As we draw closer to the RTX 50 series release date, more and more leaks are surfacing online. Nvidia’s next generation of graphics cards is highly anticipated, and there’s already plenty of information to sink your teeth into. The flagship cards, namely the 5090 and 5080, are expected to be launched in early January during CES 2025.

Following that, we should work our way down to the xx70 and xx60 series, respectively. At this point, we nearly have a full list of specs to inspect – Nvidia is yet to confirm any of the details of course. Regardless, the memory/VRAM configuration is something we’re particularly interested in; we’ve already said that the 5060 with 8GB is a little disappointing, so what else may the 50 series offer?

RTX 50 series memory configuration leaked, RTX 5080 gets 30Gbps memory

There has been a flurry of recent leaks for the 50 series, such as the RTX 5060 featuring 8GB VRAM and the 5060 Ti coming with 16GB as standard. The most recent leak comes courtesy of Benchlife, which while covering the recent details about the 5060 Ti, disclosed that the RTX 5080 “will use the 30Gbps GDDR7 memory specification” – this is a distinct contrast from the rest of the series which clocks in at 28 Gbps.

We saw something similar last gen as the RTX 4080 and 4080 Super boasted 22.4 and 23Gbps memory respectively, even faster than the 4090’s 21Gbps, so this leaked detail isn’t out of the ordinary.

RTX 5070 could be the only 12GB VRAM card

Lately, there has been a lot of discussion regarding how much VRAM is necessary for gaming. Just a few generations ago, 4GB was sufficient, while 8GB is seen as the minimum these days. However, as we look towards the future, many people are hoping for 12GB and above. Recent AAA games such as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle have been a catalyst for this discussion, as 8GB of VRAM isn’t good enough for the higher texture settings, even at 1080p.

Intel has delivered RX 6700 XT-level performance (with 12GB VRAM) for just $249 with its new Intel Arc B580, so it would be a shame to see 8GB GPUs released well above that price bracket. In any case, the current memory configuration of the 50 series line-up is a little strange, with only the RTX 5070 featuring 12GB and the tier below it offering 16GB. In any case, we expect the 5070 to deliver solid 1440p performance, though anyone looking for high-end 1440p results in upcoming AAA games may want to secure stable performance with a 16GB card instead.

For 4K, we’re already closing in on that limit in games like Star Wars Outlaws, which ate up nearly 14GB at 4K high settings when we tested it on our RTX 4080 Super. Speaking of Supers, there’s every possibility that Nvidia decides to do a Super refresh with the 50 series as well, but we wouldn’t expect that to be happening any time soon.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.