According to a Redditor, one of the biggest computer hardware retailers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has already offered up MSI's GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Suprim X for a whopping sum of $3,500. An employee reportedly sent a WhatsApp message to notify interested buyers that the graphics card is available for sale.
The dates are still a bit fuzzy, but the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is rumored to launch this month, or maybe early June. It's strange that a retailer would risk getting in trouble with Nvidia by selling the Ampere graphics card before its official product launch. However, the Redditor claimed that it's not the first time that UAE retailers are jumping the gun. It looks like it's standard practice over in the UAE to sell computer hardware before the official date. The Redditor stated that the GeForce RTX 3070, RTX 3060 Ti and RTX 3060 were also clandestinely up for sale ahead of their corresponding launch.
As we've said numerous times, computer hardware is more expensive outside of the U.S. The industry is still going through a graphics card shortage, and the cryptocurrency miners and scalpers are making things worse. The $3,500 price tag is just downright absurd, but looks credible. We've already seen other custom models listed for up to $2,300. Then again, the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Suprim X is MSI's flagship model so it's expected to carry a small premium in comparison to other mainstream SKUs.
Even if you have money lying around, it doesn't make sense to pick up a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti right now, considering that it's an unreleased product so there are no public drivers for it. However, you would beat the cryptocurrency miners and scalpers to the punch. There's still the risk of buying something that you have no idea on how it performs in comparison to the competition — logically, it should be slower than the 3090 but faster than the 3080, but by how much?
The justification for the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti's existence is to rival AMD's Radeon RX 6900 XT. While the Ampere offering has been rumored to cost between $999 and $1,099, the jury is still out on whether we'll see the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti at a reasonable price. When in stock, the cheapest Radeon RX 6900 XT on the market right now starts at $1,499.99. If the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti can't beat that price, it doesn't make sense for it to come out swinging.
