Nvidia’s RTX 3080 12GB graphics card is indeed real, and the price is worth a double take. As reported earlier in the week, Nvidia updated its website with the specs of this new card. The updated specs weren’t a massive revelation, but there were a few additions to the card that were good to see. However, what is surprising is the pricing that we’re seeing from certain AIBs and retailers for the RTX 3080 12GB.
The current climate surrounding graphics cards is messy to say the least. Manufacturers face issues across the board, ranging from problems with making the cards to shipping enough out to consumers. As such, seeing prices increase for graphics cards isn’t something that’s too out of the ordinary right now. Things are a little more complicated this time around, though.
That’s a steep leap for the RTX 3080
Nvidia’s RTX 3080 12 GB graphics card sees upgrades in a few places when compared to the standard 3080. The most obvious is the increased amount of VRAM from 10GB to 12GB. There are also3% more CUDA cores and an increased TDP from 320W to 350W. A few other improvements are present, but the bottom line is that this is a more powerful card.
More power usually means that the card is going to be more expensive, but nobody was really prepared to see just how much more it would be. At the moment, EVGA’s RTX 3080 12GB FTW3 card is going for the price of $1,249.99 USD. For comparison, EVGA sells the RTX 3080 for $879.99 USD. This is a huge price jump, especially when considering that the new graphics card is a fairly modest improvement. It’s worth pointing out that other retailers could likely charge even more than this too.
For example, Zotac’s GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity OC LHR 12GB graphics card is going for $1599.99 USD. Then there’s Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3080 Ti AORUS XTREME, which is priced at $1,679.99 USD. Asus is also releasing two of their own versions of the graphics card as well. The ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 12GB OC will come in at $1878.36 USD, and the TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 12GB OC will be $1740.83 USD.
(Image credit: EVGA).
This price jump doesn’t stem from what’s going on inside the card, though. What we’re really dealing with is a mess of colliding issues. There are material shortages, tariffs that cropped up after the initial RTX 30 Series launch, inflated component costs, problems with shipping, and the obvious overwhelming demand that allows companies to charge more. A multitude of factors are driving the prices of graphics cards up.
The price is definitely eye-watering and probably comes as a shock to many. But, the likely outcome is that very few gamers will get their hands on Nvidia’s RTX 3080 12GB graphics card. Between scalping, miners, and an abundance of other issues going on right now, gamers may be waiting a while before they have chance to grab a high-end graphics card.
For more information on the latest from Nvidia, be sure to check out the new RTX 3090 Ti and RTX 3050 graphics cards announced during CES 2022.
