Nvidia gaming cards

Nvidia’s next gaming cards could be the GTX 11 Series, not the GTX 20 Series

Nvidia’s next family of graphics cards for gaming might not be the GeForce GTX 20 Series after all. An unnamed source claims that Nvidia will use the GTX 11 Series brand instead, staying somewhat true to the numerical order it’s used for years. The branding makes perfect sense, but if the source is correct, Nvidia doesn’t plan to label the new cards by tens, such as the current 1080 or 1070 models. Instead, Nvidia may go with the GTX 1181 or the GTX 1185. 

Nvidia introduced the GeForce 100 series in 2009, the successor to the GeForce 9 series launched in 2008. The company’s naming system progressed by the hundreds since the 100 Series hit the streets, ending with the 900 Series in 2016. Nvidia then jumped to the 10 Series in 2017 seemingly because it’s simply easier to read (and type) than “GeForce GTX 1000 Series” even though the cards have four digits. 

Yet in 2018, Nvidia’s naming scheme could go either way and it works just fine in the overall big picture: GTX 11 Series or GTX 20 Series. But Nvidia’s branding historyshows that the company typically relies on product names that end with zeroes and fives, so the new, unannounced cards will likely end with a five as a logical differential from the current GTX 10 Series models. 

When the next family will appear is unknown, but all bets are placed on the GPU Technology Conference (GTC) starting on Tuesday, March 27, in San Jose, California. The company may reveal the GTX 11 Series (or GTX 20 Series) during the keynote that is reportedly based on a new architecture dubbed as “Turing.” Rumor points to a possible July release along with cards dedicated to cryptocurrency mining. 

Also during the keynote, Nvidia could reveal new graphics cards slated for the enterprise and data centers based on a new architecture dubbed as “Ampere.” This design is to replace the current “Volta” architecture used in the Telsa V100 and Titan V add-in cards. The latter model could be used for gaming although Nvidia stresses that gaming is not its primary market. 

Whether the gaming cards will appear during the keynote or not depends on the source. GTC 2018 is the ideal launch platform although it’s more fitting for Nvidia’s enterprise-targeting products whereas the E3 2018 show in June is a better launchpad for its gaming cards. With a possible availability in July, the E3 2018 show seems more likely to be the GTX 11 Series big reveal. Then again, just look at the GTX 1080 and GTX 1070. Nvidia introduced those two cards at a special event in early May 2016 followed by a retail launch at the end of the month. Since then, the company has rolled out a large selection of GTX 10 Series cards, with the GTX 1080 Ti serving as the latest and final GTX 10 Series product.  

Nvidia’s keynote starts a 9 a.m. PT on March 27, so we will know more about the company’s rumor-inducing plans during the broadcast.