If you’re planning to buy a new Nvidia 40-series GPU this year, you may need to save more money than planned. This is because the GPU manufacturer has confirmed its plans to “unrelease” the previously planned and cheaper 12GB RTX 4080. Instead, now, the 16GB-only RTX 4080 will be launching next month.
A few weeks ago, after many rumors and many speculations, Nvidia finally announced the next series of high-end PC graphics cards. The plan then was to release two different versions of the RTX 4080 GPU in November: the 16GB RTX 4080 ($1199) and the 12GB RTX 4080 ($899). It also announced $1,600,4,090 during the same event. It’s well over these prices as you might expect, with many claiming it was too expensive. And now the “cheapest” of these new, expensive cards won’t be launching next month.
Read more: Nvidia’s new 40-series PC graphics cards are way too expensive
As announced today by NvidiaThe company is “unreleasing” the 12GB RTX 4080. It claims that’s why, although the card is “cool”, it’s “puzzling” to have two different GPUs set to both “RTX 4080”. This is echoes Criticism that arose from many consumers After the announcements of the last forty series; Many suggested that the conspicuously lower specs of the 12GB RTX 4080 were closer to the theoretical “4070” or “4079”.
Kotaku I contacted Nvidia about the cancellation and future of the 12GB RTX 4080 model.
In a short statement posted on the company’s official website, Nvidia said: “Therefore, we press the ‘Unboot’ button on the 12 GB 4080. “The RTX 4080 16GB is amazing and is on its way to delighting gamers everywhere on November 16th.”
Of course, it’s hard not to see this move as a way for Nvidia to push more of its customers — many of whom are putting off buying a new GPU for a few years now. While the cards remained difficult to buy— to spend more money with a higher priced card. And while initial previews of the cheaper 12GB 4080 showed it to be much slower than the more expensive 16GB version, it was nice to have at least one option that costs less than $1,000. But that is now gone. It remains to be seen what happens, but perhaps Nvidia will actually end up rebranding the 12GB RTX 4080s to the 4070s.
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