A Reddit user hoping to buy a pair of used Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti graphics cards has accidentally stumbled across some unique and far more capable GPUs.
The twin RTX 3080 Ti GPUs are engineering samples fitted with 20GB of GDDR6X memory, rather than the 12GB of the standard 3080 Ti, as reported by VideoCardz. That’s a significant upgrade, and it means far more GPU power for the user as well as them owning a unique piece of graphics card history.
The RTX 3080 Ti was a welcome improvement over the stock RTX 3080 when it debuted in June 2021.
It came with more CUDA cores and higher clock speeds, but the most important addition was an extra 2GB of GDDR6X memory, bringing the total to 12GB. At the time, the 10GB on the 3080 was swiftly becoming a bottleneck for the 4K gaming it was intended for, and 12GB cleared that up for most users.
These unique engineering sample GPUs were sold as part of a major sell off by someone who “worked in IT,” according to Reddit user Tommyjones91. He was also told by the seller that the models weren’t engineering samples.
Although Tommyjones91 found the cards plugged in and powered up fine, getting the drivers to work was tricky. Initially Windows drivers wouldn’t detect the cards when trying to install because they lacked official device IDs, even though they did output video.
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In the end, the Reddit user was able to use a patcher to add device IDs for the cards. Once they were in place, the new owner was able to install GeForce driver 581.94, and now the cards are running well. It’s better than a standard RTX 3080 Ti and with a lot more VRAM headroom.
This isn’t the first time a 20GB RTX 3080 Ti has shown up online for sale. As VideoCardz highlights, a Founders Edition card with 20GB appeared on eBay earlier this year. Tommyjones91 claims to have reached out to the person who ended up with that card, and it was them who suggested the patcher fix.
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Jon Martindale
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Jon Martindale is a tech journalist from the UK, with 20 years of experience covering all manner of PC components and associated gadgets. He’s written for a range of publications, including ExtremeTech, Digital Trends, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, and Lifewire, among others. When not writing, he’s a big board gamer and reader, with a particular habit of speed-reading through long manga sagas.
Jon covers the latest PC components, as well as how-to guides on everything from how to take a screenshot to how to set up your cryptocurrency wallet. He particularly enjoys the battles between the top tech giants in CPUs and GPUs, and tries his best not to take sides.
Jon’s gaming PC is built around the iconic 7950X3D CPU, with a 7900XTX backing it up. That’s all the power he needs to play lightweight indie and casual games, as well as more demanding sim titles like Kerbal Space Program. He uses a pair of Jabra Active 8 earbuds and a SteelSeries Arctis Pro wireless headset, and types all day on a Logitech G915 mechanical keyboard.
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