Rare Nvidia RTX 3060 Emerges With Full GA106 Die, 3,840 CUDA Cores
Just when we thought there wouldn’t be more GeForce RTX 3060 variants, we see another one. TechPowerUp GPU database editor (opens in new tab) has shared a validation report for the previously overshadowed GeForce RTX 3060 SKU. The obscure graphics card dubbed the ‘GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP’ comes out with full GA106 silicon and significantly higher clock speeds.
The original GeForce RTX 3060 features a GA106 die and 12GB of GDDR6 memory. However, Nvidia has since released the GeForce RTX 3060 GA104 to recycle the silicon that didn’t meet the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti’s requirements. But it didn’t end there. Last year the chipmaker announced his GeForce RTX 3060 8GB. This, as the model name suggests, has him 4GB less memory than the regular version. It also has a smaller memory interface. The final upgrade to the mid-range Ampere graphics card came in the form of the GeForce RTX 3060 GDDR6X. Nvidia switched his original GDDR6 memory to his faster GDDR6X modules.
The latest Steam Hardware and Software Survey reveals the GeForce RTX 3060 to be the 6th most popular gaming graphics card on gaming platforms. It’s easy to see why Nvidia didn’t abandon his GeForce RTX 3060.
Until recently, the GeForce RTX 3060 has had four variants. TechPowerUp’s database editor, his T4C Fantasy, GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP Highlighted To Be Present From 2021 (opens in new tab)however, he paid no attention to the mysterious graphics card as it could be an engineering sample. According to his information, almost all his Nvidia AIB partners have unreleased SKUs of him. There are entries for vendors like Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, as well as major OEMs like Dell and HP.
GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP specs
graphics card | GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP | GeForce RTX 3060 GDDR6X | GeForce RTX 3060 8GB | GeForce RTX 3060 GA104 | GeForce RTX 3060 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
architecture | GA106 | GA106 | GA106 | GA104 | GA106 |
process technology | Samsung 8N | Samsung 8N | Samsung 8N | Samsung 8N | Samsung 8N |
Transistor (billion) | 12 | 12 | 12 | 17.4 | 12 |
Die size (mm²) | 392 | 392 | 276 | 392 | 276 |
SMS | 30 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
GPU core | 3,840 | 3,584 | 3,584 | 3,584 | 3,584 |
Tensor cores | 120 | 112 | 112 | 112 | 112 |
RT core | 30 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
Base clock (MHz) | 1,627 | 1,320 | 1,320 | 1,320 | 1,320 |
Boost Clock (MHz) | 1,852 | 1,780 | 1,777 | 1,777 | 1,777 |
VRAM Speed (Gbps) | 15 | 19 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
VRAM | 12GB GDDR6 | 12GB GDDR6X | 8GB GDDR6 | 12GB GDDR6 | 12GB GDDR6 |
VRAM bus width | 192 | 192 | 128 | 192 | 192 |
ROP | 48 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 48 |
TMU | 120 | 112 | 112 | 112 | 112 |
TFLOPs FP32 (Boost) | 14.2 | 12.8 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
Bandwidth (GBps) | 336 | 456 | 240 | 360 | 360 |
TGP (Watts) | 170 | 170 | 170 | 170 | 170 |
release date | none | 2022 | 2022 | 2021 | 2021 |
At the silicon level, the GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP is powered by the same GA106 silicon as the regular variant. The GeForce RTX 3060 only has 28 of the 30 SMs enabled, while the GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP uses the full die. Two additional SMs add 256 CUDA cores to the GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP, representing a 7.1% increase. The clock speed remained constant between versions. However, the GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP breaks the mold with a significant boost in clock rates.
The GeForce RTX 3060 has a base clock of 1,320 MHz, while the GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP runs at 1,627 MHz. The latter represents a base clock upgrade of 23.3%. Boost clocks, on the other hand, didn’t get the same treatment, with the GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP’s boost clocks appearing to be only 4.2% higher. However, looking at the FP32 numbers, the GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP offers up to 11.8% higher FP32 performance. TechPowerUp has validation entries for Asus models that boost up to 1,942 MHz.
However, the GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP’s memory subsystem is slightly different. It has 12 GB of his GDDR6 with a 192-bit memory interface. Additionally, T4C Fantasy has also confirmed that he has a 6GB SKU. However, the memory is clocked at 14 Gbps, as opposed to 15 Gbps on the GeForce RTX 3060. So the GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP has a maximum theoretical memory bandwidth of 336 GBps, which is 6.7% lower than the regular version. It seems like a mixed bag when it comes to memory. TechPowerUp shows that some vendors stuck with 15 Gbps modules while others downgraded to 14 Gbps modules.
Despite the CUDA core upgrade and higher clock speeds, the GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP will stick with the original 170W TGP. As a result, a single 8-pin PCIe power connector is sufficient for your graphics card. A 450W power supply is required to power the GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP.
Obviously, the price of the GeForce RTX 3060 3840SP is unknown. Additionally, the graphics card is a rare breed and, according to T4C Fantasy, only present in some of his OEM systems.