Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
I ’m distressed about Nvidia ’s upcomingRTX 4080 Super , but plausibly not for the reason you think . Nvidia unveil thelong - rumor GPUatCES 2024 , and perhaps the most shocking news around the announcement was that Nvidia was go to drop the terms . rather of liberate at the same $ 1,200 inclination terms as the original RTX 4080 , the RTX 4080 Super is launching at $ 1,000 .
It ’s a groovy price , and a cocksure step for Nvidia , which has largely been seen as the driving force behind highGPU pricesover the retiring year . I ’m worried the price might be too good , though .
Here ’s the deal : the baseRTX 4080 is a bad value . I do n’t think most gamers would disagree with that , and I know most commentator would n’t . At $ 1,200 , it ’s 50 % more expensive than the RTX 4070 Ti while being only 25 % faster at 4 K ( and as you could read in myRTX 4070 Ti recapitulation , that visiting card has pricing and performance number , too ) .
Still , gamers bought the RTX 4080 . Some prices dropped to around $ 1,100 , or even $ 1,050 if you were lucky , but the card sell . I distrust that ’s because it was the only high - remnant option that was workable for a lot of PC gamers who wanted anRTX 4090 , but could only yield an RTX 4080 . The time value was n’t there , but it was the best option a lot of hoi polloi could buy .
With the price dip , I suspect the demand will go up for the RTX 4080 Super quite a minute . The problem with the card was never its carrying out — it was always the price . With that issue clear , and the fact that PC gamers were already buying the base RTX 4080 , I suspect they ’ll fly off shelves . That ’s a bit of a problem .
GPUs are especially tender to supply and demand , so although the RTX 4080 Super has a lean terms of $ 1,000 , the cost you ’ll compensate entirely get along down to how much demand there is for the identity card . The base RTX 4080 has get by for this long without ever dropping to $ 1,000 , so why would the RTX 4080 Super ( which is supposedly slightly fast ) trade for less ?
At release , Nvidia enunciate you ’ll be able to purchase the RTX 4080 Super at list toll . A few hebdomad or month separated from release , however , there ’s a strong hypothesis that the card will betray for more . Perhaps it might even sell for as much as the original RTX 4080 .
This is n’t a gaga theory , either . We constantly see when a GPU that ’s just a little too unspoilt sell for more than its original list cost . A late example isAMD ’s RX 7800 XT . The circuit card released at the first-class cost of $ 500 , immensely undercut Nvidia ’s competingRTX 4070 . It was a little too good for the monetary value , though , and you ’d be favorable to discover an RX 7800 XT for less than $ 550 now .
That ’s just one recent instance of how demand can carry GPU terms to different position . The RTX 4080 Super is mostly a sidelong footprint from the RTX 4080 , and I suspect it will end up closer to $ 1,100 once the launch dust has settled . All we can do is hold off for the card to release on January 30 . If you ’re sell on picking one up , though , I ’d try on to grab it at loss .
