Gaming PC

Nvidia’s New RTX 4080 GPU Die Pictured

Ah chifel (opens in new tab) A forum member shared an image of the new AD103-301 silicon that powers one of the best graphics cards, the GeForce RTX 4080. The revised die could potentially allow the graphics card maker to lower his GeForce RTX 4080 bill of materials (BOM) and increase margins. The new AD103-301 silicon does not improve the performance or power of the GeForce RTX 4080. The poster claims Dai claims he only improves the stability of Ada Lovelace graphics cards.

Chinese news outlet HKEPC believes the voltage comparator is the reason Nvidia modified the AD103 die. The voltage comparator is reportedly internal to the GPU itself, so it’s not present on the PCB. A comparator serves to compare the input voltage with a reference voltage. It changes the output depending on whether the input voltage is higher or lower than the reference voltage.

Logically, the change in placement of the voltage comparators means that Nvidia’s partners will have to update the PCB designs for their custom GeForce RTX 4080 graphics cards. However, the forum poster claims that the AD103-301 will not significantly change his BOM of his GeForce RTX 4080 and reduce manufacturing costs. According to HKEPC’s estimate, going from AD104-250 to AD104-251 would cut his BOM of the upcoming GeForce RTX 4070 by $1. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that migrating from AD103-300 to AD103-301 would provide similar benefits.

Vendors are already designing custom models. Redesigning the PCB is also costly, which makes me wonder if there is a more serious reason behind the updated silicon than just moving the voltage comparator.

Even if there are cost savings associated with AD103-301 silicon, it’s possible that we won’t see them in the GeForce RTX 4080’s MSRP. For vendors, however, it’s a different story. The manufacturing BOM savings may be small, but they add up in the end considering the manufacturer produces tens of thousands of units.

A Chiphell user says AD103-301 silicon has been around for a “long time” and many GeForce RTX 4080 graphics cards on the market today probably already have the die built into it. There is no rumored performance difference between the old and new silicon, but it would still be interesting to test the latter to confirm the rumors.

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