Nvidia’s RTX 30 series cards launched to great acclaim in September 2020, but buying one had been something of a nightmare due to lack of stock and inflated prices.
However, getting hold of a current-gen RTX 30 series card in 2022 has been easier due to falling prices and increased availability at major retailers such as Amazon.
The cryptocurrency crash taking place this year, which saw the price of Bitcoin and other cryptos plummet may be part of the reason. Cryptocurrency miners have been dumping loads of used graphics cards into the second-hand market, with more to come. Also, pandemic-era supply chain issues have eased considerably too.
And those looking to buy a high-end RTX 30 series card will be happy to know that Nvidia is cutting the manufacturer suggested retail price or MSRP of the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, RTX 3090, RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3080 (12 GB version) as was recently reported on Wccftech.
So this means that the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti will now sell for $1499 US dollars instead of $1999, the RTX 3090 will now be available for $1299 US dollars instead of $1499, the RTX 3080 Ti will be sold for $1099 instead of $1199, while the RTX 3080 (12 GB) will go for $799, meaning it now has an MSRP when it previously didn’t. Meanwhile, the vanilla RTX 3080 card will remain at $700 US dollars. The RTX 3090 Ti is getting the biggest discount here, a hefty $500 US dollars being shaved of its original MSRP.
This is definitely good news for those looking to buy a high-end RTX 30 series card at a reduced price, although Nvidia has said this promotion will only last for a limited period of time, so this price cuts are only temporary. Nvidia, though, is yet to tell the PC gaming public when the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, RTX 3090, RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3080 12 GB will no longer be getting these discounts.
Note that the price cuts only apply directly to Nvidia’s own “Founders Edition” graphics cards (which you con purchase on their website). Third-party board manufacturers like Zotac or MSI can price their cards higher (or even lower), but have to take the MSRP price into account, of course. Nvidia has also chosen to bundle four games with their discounted high-end graphics cards too…
As stated earlier, this is all great news if you are planning on getting hold of one of the higher-end RTX 30 models.
Those holding out for the launch of the next-gen RTX 40 series cards might find the latest rumors disappointing, though.
This is because a well-known leaker who goes by the handle Greymon55 on Twitter has recently stated that only the GeForce RTX 4090 will be hitting shelves this year, while the remaining Ada Lovelace graphics cards will not be coming to market until 2023 as covered on TechRadar (via Geek Culture).
Raphael announce:8 launch:9
AD102 announce:9 launch:10
Raptor lake announce:9(official) launch:10— Greymon55 (@greymon55) July 15, 2022
Ada Lovelace is the codename for the upcoming RTX 40 series. In the tweet above, the leaker also refers to the launch of AMD’s Ryzen 7000 processors (codenamed Raphael) which according to the leak will be announced in August, and release in September. Also, Intel’s 13th gen Raptor Lake CPUs will see an October launch after being announced in September.
Of course, leaker Greymon55 also refers to AD102 (which is the GPU or graphics processing unit on which the GeForce RTX 4090 is based) which this rumor says will be announced in September and be released in October. The other GPUs (AD103, AD104 and AD106 on which the RTX 4080, RTX 4070 and the remaining cards are based) won’t be released until 2023 according to this leak.
A delay of the GeForce RTX 4080 and RTX 4070 would be a surprising turn of events after the stream of rumors suggesting the RTX 4070 – one of the most highly anticipated Nvidia cards ever – would hit shelves before New Year’s Eve.
After all, the GeForce RTX 4070 (to give it its full name) could be one of Nvidia’s best cards ever from a price and performance perspective, and a delay would mean people who might have been waiting years to upgrade will have to keep waiting… So is the case of the RTX 4080, which could also offer sensational performance for those with bigger wallets, but might not hit shelves until early 2023 the least.
However, as with all rumors of this kind, it’s best to take it with a pinch of salt, as even though the leaker behind it has been right in the past, this might still turn out not to be true. After all, it would be highly unusual for Nvidia to launch their flagship RTX 4090 card and then wait a full three months before putting out cheaper options…
Nvidia might do it this time, though, taking into account the oversupply of RTX 30 series cards – its board partners would definitely like to do away with excess inventory before they begin stocking most RTX 40 series cards.
But given that Nvidia is yet to officially announce its upcoming RTX 40 series graphics cards, it might be better to wait until September (when it’s rumored the Santa Clara company will be announcing the GeForce RTX 4090) and see what Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has to say about the company’s most eagerly anticipated graphics cards to date.
GeForce RTX 30 series card (Nvidia Corporation)