Nvidia RTX 4080 set to sell out on day one, with even less stock than RTX 4090
Could the cancelled RTX 4080 12GB be to blame?
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TheNvidia RTX 4080 16GBwill go on sale on November 16, and it has every chance of being one of thebest graphics cardsmoney can buy. Good luck getting one, though: according to YouTuber and hardware leakerMoore’s Law Is Dead, the stock situation for the new GPU looks pretty dire.
The flagshipRTX 4090sold out almost immediately when it hit retailers back in October, and anew videofrom MLID has claimed that anonymous retailers have confirmed that RTX 4080 stock will be between 20-40% less than that of the RTX 4090 on day one.
It’s purported that there will still be a fairly large number of cards for a non-flagship GPU launch, but there’s another kicker in the video: MLID adds that retailers are expecting fewer restocks than usual in the final quarter of 2022, less than for the 4090.
The obvious reason for the lower RTX 4080 stocks is thatNvidiawants to push consumers towards buying older Ampere-series RTX 3000 GPUs. These seem to still be readily available (after the months of scalping and scamming that followed the Ampere launch), and Nvidia no doubt wants to clear out its old stock before committing fully to the new Lovelace-series cards.
Analysis: Nvidia is being crafty with its supply of GPUs
This isn’t an entirely surprising turn of events, and it could actually benefit some gamers: withBlack Fridayswiftly approaching, many will be looking to upgrade their GPU, and we could see some great deals on graphics cards in the coming weeks.
The Ampere cards (especially the excellent midrangeRTX 3060 Ti) are still solid choices if you’re rocking an older GTX GPU and want a bit more graphical oomph in your PC – so if you’re after acheap graphics card, Black Friday could be the time to snap one up.
Of course, another reason why the RTX 4080 is allegedly languishing with lower launch stocks is likely Nvidia’ssudden cancelationof the 4080 12GB, which it admitted was “not named right”. We wereactually relievedto see Team Green have a change of heart over the less powerful 12GB model, but it’s likely caused fewer 4080 cards to be available for the day one release.
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Nvidia is still in hot water over claims that the high-end RTX 4090 is actually afire hazarddue to issues with the power adapter, and the GPU giant has yet to release a statement regarding the problem. According to adedicated Reddit megathread, 20 cases have been reported in the past two weeks. We very much hope the RTX 4080 doesn’t share these thermal issues.
Christian is TechRadar’s UK-based Computing Editor. He came to us from Maximum PC magazine, where he fell in love with computer hardware and building PCs. He was a regular fixture amongst our freelance review team before making the jump to TechRadar, and can usually be found drooling over the latest high-end graphics card or gaming laptop before looking at his bank account balance and crying.
Christian is a keen campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and the owner of a charming rescue dog named Lucy, having adopted her after he beat cancer in 2021. She keeps him fit and healthy through a combination of face-licking and long walks, and only occasionally barks at him to demand treats when he’s trying to work from home.
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