Nvidia's RTX 4080 graphics card may be overpriced, as we noted in our review, but that hasn't stopped the GPU from positively flying off the shelves, at least in the US.
Despite the high prices attached to some RTX 4080 models, with higher-end third-party cards reaching eye-opening levels and even approaching the price of the RTX 4090 in some cases, the graphics cards have disappeared from shelves in the United States. .
As reported by Tom's Hardware(opens in a new tab), the GPUs launched yesterday and sold out within an hour, and are no longer available at any major US retailer, namely Newegg opens in a new tab), Best Buy (opens in a new tab), and B&H (opens in a new tab).
In the UK the picture is quite different as there is an RTX 4080 as standard. For example, Overclockers UK have seven different models in stock and there are six models at Scan UK.
The downside for the UK is that the price tags don't look appealing, with the more affordable Palit GameRock RTX 4080 weighing in at $1,350 on OCUK (opens in a new tab) and $1,355 on Scan (opens in a new tab). new tab) – and prices skyrocket from there.
Analysis: supply and demand equation
It's good to see there's at least some stock in the UK, but RTX 4080 prices are significantly inflated here, as noted. While in the US there are RTX 4080 graphics cards with price tags at the MSRP (recommended) level, but they are not in stock at all. In fact, even the most ridiculously expensive models are not available on the shelves. You can hardly find anything at major US retailers right now.
Could this be a case of low GPU supply, rather than high demand, for the US? This does not seem likely, as the UK would actually have much stronger inventory levels if this were true. We don't think so, and it looks like a lot of gamers in the US are at least willing to pay for the RTX 4080 at launch. Even if it's uncomfortably close to the price of the RTX 4090 in some cases, though part of the problem is that this GPU is still field-thin in the US, too.
It could also be that UK gamers are feeling the effects of the cost of living crisis more and, looking at the price of the RTX 4080 cards, feel that they don't seem like a good value proposition when you consider them. Priced in the US at the actual MSRP level (at least some of them, anyway).
We're betting the situation will stabilize further before long, and we recommend that if you want a fully up-to-date picture of RTX 4080 stock and where to get the best deals, be sure to keep a close eye on our article on where to buy the GeForce RTX. 4080 from Nvidia.
Meanwhile, there's also RDNA 3 GPUs on the horizon, with more promising pricing on the table from AMD; in theory anyway, assuming there's a decent release volume of RX 7900 XT and XTX graphics cards, which of course will be crucial. It seems that playing a waiting game is a sensible tactic, at least for now, anyway...
Today's best graphics card deals
