Reputable GPU hardware leaker kopite7kimi has again taken to social media platform X to tease the imminent release of RTX 50-series (Blackwell) GPUs. The hardware leaker claims, "We will meet GeForce of Blackwell soon." However, Igor Wallossek from Igor's Lab thinks differently.
Kopite7kimi was the original leaker who released the purported legitimate specs of the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080, which hit the Internet like a bombshell two months ago. Since the RTX 50-series leaks were published, multiple rumors/leaks have pointed toward an early 2025 launch for Nvidia's next-gen GPUs, with CES 2025 being the earliest candidate for a potential announcement/launch.
Now kopite7kimi suggests we'll soon meet the Blackwell version of Nvidia's gaming GPUs. But what exactly does "soon" even mean? For some, two months could be "soon," while for others it would mean in the next few weeks. What we can say is that Nvidia hasn't told us anything specific... and we couldn't say that if we were under NDA. So, take that as you will.
Igor's Lab claims otherwise, though again there's no accepted definition of what "soon" means. The German outlet claims that Nvidia's board partners finally received their first engineering samples for evaluation this week, "so they have something to solder and test." In other words, Nvidia's board partners have only now received samples to start working on production models, meaning retail versions of the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 aren't close to being ready yet — certainly not for this month, and probably not for next month either.
We will meet GeForce of Blackwell soon.November 5, 2024
Interestingly, Igor's Lab notes that with test hardware actually in the hands of the AIB partners, leaks are likely to become increasingly common over the coming days and weeks. Because even if Kopite or other 'reputable' leakers try to hold back information to generate hype around the RTX 50-series, there will be others that spill the beans. Of course, all of this requires more than a small dose of salt. Igor's Lab and Kopite have both been credible sources, but no one has said anything concrete, choosing instead to equivocate.
We can probably expect the RTX 50-series to still be at least partially revealed at CES 2025 — CEO Jensen is on tap for the keynote, after all. Will that be an official launch, or an announcement of an upcoming launch like last year's 40-series Super cards? Our money would be on the latter, meaning a late January release.
In the meantime, there's no reason for Nvidia to rush things. It already dominates the GPU market and continues to sell GPUs. The RTX 4090 remains a prime example of this, an extremely expensive card that has recently increased in price due to diminishing supply coupled with a still-high demand from AI customers and perhaps even a few remaining 'normal' consumers.
So... soon. Soon? Soon. Probably still January if we're being honest and not making nebulous statements of little substance. For now, we continue to wait for the official announcement and official launch, complete with independent benchmarks and testing.
