The world of graphics card processors (GPUs) has been chaotic over the last few years due to shortages and severe price increases. Both gamers and crypto miners eagerly await what NVIDIA has in store for the newest generation of 4000 series cards. Among the most anticipated is the RTX 4090, which is shaping up to be a colossal leap in what's possible.
RTX 4090 Release Date
NVIDIA has been hard at work on their latest line of GPUs since the release of the RTX 3000 series back in September 2020. Fortunately, those eager to get their hands on the RTX 4090 won't have to wait much longer. While not officially confirmed, leaks point to a quarter 3 2022 release window for the impressive cutting-edge hardware.
Expected Price
The RTX 4090 will be NIVIDIA's ultra-high-end card and, therefore, will come with a steep price tag. While the tech giant has released no official prices, many analysts predict between $2000 and $3000. These price estimates are based on the current cost of the RTX 3090, which is $2500 in many countries worldwide. Another factor in NVIDIA pricing will depend on AMD's RDNA 3 series of cards rumored to launch around the same time.
RTX 4090 Features
NVIDIAs premium card may increase overall performance by as much as 70% over the previous generation. NVIDIA has provided no official specifications; however, looking at the 3000 series performance leaps over the 2000 series offers a good indication of what to expect. Among speculation gathered online, the RTX 4090 could include 18432 Cuda Cores, GDDR6X VRAM, and enhanced DLSS for Ray Tracing aimed at 8K resolution. This powerful card will utilize the Lovelace architectural design and incorporate TSMC's 5nm node for improved clock speeds.
Update: There's actually been a leak now for the 4000 features:
These specs are absolutely insane… !
RTX 3000 Series Vs. RTX 4000 Series
One of the issues with NVIDIA's 3000 series was that it utilized Samsung's 8nm node while AMD cards could perform at higher clock speeds with a TSMC 7nm node. The RTX 4090 is expected to use the smaller TSMC 5nm node, which offers increased shader clusters and enhanced clock speed. The RTX 3090, while impressive, offers 10496 Cuda Cores to the speculated 18432 cores of the 4090. The muscular RTX 3090 Ti increases Cuda Cores to 10,752 and offers VRAM running at 21Gbps. But if rumors prove true, the 4090 will still overshadow the impressive 3090 Ti. However, with increased performance, energy requirements will increase with RTX 4090 and could go up by 90% compared to the RTX 3090 or 3090 Ti.
Mining Crypto with RTX 4090
Given that the RTX 3090 is a monster of mining potential with 125 MH/S hash rates on currency like Ethereum and Expanse, the 4090 is an exciting prospect for miners. The only issue for miners may be the increased power demand of the RTX 4090. Another issue critical to miners is whether the 4090 will incorporate Lite Hash Rate, which limits mining performance. Fortunately, the RTX 3090 doesn't come equipped with LHR and allows for full mining potential. Speculation is that NVIDIA's new premium card may also be exempt from LHR considering the high-end price tag.
