Something to look forward to: Nvidia's recently-announced RTX 20-series GPUs have garnered quite a bit of attention from tech media outlets, and the reception has been mixed. Some doubt the cards' performance capabilities, while others feel the tech behind them will be revolutionary. Regardless, we'll all know for sure on September 17, when the RTX 2080's review NDA finally lifts.
Nvidia's long-awaited RTX 20-series video cards finally made their debut at the company's pre-Gamescom reveal event, but the announcement was met with some mixed reactions.
The raytracing technology Nvidia showed off on stage was certainly impressive, but many – including our own Steve Walton – have questioned the cards' general performance capabilities, casting doubt on their ability to outpace GTX 10-series GPUs from an FPS perspective.
If you aren't up to speed on the situation, Nvidia's RTX GPUs boast "real-time raytracing" technology, which will supposedly improve reflections, shadows, and lighting in video games.
At any rate, the general consensus among tech experts seems to be "don't pre-order, wait for benchmarks," as is often the case with new video card architecture. Naturally, this is tough advice for some to follow. Nobody wants to get left in the dust, and stock for new graphics cards tends to sell out fast.
If you are itching to pre-order but you don't want to get the short end of the stick, the good news is that the NDA for Nvidia's first RTX GPUs will be lifted soon, on September 17. You can expect to see the cards' first benchmarks and reviews hit the web on the same day.
It's worth noting that this lift date does not apply to all RTX cards - it's not clear when the RTX 2070 will receive its first benchmarks, but the RTX 2080 Ti's first review won't arrive until September 19.