Chinese language workshops recondition Nvidia’s outdated flagship gaming GPU for AI — RTX 2080 Ti upgraded to 22GB for $499
The GeForce RTX 2080 Ti was as soon as among the many best graphics cards players should purchase. Whereas a few of us could have forgotten concerning the six-year-old graphics card, the Turing-based flagship is making a comeback in China. Amidst the AI increase, Chinese language workshops (by way of I_Leak_VN) are repurposing the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti into AI accelerators by doubling the reminiscence from 11GB to 22GB.
Ever for the reason that U.S. banned Nvidia from promoting its most distinguished AI merchandise, such because the A100 (Ampere) and H100 (Hopper), and the flagship GeForce RTX 4090 (Ada Lovelace) in China, it has change into difficult for Chinese language companies to come up with them. There have been determined makes an attempt to get across the U.S. export ban, together with smuggling GeForce RTX 4090 graphics playing cards from different nations into China or home factories recycling previous-generation graphics playing cards, such because the GeForce RTX 3090 or GeForce RTX 3080.
The issue with salvaging outdated graphics playing cards is the inventory. With Ada Lovelace having been out for nearly two years, it is laborious to search out any vital Ampere inventory round. So, what is the subsequent transfer? Return one other technology. The Chinese language workshops now concentrate on the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. The one modification they’re making to the Turing graphics card is doubling the reminiscence from 11GB to 22GB to show them into viable AI accelerators. There is a lengthy priority of consumer mods that swap out current GDDR6 chips for higher-capacity ones on Turing. One fanatic outfitted a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti with 44GB of VRAM not so way back, so VRAM modification and upgrades aren’t one thing from one other universe.
In accordance with the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 22GB posting on Goofish, the vendor, who goes again by Aisawk, reportedly makes use of unique Samsung GDDR6 chips and high-quality ALPHA OM-367 solder paste for the modification. He additionally claims that the modified GeForce RTX 2080 Ti won’t face any Nvidia driver points because the graphics card is seemingly supported and dealing with out vBIOS modifications.
Picture 1 of 5
The pictures confirmed that the service provider is using MSI‘s GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Aero 11GB for the venture. The reason being seemingly as a result of graphics card’s blower-type design, permitting customers to make use of a number of graphics playing cards in the identical system. It isn’t the one mannequin that the vendor affords, although. He additionally shared autographs of a Founders Version design. Moreover promoting the altered graphics card, the Goofish vendor additionally affords an improve service for $120, which incorporates labor and supplies, for GeForce RTX 2080 Ti homeowners who wish to ship of their graphics card for the 22GB modification.
The GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 22GB has discovered its manner outdoors China. eBay seller customgpu_official, an improve and restore retailer in Palo Alto, California, sells an analogous MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Aero with 22GB for $499. The shop is touting the graphics card as a price range different for college students and startups that wish to get their ft moist in AI workloads. The graphics card is allegedly secure in Steady diffusion, massive language fashions (LLMs), and Llama 2. In accordance with the product owner’s website, it has bought over 500 items of the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 22GB.
The GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 22GB might not be a foul deal. At $499, it has 6GB extra reminiscence than a GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super, costing $300 much less or 2GB greater than the Radeon RX 7900 XT with a $400 lower cost tag. The plain caveat with modified merchandise is that you do not know if the graphics card was new to start out with and the guarantee.
Whereas the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 22GB affords ample reminiscence for AI and deep studying coaching for a sexy worth, you by no means know the way lengthy the graphics card will final you. For instance, customgpu_official solely affords a 30-day guarantee with a free change for a malfunctioning graphics card. After that interval, you are virtually by yourself. So, whereas saving a couple of bucks at the moment, it’s possible you’ll lose your complete funding in just a few months for those who’re unfortunate.