 4070 will launch a GDDR6 version, but "speculation" that NVIDIA is likely to use this revision to launch a GDDR6 RTX 4070.…July 30, 2024
PC Gamer spotted this flagged up on X by leaker Harukaze5719, with Benchlife citing a report from the Board Channels forum that insists Nvidia is having a problem with shortages of GDDR6X VRAM.
So, when it comes to the RTX 4070 and above, due to that VRAM shortage, these graphics cards are going to see lower production levels. The report notes that stock of the RTX 4070 and 4080 models, plus the RTX 4090, may be scarcer in August 2024 than is the case currently in July.
Benchlife then jumps to the conclusion that Nvidia may prioritize its remaining reserves of GDDR6X for Lovelace graphics cards above the RTX 4070, and could switch to plain GDDR6 for the RTX 4070 as an alternative tactic.
Now, on top of this, we also have a report from Taiwanese news outlet, UDN, that claims Nvidia is about to slash current-gen GPU production (as flagged by TweakTown).
Specifically, this could be a drop in stock rolling off the assembly lines for the RTX 4070 and higher (4080, 4090) of 30% up to 50%, which if realized at the more extreme end of that spectrum, would clearly cause major waves in terms of the supply of these current-gen graphics cards. This is supposedly set to happen as of August, aligning with the rumor aired on the Board Channels.
Analysis: Buy GeForce now – don’t wait?
Clearly, there’s some persistent chatter about production levels being scaled down for Lovelace GPUs, and equally clearly, this makes some sense ahead of the Blackwell launch. Especially if RTX 5080 and 5090 GPUs are set to turn up later this year (though the rumor mill doesn’t seem to be quite as sure of this of late).
While we can accept the general premise here, then – Nvidia will always wind down a generation when the next is coming through – we wouldn’t read much into the specific rumor about the RTX 4070 being downgraded to GDDR6 video RAM. Yes, this too would make sense in giving breathing room to supply the higher-end Lovelace GPUs with GDDR6X, if there really is a shortage, but the way Benchlife reports this makes it seem like pure theorizing. (As much as we can tell from the translated article, which always makes the nuances of a report trickier to discern).
Entertaining the possibility that this does happen, what would it mean for the RTX 4070? Well, it’d be slightly slower, although where its performance might land would depend on what other changes Nvidia applied to the theoretical new spin on this mid-range graphics card. Dropping the performance of the VRAM, and only that, wouldn’t have too much of a major impact in all honesty – but it would obviously mean the RTX 4070 would be a touch slower overall.
Would this slightly slower model be cheaper than the current RTX 4070 then, given that GDDR6 RAM is certainly cheaper, and would reduce the bill of materials (cost of production)? Well, we think that’s unlikely, as with stock of all Lovelace graphics cards dwindling, there won’t be much room for price drops we’d imagine – indeed, we might even see price hikes at retailers as these current-gen GPUs get thin on stock.
So, if you want an RTX 4070, or higher-end Lovelace GPU for that matter, the time to move might be now. Especially in the case of the former, considering that the RTX 5070 is likely to be a long way off yet, with only the RTX 5090 and 5080 on the horizon for the nearer-term, in theory.
