Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Rumored to Feature Just 126 SMs

RTX 3090
(Image credit: Nvidia)

A well regarded Twitter leaker has shared an updated set of specs for the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090. Nvidia's next-gen Ada Lovelace architecture flagship will come with 126 Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs) enabled, says Kopite7kimi. The figure is quite a bit lower than the previously touted and broadly expected figure of about 140 SMs. As with all leaks, please take this information with a pinch of salt.

After sharing the above nugget of information, Kopite7kimi felt confident enough to provide a full refreshed set of specs expectations for the RTX 4090.

To provide a better perspective regarding the initial launch range, which many expect to be the trio of GeForce RTX 4090, 4080, and 4070, we've tabulated all of the latest purported specs in the table below. Remember, none of these specs are confirmed with Nvidia or partner sources.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Header Cell - Column 0 RTX 4090RTX 4080RTX 4070
GPUAD102-300AD103AD104-400
Streaming Multiprocessors1268060
Shader ALUs16,12810,2407,680
Memory24GB of 21Gbps GDDR6X16GB of 21Gbps GDDR6X12GB of 18Gbps GDDR6
Power450W350W300W

Nevertheless, even with fewer SMs / CUDA cores and lower wattage, Kopite7kimi still expects the Ada Lovelace architecture GeForce RTX 4090 to provide double the 3D acceleration performance of its predecessor. That would be a very appealing generation to generation performance improvement, if it turns out to be true.

With the step down in the touted number of SMs for the RTX 4090, it is gratifying to see the power requirements toned down too, to a purported 450W. Previous rumors mentioned sky-high power consumption figures up to 600W.

Start the Countdown, RTX 40 Allegedly Launches In "Mid July"

At the weekend we reported on Kopite7kimi's tip that the GeForce RTX 40 series will debut earlier in 2022  than we have been expecting. The tech Twitter leaker mentioned that we would see Nvidia launch its next gen consumer graphics cards in early Q3. Now the date has been brought into sharper focus, with Kopite7kimi's narrowing down the launch window to "mid July." With no big PC gaming or technology event scheduled for mid-July, it seems likely that Nvidia will have to arrange its own special launch event. However, enthusiasts don't really care about the scale, location, or other event details – only that products perform well, ship quickly, and are available at competitive prices.

We are currently voyaging through mid-May, and thus the GeForce RTX 40 series launch is just two months away, according to Kopite7kimi. There remains plenty of questions about the nature of the launch, initial launch line-up, full specs, availability and pricing. If we are lucky some of these questions will be answered definitively during Computex next week. But for now all we can do is wait, and watch.

Mark Tyson
News Editor

Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

  • InvalidError
    Pricing: "If you have to ask, you cannot afford it."
    Reply
  • ThatMouse
    The sooner it comes out, the sooner we can start the 2 year count down to availability. At least we can buy a 2 year old GPU for $1000 to hold us over.
    Reply
  • spongiemaster
    InvalidError said:
    Pricing: "If you have to ask, you cannot afford it."
    Probably around $2000 for the AIB models, with the FE a bit lower. Maybe $1700-1800. Considering how few gamers are using 4k screens, very few gamers need a card twice as fast as a 3090.

    The 450W TDP is encouraging, based on the 600W rumors. Guess that leaves room for the full die 4090Ti to hit 600W.
    Reply
  • To hell with environment. Let's make a PC heater. Future nVidia GPU's are a joke with power consumption. AMD isn't any better.
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    spongiemaster said:
    Considering how few gamers are using 4k screens, very few gamers need a card twice as fast as a 3090.
    Considering how much cheaper 4K TVs and monitors are getting, I'd actually expect the number of people wishing they could get playable frame rates at 4k to grow quite considerably. Portal 2 was nice to replay on my 4k60 TV, picture captions and other little details that were just blurry gibberish at 1080p become readable without camera trickery to get closer. The added real pixels sharpness and reduced aliasing are also always nice to have at least in my book.

    It'll be one of those things where people tell themselves they don't care about it while the ticket price is exorbitant but once it enters their pricing comfort range, most won't want to go back.

    I didn't care about 4k until mid-range 50" 4k TVs dropped to $700, then I got one to replace my 24" CFL-lit secondary monitor and 22" tertiary monitor with a dead column.
    Reply
  • jkflipflop98
    Going 4K is like when you went from dial-up to broadband.

    "Welp, there's no going back to that old crap now."
    Reply
  • -Fran-
    spongiemaster said:
    Probably around $2000 for the AIB models, with the FE a bit lower. Maybe $1700-1800. Considering how few gamers are using 4k screens, very few gamers need a card twice as fast as a 3090.

    The 450W TDP is encouraging, based on the 600W rumors. Guess that leaves room for the full die 4090Ti to hit 600W.
    Hey! There's the few of us that use VR and need these behemoths.

    Regards :P
    Reply
  • hannibal
    Well they leave room for 4090ti model to actually be better than normal 4090 ;)
    Reply
  • warezme
    I'm still rocking a 2080ti which is holding up very well but my next GPU will be a 4090, now if I can figure out how to get in on a FE list.
    Reply
  • PEnns
    "Just" 450 W"...... Wow!!!

    Does nGridia expect a pat on the back and cookie for this amazing achievement??
    Reply