RTX 5090 will likely have fewer active cores
The release of the GeForce RTX 5090 is still very far away, but gradually more and more information about this video card is appearing. Now, a very reliable insider Kopite7kimi has shared some characteristics of the GB202 GPU, which will form the basis of Nvidia’s new flagship.
Judging by these data, the new GPU will receive 12 TPC blocks of eight SM blocks each. If the number of CUDA cores in one SM block does not change, and no rumors say anything about this, then the GB202 will receive 24,576 CUDA cores. For comparison, the AD102 has 18,432 CUDA cores.
This will be the basis for the GeForce RTX 5090.
At the same time, the RTX 5090 will likely receive GB202 in an incomplete configuration. For example, the RTX 4090 has 16,384 active CUDA cores, meaning 16 SM units are disabled, or about 11%. If the situation is approximately the same in the case of the new generation, then the RTX 5090 will receive approximately 170 SM blocks or 21,760 CUDA cores. Of course, these are all very rough estimates.
It is also reported that the GB202 will receive a 512-bit memory bus. Whether the RTX 5090 or only the RTX 5090 Ti will receive it, if one comes out at all, is still anyone’s guess. But in any case, the GPU itself will have a much wider bus than the AD102. And if Nvidia uses GDDR7 memory in the new generation, the throughput of the RTX 5090 compared to the RTX 4090 will increase incredibly.
Insider kopite7kimi was the first to accurately describe the parameters of GeForce RTX 30 cards, and he also described RTX 40 cards more than once. Overall, it is one of the most reliable sources in this segment.
