- Asus RTX 5080 now doubles as AI {hardware} and a surprisingly cool SSD bay
- PCIe lanes aren’t only for GPUs anymore, due to Asus’ hybrid {hardware} strategy
- Asus is growing Multi-LM so AI devs can offload fashions straight to onboard SSDs
The bizarre GeForce RTX 5080 GPU, first noticed just a few weeks in the past with an SSD slot, is not only a {hardware} oddity.
Asus North America has now confirmed the ProArt RTX 5080 SSD Version is an actual product.
As uncommon as it could sound, the choice to pair high-performance graphics processing with solid-state storage is a part of a broader plan involving synthetic intelligence and native mannequin improvement.
A hybrid GPU-storage design focusing on AI improvement
Regardless of Asus remaining tight-lipped on a launch date and transport configuration, some technical particulars have begun to emerge, alongside just a few unanswered questions.
One of many largest surprises is the 90-degree rotated GPU format – Asus modified the printed circuit board (PCB) design in order that the GPU is mounted perpendicular to the same old orientation.
This isn’t a configuration present in another RTX 5080 fashions, suggesting a customized strategy that accommodates the SSD and improves airflow.
Asus claims this format helps the SSD profit from, “airflow supplied by the cardboard’s followers,” though the SSD just isn’t in direct contact with the principle heatsink.
It’s as a substitute cooled through a secondary heatsink and passive airflow, reportedly maintaining the SSD about 10 levels Celsius cooler than a typical M.2 drive mounted on a motherboard.
The SSD integration additionally exploits PCIe bifurcation, which means unused PCI Categorical lanes are reassigned to assist the drive.
The corporate has beforehand utilized this strategy to RTX 4060 sequence playing cards, which didn’t totally saturate the PCIe interface, leaving sufficient bandwidth for an M.2 slot.
Now, with the RTX 5080 ProArt version, the thought is refined to go well with high-end AI workflows, though it introduces trade-offs, the GPU might not at all times have entry to all PCIe lanes, doubtlessly limiting peak efficiency underneath sure workloads.
Maybe essentially the most vital revelation lies in Asus’ software program ambitions – the corporate is growing a device known as Multi-LM, supposed for builders working with massive language fashions.
Asus says, this device will “permit AI builders to dump fashions on to the storage, doubtlessly enabling native mannequin improvement without having fixed reminiscence swaps to slower system drives.”
This will probably be of curiosity to these searching for the perfect LLM for coding, and positions the RTX 5080 SSD Version as greater than only a gaming card; it may turn into the most effective AI instruments for native inference and prototyping.
Asus has solely launched a single render of the cardboard and has not confirmed efficiency metrics or availability.
The query of whether or not this idea delivers significant real-world beneficial properties or simply provides complexity stays unanswered.
Through Videocardz
