NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB "Ampere" GPU, which is two generations old, is expected to make a comeback in June this year. Meanwhile, the rumored RTX 5050 9 GB edition is reportedly on hold. According to well-known hardware leaker MEGAsizeGPU on X, NVIDIA is pausing the transition from its 8 GB RTX 5050 "Blackwell" version to a 9 GB model due to the reintroduction of the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB "Ampere" GPU. Since both of these GPUs compete in the budget segment, the company will reportedly only release the older GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB SKU with a 192-bit wide memory bus. For this, NVIDIA will once again use Samsung's 8 nm DUV node, as it has in the past. The entire NVIDIA "Ampere" architecture lineup was produced on the 8 nm DUV node, and its return after several years was unexpected. However, since NVIDIA has transitioned to TSMC for manufacturing its "Ada Lovelace" and latest "Blackwell" GPUs, becoming TSMC's largest customer using the 5 nm node, this move is intriguing.
英伟达（NVIDIA）已有两代之久的 GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB"Ampere"GPU 预计将在今年六月回归。与此同时，传闻中的 RTX 5050 9 GB 版本 据报道已暂停。根据 X 平台知名硬件爆料者 MEGAsizeGPU 的消息，由于 GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB"Ampere"GPU 的重新推出，英伟达已暂停从 8 GB RTX 5050"Blackwell"版本向 9 GB 型号的过渡。由于这两款 GPU 均在入门级市场展开竞争，据报道该公司将仅重新发布配备 192 位宽内存总线的旧款 GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB 版本。为此，英伟达将再次使用 三星的 8 纳米 DUV 制程节点，一如从前。整个英伟达"Ampere"架构产品线均采用 8 纳米 DUV 节点制造，其时隔多年后回归令人意外。然而，鉴于英伟达现已转向台积电（TSMC）制造其"Ada Lovelace"及最新的"Blackwell"GPU，并成为台积电使用 5 纳米节点的最大客户，此举颇为耐人寻味。
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 features 3,584 CUDA cores and 12 GB of GDDR6 memory. In contrast, the GeForce RTX 5050 has newer CUDA cores on a smaller node with 2,560 cores on the GB207 die, but it has less memory, with only 9 GB of the rumored GDDR7. Since the resurrected GeForce RTX 3060 will use the older GDDR6 memory, sourcing GDDR6 may have been easier for NVIDIA, leaving the more expensive GDDR7 for its other GPUs.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 拥有 3584 个 CUDA 核心和 12 GB GDDR6 显存。相比之下，GeForce RTX 5050 采用了更新一代的 CUDA 核心及更小的工艺节点，基于 GB207 核心具备 2560 个核心，但显存容量较小，据传仅配备 9 GB GDDR7。由于重新推出的 GeForce RTX 3060 将使用较旧的 GDDR6 显存，对 NVIDIA 而言获取 GDDR6 可能更为容易，从而将更昂贵的 GDDR7 留给其他 GPU 产品。
Additionally, the decision to use a two-generations-old GPU architecture in 2026 is puzzling, as the reason NVIDIA has chosen the RTX 3060 instead of a newer model like the RTX 4060 remains unclear. Speculatively, it could be because the RTX 4060 is based on the same NVIDIA 4N (5 nm-class) node at TSMC as the current RTX 5060, while the RTX 3060, along with the rest of the GeForce "Ampere" generation, is built on the Samsung 8N (8 nm DUV) foundry node. This would leave the 5 nm capacity for "Blackwell" and its enterprise variants. Finally, it's worth noting that when GPU IP design is completed, it is usually hard-linked with the node it was prepared for, so NVIDIA is sticking with Samsung again to avoid any potential upfront costs of adapting this GPU for a different node.
此外，决定在 2026 年采用上上代 GPU 架构令人费解，因为 NVIDIA 选择 RTX 3060 而非 RTX 4060 等新型号的原因仍不明确。推测来看，这可能是因为 RTX 4060 与当前 RTX 5060 同样基于台积电的 NVIDIA 4N（5 纳米级）制程节点，而 RTX 3060 及整个 GeForce "Ampere"系列则建立在三星 8N（8 纳米 DUV）代工节点之上。这将为"Blackwell"及其企业级变体保留 5 纳米产能。最后值得注意的是，GPU IP 设计完成后通常与其适配的制程节点深度绑定，因此 NVIDIA 再次选择三星方案，可能是为了避免为不同节点调整该 GPU 设计可能产生的潜在前期成本。
原文链接：NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB Returns in June, RTX 5050 9 GB Edition on Pause
中文由 deepseek-reasoner 大语言模型翻译，不保证其准确性。