Nvidia simply introduced a brand new GPU variant within the weirdest means attainable: buried it in a sport driver replace weblog put up.
Alongside the discharge of its Recreation Prepared 596.36 WHQL driver, the corporate additionally confirmed the launch of a 12GB GDDR7 configuration of the GeForce RTX 5070 laptop computer GPU.
Nvidia
Why is Nvidia doing this now?
The quick reply: reminiscence provide. Nvidia has already acknowledged that demand for its RTX GPUs exceeds the supply of the 16Gb G7 modules, that are at the moment utilized in most RTX 50-series merchandise.
The brand new 12GB variant sidesteps the difficulty through the use of 24Gb G7 modules constructed on a special manufacturing course of that produces 3GB chips as an alternative of 2GB. The variant is sourced from a separate provide chain that Samsung and Micron have ramped up.
The result’s a 3rd configuration sitting above the baseline 8GB mannequin, giving laptop computer producers extra choices to area out their variants and doubtlessly making them a tad cheaper than these geared up with the upper configuration.
The 12GB RTX 5070 laptop computer GPU received’t change the 8GB variant; each will coexist.
RTX 5060 Kunal Khullar / Digital Traits
Is extra VRAM higher right here?
Not essentially. In accordance with an Engadget report, the 12GB variant won’t present a noticeable efficiency enchancment over the 8GB variant, until Nvidia widens the reminiscence bus to 192-bit, which isn’t confirmed for the brand new GPU but.
Laptops with the 12GB GeForce RTX 5070 laptop computer GPU are anticipated to start delivery round June 2026. Producers like Lenovo, MSI, and XMG might be among the many first to make use of the graphics chip.
All the pieces else apart, I used to be most baffled by the truth that Nvidia hid a brand new GPU variant inside a driver weblog put up, slightly than a typical launch. This speaks to how supply-chain pressures are reshaping product technique. The brand new GPU, in my view, is a reminiscence sourcing resolution designed to profit shoppers.
If the pricing stays cheap, the 12GB GeForce RTX 5070 may genuinely fill a niche. If it doesn’t, it may cannibalise the RTX 5070 TI’s already slim worth proposition.
