Want an RTX 4080? Prices suggest you may as well get a 4090

As we get closer to the release date of Nvidia’s RTX 4080 16GB, more and more retailers are starting to put the card up for sale. Today, Micro Center revealed the prices of several models of the GPU.

Unfortunately, those who hoped to score a cheap RTX 4080 may need to change their plans. The way the graphics card is priced, you might as well be buying an RTX 4090 instead.

Four RTX 40-series graphics cards on a black background.

We’ve already seen the RTX 4080 up for sale before, and the prices varied from MSRP to way above it — but those cards were mostly listed by retailers in Europe. Now, thanks to Micro Center, we have a solid glimpse of RTX 4080 pricing in the United States, and it’s not very encouraging. The card will officially be up for grabs starting on November 16, a little over a month after the launch of the RTX 4090.

Nvidia’s MSRP for the RTX 4080 16GB has been set to $1,199, which is already fairly high. As expected, Nvidia’s board partners push the prices higher still while most likely delivering some upgrades over the Founders Edition version of the GPU. So far, Micro Center has 13 different versions of the card available, ranging from $1,199 to $1,549, which is just $50 shy of the MSRP for the RTX 4090.

You can find cards from several manufacturers, including Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, PNY, and Zotac. Asus serves up the flagship RTX 4080 ROG Strix for a whopping $1,549 — a monster GPU with a triple fan design. There are also two TUF variants, one priced at MSRP and one at $1,499.

Gigabyte offers the most GPUs of all the card makers, with four listings ranging between MSRP and $1,349. The cheaper Eagle variant starts at $1,199 and bumps the price up to $1,239 for the OC version. There’s also the Gigabyte Gaming model for $1,269, and lastly, the flagship Aorus Master for $1,349.

MSI is also not cheap, but it’s not as bad as Asus. We have the RTX 4080 Ventus, priced at $1,279, and then two Gaming X Trio options for $1,324 and $1,399 for the factory overclocked version.

Zotac’s two graphics cards are the Trinity ($1,199) and the AMP Extreme Airo ($1,399). Lastly, PNY offers up just one card, the RTX 4080 XLR 8 Gaming Verto Epic-X RGB, but it’s priced at MSRP.

The RTX 4080 16GB is not exactly cheap

Prices of the RTX 4080 at Micro Center. — Micro Center

Nvidia’s RTX 4080 hasn’t launched yet, but some early benchmarks of the card have already been leaked. These scores suggest that it might be up to 45% slower than the flagship RTX 4090. Combine that with the fact that some models of the card cost almost as much as the RTX 4090 at MSRP, and you’ve got yourself what looks like a pretty bad deal.

Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that. Currently, the RTX 4090 is mostly unavailable at MSRP. prices are all north of $2,000, with some models reaching as high as $2,600. On the other hand, Micro Center lists several models of the card within the $1,600-$1,800 range, so if you’re able to shop in person, you might be able to score a deal.

In any case, it’s not a great look when a much slower card is priced around the same as its far better equivalent from the get-go. If you’re able to get an RTX 4090 at the recommended price or close to it, it’s certainly not a bad idea. The RTX 4080 might be overpriced — and that might push more consumers to try out the AMD RX 7900 XTX, which is rumored to deliver similar performance, starting at $999.