MSI is using cut-down RTX 4090 GPUs in at least one of its RTX 4070 Ti Super models, with a higher TGP but no extra performance

Chip manufacturing isn't perfect and every wafer a foundry churns out will have dies in it that can't be used for their originally intended purpose. That doesn't mean they can't be used at all, though, and in the case of Nvidia's hulking AD102 GPU, normally used in RTX 4090 graphics cards, MSI is buying defective ones and using them in at least one of its GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super models.

The model in question is a forthcoming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super Ventus 3X Black OC (err, are you sure you couldn't make that name any longer, MSI?) and it was noticed by X-user wxnod (via BenchLife). If you're wondering how we know it's using a cut-down RTX 4090 chip, there are two clues.

First, the TGP (Total Graphics Power) figure is 295 W, which is 10 W higher than a standard RTX 4070 Ti Super. You might think that MSI has done this to improve a 4070 Ti Super's ability to maintain an overclock but that's not the case, as it doesn't do this with its other overclocked models and neither does any other vendor.

The standard card uses a cut-down AD103 chip, normally housed in RTX 4080 cards, whereas the original RTX 4070 Ti uses an AD104. Both the AD103 and AD104 are much smaller chips than the massive AD102, and even though Nvidia has disabled nearly 10,000 shaders, just under a hundred 100 ROPs, half the L2 cache, and four memory controllers, there's still an awful lot of silicon there.

That higher TGP could be because bigger dies are more able to absorb and dissipate heat than smaller dies, or it could be the remaining circuitry of the AD102 still uses power, even though no game will ever get to use it.

Another clue is the weight and size of the Ventus 3X Black OC card, given in the model's datasheet (pdf warning). With dimensions of 322 x 136 x 62 mm (12.7 x 5.4 x 2.4 inches) and a weight of 1.464 kg (3.22 lbs), it's considerably bigger than most RTX 4070 Ti Super cards. For example, MSI's Gaming X Slim version of that GPU is 307 x 125 x 51 mm and 1.1 kg.

GeForce RTX 4090 cards