Nvidia RTX 4080 prices look a lot better in the US

In brief: We're just over two weeks away from the official launch of the RTX 4080, which means some of the cards are already appearing on retailers' websites. The good news is that these initial AIB partner models are sticking close to Nvidia's MSRP; at least they are in the US.

Nvidia was originally going to launch two versions of the RTX 4080, a 16GB model and a cut-down 12GB card. But the backlash over releasing something with 4GB less VRAM, 25% fewer CUDA cores, and a narrower memory bus than the RTX 4080 16GB while pricing it at $900 saw Nvidia "unlaunch" the less powerful version and reimburse partners for the expense.

But the RTX 4080 16GB, now called just the RTX 4080, is still launching on November 16. Tom's Hardware spotted a PNY XLR8 Gaming Verto GeForce RTX 4080 on Newegg for $1,199.99, the same price as the Founders Edition. The site also lists an overclocked version of the same card with its boost clock pushed up to 2,550 MHz. There's no price included in the description, but we can expect it to be slightly more expensive.

While this is welcome news for US gamers getting their PCs ready for an RTX 4080, it seems the selling prices in other countries aren't as close to MSRP. As reported by VideoCardz, UK retailer LaptopsDirect has three models of the Palit RTX 4080 GameRock series listed. The cheapest is £1,450 ($1,665), while the most expensive is £1,529.97 ($1,757), or 20.5% more than the country's £1,269 ($1,458) MSRP.

European retailer Proshop is listing RTX 4080 cards in Finland. The country has a massive 24% VAT rate, meaning the official MSRP is high at €1,509 ($1,492). Still, a Inno3D RTX 4080 X3 is €1,620 ($1,602), while an Asus ROG Strix OC is €1,970 ($1,948).

Although the death of Ethereum mining is one of the factors that has improved graphics card pricing and availability enormously, high-demand items that sell out quickly will always attract scalpers. A quick look on eBay shows RTX 4090 cards selling from around $2,200 all the way up to $3,999. Don't be surprised to see the same thing happen with the RTX 4080.