NVIDIA news: Next-gen GPUs reported to be Turing architecture, not Ampere or Volta

Nvidia is trying to keep up with the high demand for graphics cards.Reuters/Mike Blake

NVIDIA is driving the graphics processing unit (GPU) market crazy right now, with tech enthusiasts trying to guess the name of its upcoming GPU. It seems like the company has finally come up with a name that's apt for its latest graphics card.

Previous speculations and rumors point to either Volta or Ampere but a new report has revealed that it is neither, and that it actually will be referred to as Turing — as in Alan Turing, the founder of computer science. Though this report came from one source only, which is Reuters, the website has a reputation for credibility, which means that the new-generation GPU architecture of NVIDIA might indeed be named after Turing. It is not yet known whether it is just the same architecture as the industrial-grade Volta GPUs or a new one altogether since NVIDIA has yet to reveal anything.

Aside from the name of the new GPU, reports also have it that NVIDIA will be unveiling the graphics cards next month, or sometime in March. This means that the rumored GeForce GTX 2080, which is now supposedly a Turing architecture-GPU, might just be around the corner, with the rumored GTX 2070 to follow shortly after, and the lesser GPUs to come later in the year.

As such, the most likely venue for the revelation of the Turing GPUs is the Games Developer Conference or NVIDIA's own GPU Technology Conference in March this year. It should be noted that this speculation is only for the official announcement of the GPUs, not their actual release date; the market availability of the products is speculated to be in April, which is only a month after the announcement.

Those expecting the Volta architecture for gaming will be disappointed by this news though, but NVIDIA itself has stated that Volta is too expensive for consumer use, which could indicate the company has no plans to make another architecture for consumer applications and activities.

Whether NVIDIA will pick Ampere or Turing as the name of its next generation of GPUs can only be confirmed come March. Those in the market for a new GPU will do wise to wait and stay tuned for NVIDIA's official announcement.