Have you tried experimenting with 3xxx cards in hopes of optimizing GPU/VRAM performance?
Have you tried experimenting with 3xxx cards in hopes of optimizing GPU/VRAM performance?
It has been done before, where someone boosts the VRAM on a GPU by replacing the RAM chips with larger ones. In my research, I found several versions of the GA104/GA106 that somewhat match in their card specifications. There is a GA106 model with 3060, offering 6GB RAM and 3840 CUDA cores, which has more CUDA than the usual 3060 (3584). I own an RTX 3060 with 12GB RAM and an RTX 3070 with 8GB RAM, both using GA104 chips. My question is: has anyone ever thought about moving a GPU from a 3070 into a GA104 3060 with 12GB RAM? It could be a good way to increase RAM without worrying about BIOS problems. If that’s not how GPU silicone works, I’m sorry, but I think it would be an interesting experiment... for science.
It would be much simpler to increase VRAM than to transfer a GPU chip between PCBs. In the unfinished GPU lineup, some interesting choices exist. For instance, pairing the GA104 chip with 16 GB of VRAM could yield an RTX 3070 Ti 16GB version, with detailed specs available here: https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/ge...6-gb.c3835. However, the most powerful options in the GPU realm are workstation-grade graphics cards. For example, the RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell boasts 96 GB of VRAM, with specifications found at https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/rt...well.c4272. On the consumer side, the top Nvidia GPU VRAM available is around 32 GB (RTX 5090). If we push further, the AMD Radeon Instinct MI325X offers an astonishing 288 GB of VRAM, detailed here: https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/ra...325x.c4231. Therefore, what you're seeking has already been achieved more effectively (RTX 3070 Ti 16GB) plus additional power (MI325X).
96GB VRAM - RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell. Complies with DX12 Ultimate and includes display output ports.
128GB x4 VRAM (512GB) - Intel Data Center GPU Max Subsystem. Complies with DX12 but lacks display output ports.
Details available at the provided link. It may also support Vulcan or OpenGL.
You can still play games on a card without display outputs, though the method differs from what you might expect. The setup isn't limited to Windows systems and is tailored for gaming purposes.
Years ago, in the early 2000s, we had GPUs with built-in slots for additional memory. We also used PCI cards as an upgrade to motherboard memory slots, which offered banks of slots for system memory. Some Dell server PCs had this feature. The capacity of memory sticks increased, leading to fewer of those being used. But regarding GPU onboard memory slots, I remember seeing something about Nvidia around 2019-2021. It claimed they could add your own memory to the card, similar to laptop memory sticks in old photos. It was mentioned that these stories were found late at night and forgotten the next day. If you search for Linus a few years back, Dennis, the smart person there, made a video using a headless mining card to power another card for display.
In current times it's not practical to include VRAM slots on GPUs, making future upgrades possible. The conversation revolves around this idea, referencing a forum thread and a Quora discussion. It suggests that if GPUs were soldered without VRAM but had slots instead—similar to how some motherboards integrate DRAM slots—the situation would change. However, adding VRAM slots introduces more issues and could negatively impact performance. A small adjustment might be feasible. The video mentioned by a user is also referenced.
I hope you can still get a person to transform a 3060 into a 3060 Super.
Unless you handle it yourself (or pay a high fee for someone else to do it), no one will do it from a hardware standpoint—just for fun.
Because "Super" is just a smaller version of "Ti," all you have to do is install an OC RTX 3060. This allows you to achieve the RTX 3060 "Super" performance.