We lastly have our first style of Nvidia’s next generation of GPUs, named Blackwell. Certain, they’re constructed for enterprises, and no, they gained’t run Cyberpunk 2077 (at the least not formally). However that is the primary look we’ve have at what Nvidia is cooking up for its RTX 50-series GPUs, that are rumored to launched someday within the subsequent 12 months.
The GPU now we have at this time is the B200 — Blackwell 200, in case you can spot it — that comes filled with 208 billion transistors. The structure is constructed on TSMC’s 4NP node, which is an enhanced model of the 5nm node. It’s a bit of shocking provided that Nvidia’s Ada Lovelace GPUs are constructed with TSMC’s 4N node — one refinement step away from 4NP. Nvidia notes that it’s utilizing a customized model of this course of, nonetheless.
Nvidia laid out six parameters that set Blackwell aside. The primary is that customized 4NP course of, which Nvidia is utilizing to attach two GPU dies throughout a 10TB-per-second interconnect. Second is an up to date Transformer Engine. Nvidia says the structure can deal with double the mannequin dimension of last-gen Ada Lovelace, and it helps a brand new 4-bit floating level instruction set.
There’s additionally fifth-generation NVLink, permitting enterprises to hook up Blackwell GPUs in sizes of 576 GPUs in a single fleet. Nvidia is throwing in a few AI safety features as effectively, together with confidential computing capabilities and a RAS (reliability, availability, and serviceability) engine to make sure most uptime for its information middle GPU.
That’s nice in case you’re working a knowledge middle, nevertheless it’s the sixth and remaining pillar that will get me excited. Nvidia says the B200 has a devoted decompression engine. That is targeted on enterprise proper now, however we’ve seen how massive of a distinction dedicated decompression hardware could make in gaming as effectively. If Nvidia carries this engine over to its gaming GPUs, and helps the right codecs, it may make a large distinction when you’re in a position to throw a Blackwell graphics card in your gaming PC.
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All eyes are on the tip of the 12 months, or probably early subsequent 12 months, for Nvidia’ Blackwell gaming GPUs to indicate up. For now, enterprise clients have entry to the B200 by the HGX B200 — a server board that mixes eight B200 GPUs — and the GB200, which brings collectively the B200 GPU with Nvidia’s Grace CPU. Nvidia is providing that half by the GB200 NVL72, which brings collectively a dizzying 72 B200 GPUs and 36 Grace CPUs.
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