NVIDIA is expected to take a backseat during the early part of 2017 once AMD releases its upcoming Vega architecture. Nevertheless, the leading GPU manufacturer is expected to break AMD's party with the announcement of its next GPU architecture, Volta, at GTC 2017 which is slated around the second week of May.
As reported by Hassan Mujtaba of WCCFTech.com, NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang will once again take the GTC 2017 center stage to mesmerize the audience with their latest innovation by introducing their upcoming Volta GPU architecture. During the same event, Jen-Hsun is also expected to introduce the latest NVIDIA GPU roadmap and tease some details of future NVIDIA products.
But what will be the main feature of the Volta architecture? AMD's Vega is certain to integrate HBM2, and there are numerous reports suggesting that NVIDIA might also have the same technology. However, there are also some reports saying it could integrate GDDR6, the successor of GDDR5X.
Clarifying this information, Mujtaba suggested that the 'professional version' of Volta-based graphics card will be powered by HBM2. The vague part of this is the 'consumer' or 'enthusiasts' version which is still up in the air whether it's going to be HBM2 or GDDR6.
But how did GDDR6 entered the picture? While the target to release Volta-based graphics card is 2017, these GPU cards are for professional use such as advanced servers and the likes. Meanwhile, NVIDIA sets its target at 2018 for 'consumer' Volta versions.
Incidentally, GDDR6 will also become available during the same timeline. According to Samsung executive Jin Kim which was posted by PC World, GDDR6 is a faster version with up to 14Gbps (bits per second) and is more power-efficient compared to GDDR5. This is the same as HBM technology, which offers greater performance and less power usage.
With this scenario, chances of seeing NVIDIA Volta powered by HBM2 might show up during the latter part of 2017, which is reportedly 'professional' or 'enterprise' versions. On the other hand, the 'enthusiasts' version will come mid to later part of 2018.
