Nvidia has lastly introduced the RTX 40 collection, and three new RTX 40 playing cards will likely be accessible later this 12 months: the flagship RTX 4090, the high-end RTX 4080 16GB, and the RTX 4080 12GB. Together with apparently huge efficiency enhancements over last-generation RTX 30 collection playing cards, these new GPUs include excessive worth tags.
How a lot does the RTX 4090 price?
The flagship RTX 4090 is launching with an MSRP of $1,599, which is $100 greater than the $1,499 MSRP of the RTX 3090 and $400 decrease than the $1,999 MSRP of the RTX 3090 Ti. $100 additional for Nvidia’s new flagship isn’t that a lot when the RTX 3090 was already so costly, so not a lot has modified right here.
| RTX 4090 | RTX 3090 | |
| Course of | TSMC 5nm | Samsung 8nm |
| Structure | Ada Lovelace | Ampere |
| CUDA cores | 16,384 | 10,496 |
| Reminiscence | 24GB GDDR6X | 24GB GDDR6X |
| Increase clock pace | 2520MHz | 1695MHz |
| Bus width | 384-bit | 384-bit |
| Energy | 450W | 350W |
It’s really shocking that the RTX 4090 doesn’t price extra as a result of it has far more CUDA cores than the RTX 3090 and the RTX 3090 Ti. It nonetheless has kind of the identical reminiscence measurement and bandwidth, however that shouldn’t actually be a trigger for concern; Nvidia ought to know how much VRAM its GPUs need.
How a lot does the RTX 4080 price?
Issues are a bit extra difficult with the RTX 4080, which has two completely different fashions: the 4080 16GB at $1,199 and the 4080 12GB at $899. That’s far more costly than the RTX 3080 10GB, which launched at $699, but it surely’s cheaper than the RTX 3080 12GB, which launched at $1,249. That being stated, the 3080 12GB has seldom been in good provide, and the worth has been falling ever because the finish of the GPU scarcity. In comparison with the usual RTX 3080 10GB, each RTX 4080 fashions are far more costly.
| RTX 4080 16GB | RTX 4080 12GB | RTX 3080 | |
| Course of | TSMC 5nm | TSMC 5nm | Samsung 8nm |
| Structure | Ada Lovelace | Ada Lovelace | Ampere |
| CUDA cores | 9,728 | 7,680 | 8960 / 8704 |
| Reminiscence | 16GB GDDR6X | 12GB GDDR6X | 12GB / 10GB GDDR6X |
| Increase clock pace | 2505MHz | 2610MHz | 1710MHz |
| Bus width | 256-bit | 192-bit | 384-bit / 320-bit |
| Energy | 320W | 285W | 350W / 320W |
At first look, this completely different quantity of reminiscence enterprise would possibly sound just like the distinction between the RTX 3080 10GB and the RTX 3080 12GB, which have very comparable efficiency however a big distinction in worth. Nevertheless, these two completely different 4080s differ enormously not simply in reminiscence measurement and worth but in addition in different specs.
The RTX 4080 16GB has 9,728 CUDA cores, whereas the RTX 4080 12GB has simply 7,680. The reminiscence bandwidth on the 12GB mannequin can be a lot decrease because it has a 192-bit bus in comparison with the 256-bit bus on the 16GB model. The 12GB card does have a barely greater clock pace, however that’s greater than offset by the decrease quantity of cores and reminiscence bandwidth. The 16GB and 12GB are successfully very completely different GPUs and never simply merely completely different variations of the identical card, therefore the $300 worth distinction.
Which RTX 40-series GPU must you purchase?
Till the critiques are in, it’s arduous to advocate any of the RTX 40 collection playing cards Nvidia has revealed to this point. These are among the most costly GPUs ever launched (which hasn’t been received well by most users), and even when RTX 40 is as quick as Nvidia says it’s, these excessive worth tags are undoubtedly going to negatively impact the value proposition of these cards.
That being stated, Nvidia’s new GPUs do appear priced sensibly relative to one another. The RTX 4080 16GB presents over 2,000 extra CUDA cores, 4GB extra VRAM, and extra reminiscence bandwidth than the RTX 4080 12GB for $300 extra. For one more $400, you would get the RTX 4090, which comes with 6,000 extra CUDA cores, 8GB extra VRAM, and much more reminiscence bandwidth. The 4090 is definitely in a category above the 4080 16GB, not like how the RTX 3090 was simply an RTX 3080 with just a few extra cores and better TDP.
When you’re going to spend tons of of {dollars} on a cutting-edge GPU, it’d simply be price it to go all out and get the RTX 4090. At the very least then you definately gained’t be wanting for extra, even when it is without doubt one of the most costly gaming GPUs ever made. Then again, you continue to get quicker ray tracing efficiency and DLSS 3 with the less expensive RTX 4080 16GB and 12GB.
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