GeForce RTX 40 series rumored to stick with a PCIe 4.0 interface

Nvidia RTX 30-series graphics card with exploded effect
(Image credit: Future)

PCIe 5.0 made its debut with Intel's 12th gen CPU and motherboard range, and AMD is set to add support to its Zen 4 platform later this year. It was widely assumed that next gen graphics cards would support PCIe 5.0, but a new rumor suggests that Nvidia's next gen Ada GPUs will not support the new standard.

The rumor comes from the reliable kopite7kimi (via Videocardz). It's a bit of a surprise given that Nvidia's enterprise-oriented Hopper architecture does support PCIe 5.0. There's also the fact that RTX 40 will support 12+4 pin 12VHPWR PCIe 5.0 power connectors. But then, so does the RTX 3090 Ti and that certainly doesn't support PCIe 5.0.

If Nvidia does decide to stick with PCIe 4.0, it's not likely to have any impact. It's more of a box to check for marketing value. A current high-end GPU loses next to nothing when run on a 16x PCIe 3.0 system vs 4.0, so the difference will be even less compared to PCIe 4.0 vs 5.0. 

If Nvidia does omit PCIe 5.0 support, it might save a valuable few watts. It's believed that RTX 40 cards will consume unprecedented amounts of power, so any saving that can be made means an extra handful of watts can be budgeted elsewhere.

Your next upgrade

(Image credit: Future)

Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD
Best gaming motherboard: The right boards
Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits
Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the rest

Of course, this is just a rumor. Nvidia is notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to details about its unreleased products. It's interesting to see the rumor mill ramping up though, indicating that the cards aren't too far from release.

It's believed that the cards have entered the testing phase, meaning the GPUs themselves have finished their design phase. Now it's up to finding a balance between things like yields and die harvesting, clock speeds, power requirements and PCB designs.

RTX 40 cards are expected to be built with TSMC's 4N node, which has been tweaked to suit Nvidia specifically. RTX 40 cards will feature a large increase in core count and cache size.

We can expect the RTX 40 series to be released in the second half of 2022. They will go head to head with AMD's MCM RDNA3 models around the same time.

Chris Szewczyk
Hardware Writer

Chris' gaming experiences go back to the mid-nineties when he conned his parents into buying an 'educational PC' that was conveniently overpowered to play Doom and Tie Fighter. He developed a love of extreme overclocking that destroyed his savings despite the cheaper hardware on offer via his job at a PC store. To afford more LN2 he began moonlighting as a reviewer for VR-Zone before jumping the fence to work for MSI Australia. Since then, he's gone back to journalism, enthusiastically reviewing the latest and greatest components for PC & Tech Authority, PC Powerplay and currently Australian Personal Computer magazine and PC Gamer. Chris still puts far too many hours into Borderlands 3, always striving to become a more efficient killer.

Read more
The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 RDNA 4 GPUs arranged in diagonal lines, taken from a CES 2025 presentation slide
AMD just gave us our first look at the Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 RDNA 4 GPUs and I am officially whelmed
The PCIe slot on an Asus ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi motherboard, showing the Q-release latch for GPUs.
Rejoice! PCI Express 7.0 hits 'final draft' status enabling bandwidth that you probably won't notice on devices that won't appear for years
A lightened screenshot from an Nvidia teaser video showing what is potentially an RTX 50-series graphics card in a PC
Hiding in the shadows, this Nvidia teaser video might have given us our first look at a Founders Edition RTX 50-series GPU
A collage of Radeon RX 9000 series graphics cards, as shown in AMD's promotional video for the launch of RDNA 4 at CES 2025
AMD's 'official' performance figures for RDNA 4 leak out early, with the RX 9070 XT claimed to be 42% faster than the RX 7900 GRE at 4K
AMD Radeon RX 6000 GPU
It looks like AMD's expecting the RX 9070 XT to rival the RTX 4070 Ti, which is fine if it ends up being the right price
The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 RDNA 4 GPUs arranged in diagonal lines, taken from a CES 2025 presentation slide
If AMD isn't spilling the beans on the RX 9070 and 9070 XT at least online retailers are, but a release isn't imminent
Latest in Graphics Cards
A Gigabyte RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice on a desk and installed in a gaming PC.
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice SFF review
An MSI RTX 5080 in white installed in a gaming PC.
MSI GeForce RTX 5080 Ventus 3X OC White review
Nvidia App
Hmmm, upgrades: Nvidia App gets an optional AI assistant and custom DLSS resolution scaling
A close-up photo of an Nvidia RTX 4070, with its heatsink removed, showing the AD104 GPU die and the surrounding Micron GDDR6X VRAM chips
With Nvidia Ace taking up 1 GB of VRAM in Inzoi, Team Green will need to up its memory game if AI NPCs take off in PC gaming
A collage of Radeon RX 9000 series graphics cards, as shown in AMD's promotional video for the launch of RDNA 4 at CES 2025
AMD's CEO claims 9070 XT sales are 10x higher than all previous Radeon generations but that's just for the first week of availability
Colorful iGame RTX 5070 Ti Vulcan OC graphics card from various angles
The RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti are rumoured to be mere weeks away, with board partners reportedly required to ensure at least one MSRP model at launch
Latest in News
The titular character from Princess Mononoke is depicted riding the wolf goddess Moro and carrying a spear.
Studio Ghibli AI image trend floods social media, cheered on by OpenAI and denounced by critics as an insult to Hayao Miyazaki
Marvel Rivals tier list - Wolverine
Marvel Rivals director says a future patch will reduce the shooter's insatiable hunger for RAM: 'It's a very big problem'
Hogwarts Legacy potions professor holding a potion
An unannounced Hogwarts Legacy expansion and 'definitive edition' have reportedly been cancelled
Story of Seasons - A cahacter in a purple tuxedo stands outside in a town square talking to the player
Story of Seasons is doing another Harvest Moon remake and it might be the best the series has ever looked
Assassin's Creed Shadows change seasons - An upper-body shot of Yasuke looking cheerfully up into the distance.
Assassin's Creed Shadows puts up the 'second highest day-one sales revenue in Assassin's Creed franchise history'
A witch riding a broom sails past a Fish and Chips shop.
Cozy gamers rejoice: Witchbrook finally has a release window, and yes, you can fly around on a broom with your friends