Currently we are waiting for two graphics architectures from NVIDIA, the first one called Hopper which is designed for high-performance computing or HPC, while Lovelace or Ada will be the one we will see in the gaming market in the form of the RTX 40. The latter should come out at some point this year and be manufactured under the TSMC 5nm process, being the successor to the current RTX 30.
However, since the development of chips of all kinds is an adventure that takes several years to complete, it is normal that NVIDIA already has what will come much later in development, including its RTX 60. And no, we have not made a mistake with the number.
Blackwell is the name of the NVIDIA RTX 60
This has been known through the information in a driver, in which it has been possible to see mentioned for the first time the architecture that will come after Ada (Lovelace) and Hopper. However, it seems that it will rather be a successor to Hopper, but in all this there is a detail that no other medium has emphasized and that we are going to highlight.
NVIDIA HPC chips always end with a 0 at the endwhile heGaming chips use a 2, 4, 6, etc.. Depending in the latter case on the segment in the market to which they are directed. On the other hand, the first number corresponds to the generation of the chip, it is not usual for them to make two different generations, but we already had the case in the Maxwell architecture. Then? the surprising thing is to see a GH202 mentioned in the driverwhich would be a second generation hopper, but that it would be launched for the gaming market. In other words, it would be the successor to the AD102 or RTX 40 and therefore the RTX 50. Hence why we call the NVIDIA RTX 60 as Blackwell.
If this seems confusing to you, let’s say that if the nomenclature in the driver is correct, we will first see the RTX 40 built under TSMC’s 5nm node with Ada Lovelace architecture, and then, after a short time, a potential RTX will appear 50 built from the Hopper architecture. And what about Blackwell? Well, this architecture will be launched with a model for HPC and another for gaming under the same generation, so we should expect it after the gaming version of Hopper.
This would be the NVIDIA Roadmap for the following years
If we rely only on the information obtained by the drivers and what has been known in recent months. NVIDIA will release its new Hopper GPU for HPC this year at the same time as the Lovelace-based RTX 40, which is said to be a slight improvement over the current Ampere. The next step could come in 2023, where they would break the tradition of their SUPER models to launch their RTX 50, this time based on Hopper for later and potentially in 2024 or 2025 to make the leap to Blackwell.
The manufacturing node under which we expect Blackwell is 3nm. On the other hand, Hopper is said to be the first NVIDIA architecture to make use of chiplets and tiles, a path in the design of its graphics processors that its direct rivals are also following.
NVIDIA is about to launch its RTX 40 for gaming
In addition, in the driver you can see mentions of the architecture of the NVIDIA RTX 40 or Ada, as well as the name of the different chips that will come out throughout the generation. Of all of them, the AD10B model stands out, which could be the one used in the SoC of the successor to the current Nintendo Switch, as well as the appearance of the AD103. At the moment the configuration of these GPUs and what trade names each one will have are not known.
