A newly listed MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super graphics card may be one of the first telltale signs that NVIDIA has upgraded the GPU for that lineup. Rumors about a GPU upgrade began yesterday when a leaked datasheet for MSI’s card surfaced online. Those keen on the GPU layout as seen from the back of the PCB noticed some significant differences with it. The image below on the left is the previous model featuring an AD103 GPU while the one on the right is the newly listed MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16G VENTUS 3X BLACK OC which clearly has a different GPU. It has been suggested that GPU is a new variant called the AD102-225-A1.
From AD103 to AD102?
Other differences between the two include size. The newer version is just a tad bit larger at 322 x 136 x 62 mm vs 308x120x52 mm for its predecessor. TDP has increased from 285W to 295W as well. What makes this all interesting is that the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER was already a kind of oddity to begin with. Unlike the RTX 4070, it used a cutdown version of the AD103 GPU found in the RTX 4080 series. If it is true that it is now using an AD102 variant that would mean it’s been upgraded to the GPU used in the GeForce RTX 4090. What makes this a bit more confusing though is that the RTX 4090 uses a 384-bit memory bus while this card is still listed as having a 256-bit bus.
The same person who leaked the datasheet also shared a GPU-Z screenshot for an unannounced INNO3D GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER that also indicated a new, unknown GPU.
AD102-225-A1？by：InnoVISION) pic.twitter.com/UjDXLABQvQ
— Алексей (@wxnod) June 25, 2024
It has also been suggested the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER WINDFORCE MAX OC 16G might also be using the new GPU. This new graphics card, like MSI’s, was quietly added to their respective product lineups without a formal launch notice. Both interestingly enough mention a 2655 MHz clock rate. Otherwise, many other specs for these cards compared to their predecessors appear mostly the same.
Blessings in disguise?
There are some theories as to why NVIDIA might make such a change which range from needing to use up AD102 dies that didn’t make the cut for an RTX 4090 to the possibility of just trying to clear out inventories of both dies before the RTX 50 series launch. One member on the VideoCardz forum has even theorized this could be a blessing in disguise for those who purchase one of these, should the new GPU be true, the larger die could be easier to cool and then overlock.