In 2018, NVIDIA launched its first series of graphics cards featuring RT Core. The objective behind this was simple: to be able to handle ray tracing in hardware with dedicated processing units. However, while the RTX 2000 range included an RTX 2060, an RTX 2070 and the RTX 2080/Ti, a more exotic model, a GTX 2070, was also on the program. This model, at the engineering sample stage, has just surfaced on the net!
GTX 2070, what the card tells us :
As you can see, the card features the reference design of the 2000 models. We’re treated to an attractive black and grey alloy fairing with two axial blowers mounted on top. However, on the edge, instead of the “GeForce RTX” logo, a now-defunct name appears: “GeForce GTX”.
Nevertheless, the card does feature the GPU chosen for the RTX 2070, a TU106. However, the latter features fewer cuda cores: 2176 instead of the 2304 present in the final model. However, the rest of the card’s specifications remain unchanged. This model benefits from 8 GB of 256-bit GDDR6. Certainly one of the different models developed by NVIDIA to find the final characteristics of its card.
The person (Jiacheng Liu) who bought this card, an engineering sample, was able to successfully flash a retail bios. After a run on Time Spy, it turns out that this model scores 8,661 pts. However, with an ES shunt mod bios, the card achieves a total of 10,064 pts.
Now, we can assume that despite the appearance of RT Core, NVIDIA was still planning to name its range “GTX” and not “RTX”. Plans that have clearly changed.
