NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti GPUs Are Being Equipped With 22 GB VRAM For AI Market, Costs $499 US Per Piece

Individuals, particularly modders, have found a "workaround" to the ongoing AI GPU shortages, which involves tuning consumers' GPUs into a "beefy" accelerator and it looks like the old NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti GPUs have been given a second life thanks to this new modding solution.

Artificial intelligence developments have taken a new high recently, with the introduction of LLM training and usage on a user end.

For an average consumer who is looking to benefit from AI capabilities, it isn't feasible for them to buy an expensive AI GPU just for the sake of light to moderate work, so they often resort to options available in the markets by constantly acquiring gaming GPUs such as the latest Ada Lovelace or RDNA 3 options, since they are indeed decent in AI workloads, depending upon the computing power you desire.

There is another path as well, which is looking for "modded" consumer GPUs specifically designed for AI applications. In this case, an eBay listing has shown NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 2080 Ti retailing at the platform with a whopping 22 GB VRAM onboard, which is almost double what the original model features. The increase in memory is justifiable since AI workloads require a hefty amount of it, as high VRAM acts as a high-speed storage buffer for the massive datasets, complex models, and intermediate calculations that fuel AI algorithms.

Moreover, the eBay seller is indeed a professional in GPU modding since he has also sold similar projects. The ad's description reveals that users won't need to worry about driver support or performance stability with the modded NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti GPU since the modders have thoroughly tested it. Interestingly, the modders have tested the GPU and found that it generates a detailed picture at 512 by 768 pixels in just 5.4 seconds, which is phenomenal considering the GPU is almost five years old.

Following is the description of the said GPU:

The cards themselves are based on blower designs and come in dual-slot form factors making them a perfect fit for servers and environments used for AI computing.

In a previous instance, it is essential to highlight that the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti was bumped up to 44 GB VRAM if you think 22 GB sounds high. Right now, the 22 GB model is listed for $500 on eBay, which is high because original variants are listed around $300-$400 on the same marketplace. Still, judging by the increased memory onboard, it might look worthwhile for those who desire a decent AI performance. Another solution would be to get a used GeForce RTX 3090 GPU with 24 GB VRAM but those cost an extra $100-$200 US based on the same eBay listings. So at $500 US, the RTX 2080 Ti modded with 22 GB VRAM offers the highest memory capacity.

While GPU VRAM modding opens countless possibilities for gaming and AI scenarios, we advise readers to proceed with caution since such units are often victims of instability in the long run, which might lead to physical damage.

News Source: eBay