Nvidia's RTX 3080 Ti for laptops is almost here

(Image credit: Nvidia)

Nvidia is putting the final touches on its fastest laptop GPU ever. The RTX 3080 Ti is set to be unveiled at CES next week and more information has been leaked by Videocardz. If you’re after a gaming laptop that puts most desktops to shame, then the RTX 3080 Ti is looking like it’s the GPU for you.

The RTX 3080 Ti is rumored to be based on a new GPU, known as the GA103. As we previously reported, we’re able to glean some information from a Geekbench listing. Though the system details need to be taken with a grain of salt, the reveal of 58 SMs for up to 7,424 CUDA cores and a clock speed of 1,395 MHz is very specific. The GPU also features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory which Videocardz reports to be clocked at 16 Gbps. These are truly desktop class specs and depending on how the card is able to manage its boost clocks and thermals under real gaming loads, it could end up faster than a desktop 3070 Ti, which includes 6144 cores.

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All that performance is going to come with a high TDP though, which is reportedly going to be 175W depending on the system configuration. When you consider that this class of GPU is likely to be paired with a high performance 12th Gen processor, 3080 Ti laptops are set to be monster performers, but they'll either be very thick and large, or produce some serious noise. Hopefully not both. But, if you can afford a flagship gaming laptop, there’s every chance you’d have some very good headphones to mask any extra noise anyway!

It’s also likely that we’ll see Max-Q variants, which sacrifice some performance yet come in at a lower TDP. This means we could see the 3080 Ti included in thinner form factor machines. While an Ultrabook class model with a 3080 Ti is unlikely, we’re sure manufacturers are cooking up some exciting laptops that gamers will be proud to own in 2022.

Many manufacturers are scheduled to reveal their 12th Gen laptops at CES, so if you’re in the market for a new gaming laptop, definitely stay tuned for all of our coverage.

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.