Nvidia’s RTX 3080 12GB card is here at a hefty price

Nvidia’s RTX 3080 12GB graphics card is truly the real deal and double the price. As report at the beginning of the week, Nvidia has updated its website with the specifications of this new card. The updated specs aren’t a huge reveal, but there are some additions to the card that are worth a look. What’s surprising, however, is the price we’re seeing from certain AIBs and retailers for the 12GB RTX 3080.

At least it can be said that the current graphics card surroundings are messy. Manufacturers face wide-ranging problems, from problems with card production to shipping enough items to consumers. Therefore, the increase in the price of graphics cards is not something out of the ordinary right now. However, things are a bit more complicated this time around.

That’s a giant leap for the RTX 3080

Nvidia’s 12GB RTX 3080 graphics card is upgraded in several ways compared to the standard 3080. Most obviously, the amount of VRAM increased from 10GB to 12GB. There are also 3% more CUDA cores and increased TDP from 320W to 350W. A few other improvements are also present, but the bottom line is that this is a more powerful card.

More power usually means the card will be more expensive, but no one is really prepared to see how much more expensive it will be. For now, EVGA’s RTX 3080 12GB FTW3 card will cost $1,249.99. For comparison, EVGA sells the RTX 3080 for $879.99 USD. This is a huge leap in price, especially considering that the new graphics card is a rather modest improvement. It should be pointed out that other retailers may also charge more than this.

For example, Zotac’s GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity OC LHR 12GB graphics card will cost $1599.99 USD. Then there’s Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3080 Ti AORUS XTREME, priced at $1,679.99. Asus is also releasing two version of the graphics card also. The ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 12GB OC will cost $1878.36 and the TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 12GB OC will cost $1740.83.

(Image credit: EVGA).

However, this increase in price does not stem from what is going on inside the card. What we are actually dealing with is chaos of collision problems. There were raw material shortages, increased tariffs after the launch of the first RTX 30 Series, rising component costs, shipping issues, and overwhelming demand that clearly allowed companies to charge more. There are many factors that drive the price of a graphics card up.

The price is certainly attractive and may shock many people. The probable outcome, however, is that very few gamers will get their hands on Nvidia’s RTX 3080 12GB graphics card. Between scaling, miners, and countless other issues going on right now, gamers can wait a while before they have a chance to get their hands on a high-end graphics card.

For more on the latest from Nvidia, be sure to check out the new RTX 3090 Ti and RTX 3050 graphics cards Announced during CES 2022.