TU117 Silicon Shortage Makes NVIDIA Partners Use TU106 GPUs For GeForce GTX 1650

wccftech.com:

NVIDIA partners have switched from the TU117 GPU silicon to TU106 for the GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card due to shortages.

One might wonder why the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card is being talked about in 2023. It is an entry-level card with 4 GB GDDR5 memory but despite all of that, the card is among the top 10 graphics cards being used by gamers on Steam as shown in the latest Hardware Survey report.

It should be noted that while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 16 series GPUs utilize the Turing graphics architecture, they don't offer DLSS or hardware raytracing support. But the lack of such features can bring the prices down by a huge margin and under the sub-$100 US. As such, NVIDIA's AIBs, especially with APAC, may have found a need to repurpose the last remaining TU106 GPU dies in GeForce GTX 1650 graphics cards, reports Board Channels Forums.

In the States, we have practically written off the need for an older graphics card like the NVIDIA GTX 1650 and have looked at newer but still affordable graphics cards especially when solutions such as the RX 6300 / RX 6400 and the Arc A310 / Arc A380 are priced relatively better now and offer better performance and features.

Outside the US, such as in China, companies are not planning to halt the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU production. This could draw manufacturers to change the base to a higher-performing TU106 or TU116 GPU, albeit with some modifications to specifications. Don't expect the new chip to offer any additional features. The Board Channels report does not clarify if the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics cards will have GDDR5 or GDDR6 memory but memory specs are likely to remain the same unless they are talking about a completely new SKU.

News Sources: VideoCardz,