NVIDIA Shelves the 12GB RTX 4080 Graphics Card

NVIDIA Three GPUs were available when NVIDIA's RTX 4000-series lineup of graphics cards was first unveiled. We have two confusing RTX 4080 cards with various specifications alongside the RTX 4090, which is currently reaching consumers. The entry-level model has been "unlaunched" by NVIDIA. The RTX 4080 variant with 12GB of VRAM will not be released after all, according to NVIDIA. Instead, when the card debuts on November 16th, only the 16GB version will be offered. Although NVIDIA thinks it's a great GPU, it doesn't make sense to introduce it under the RTX 4080 moniker since users may become confused by two GPUs with the same exact specification. The action is sensible. More than simply VRAM set the RTX 4080's 12GB and 16GB models apart from one another. The 12GB version would have had 7,680 CUDA cores, whereas the 16GB version has 9,728. Because both cards would have been marketed as the RTX 4080, many confused individuals would not have been aware that they were receiving a weaker GPU in addition to less RAM and lower gaming performance than their 16GB cousin. If the RTX 4080 had been released next month, the 12GB model would have cost $900, leaving customers looking to purchase one with only the 16GB model, which will start at $1,200. We're not clear what will happen to the card that was the RTX 4080 12GB originally. It may never be released, or NVIDIA may decide to sell it in the future under a different name—possibly as an RTX 4070 or a 4070 Ti. If $1,200 is out of your price range, you'll need to get an RTX 3000 card or wait until NVIDIA releases less expensive GPUs, which is expected to happen in 2023. The RTX 4080 16GB is scheduled to ship soon.