Nvidia Geforce RTX 2070 is modded with 16 GB of graphics memory purchased on Aliexpress

The latest generation of game consoles come with 16 GB of primary memory and the games are completely sonic in the development. Even if the requirements are not there yet, a not too distant future is predicted where more than 10 GB is needed to play in high settings. A relatively modern graphics card that “only” has 8 GB of graphics memory is the Geforce RTX 2070.

This is what the Russian Youtube profile VIK-on chose to change. The idea to increase the amount of memory came after he got hold of a leaked PCB diagram describing how the Geforce RTX 2080 and RTX 2070 can be equipped with 16 Gb memory circuits (2 GB) of the GDDR6 type. In the standard version, the duo is equipped with eight memory circuits of 8 Gb (1 GB) each.

For the upgrade itself, a heat gun was used to heat the solder and remove the existing 8 Gb circuits from Micron, which were to be replaced with 16 Gb circuits from Samsung that he bought on Aliexpress for around $ 200. The modification on paper is as “simple” as replacing the memory circuits and moving a number of resistors, but getting rid of existing memory circuits while keeping the contacts, small balls of solder, intact is difficult even for those accustomed to working with circuit boards.

The upgrade itself was a semi-success. The upgraded Geforce RTX 2070 with 16 GB GDDR6 started and in Windows the GPU-Z identified that the card had 16 GB of graphics memory. However, it crashed in the stress test Furmark and in the performance test 3DMark Timespy underperformed the graphics card, which received 6,176 points instead of 9,107 points in the standard version.

Particularly interesting in this context is that Nvidia’s own PCB diagram shows instructions for how the graphics card can be equipped with 16 GB of graphics memory. This strengthens or even confirms the rumors that Nvidia was considering launching the Geforce RTX 2070 and RTX 2080 with 16 GB GDDR6.

Source: Videocardz