GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Hits Overseas Market at Obnoxious Prices

By Zhiye Liu
published

Placeholder pricing or a sign of things to come?

Generic GPU chip render RTX 3080 Ti
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is rumored to launch on May 18 and arrive at retailers on May 26. However, overseas retailers (via VideoCardz (opens in new tab)) have already started updating their online stores with custom GeForce RTX 3080 Ti models. This should be one of the best graphics cards, assuming there's actual availability at reasonable prices, and will likely land awfully close to the GeForce RTX 3090 on our GPU benchmarks hierarchy.

Aquila Technology Ltd., a retailer in New Zealand, has listed MSI's GeForce RTX 3080 TI Ventus 3X 12G OC for $2,543.46 NZD (opens in new tab) and Gigabyte's Geforce RTX 3080 Ti Gaming OC (GV-N308TGAMING OC-12GD) for $3,152.50 NZD (opens in new tab). The prices translate to approximately $1,831.80 and $2,268.95, respectively. 

Meanwhile, in another part of the world, Australian retailer Perth Technical Services Pty Ltd posted the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Eagle (GV-N308TEAGLE-12GD) and Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Vision OC (GV-N308TVISION OC-12GD) for $1,732.75 AUD (opens in new tab) or $1,344.59. 

Normally, we would consider the pricing as placeholders but given the situation of the graphics card market, we wouldn't be surprised if the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti did debut with ridiculous price tags.

The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is reportedly Nvidia's answer to compete with the Radeon RX 6900 XT. It's not like the GeForce RTX 3090 isn't a worthy opponent, but the Ampere flagship does cost $500 more than AMD's offering. The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti was first speculated to cost $999 to mirror the Radeon RX 6900 XT's MSRP. However, subsequent rumors have bumped the price up to $1,099. But let's be real. Retailers rarely respect the official MSRP, especially with the current state of affairs. Furthemore, custom models typically cost more than the MSRP.

The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti doesn't even have to beat the Radeon RX 6900 XT. If the performance is close enough and the price is acceptable, Nvidia's new Ampere graphics card will likely sell very well. Presently, custom Radeon RX 6900 XT graphics cards are retailing between $1,449.99 and $3,208.05. At $1,099, the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti looks like an amazing deal, at least until the graphics card shortage is over.

One small piece of good news is that there are credible rumors the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti will implement Nvidia's anti-mining throttling tech. While Nvidia inadvertently gave away the keys to unlocked performance on the GeForce RTX 3060, subsequent cards with an updated PCI vendor ID and BIOS appear to have restored the lock. We'll see if the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti does better at staying "slow" for Ethereum mining, or if it too ends up as one of the best mining GPUs on the market.

The New Zealand retailer claims to have the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti in stock in a week's time. Again, these aren't confirmed dates, but Nvidia may announce the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti on May 18 with embargo on reviews lifting on May 25. This means that the graphics card should be available for purchase on May 26. It's unknown if Nvidia will allow retailers to take GeForce RTX 3080 Ti pre-orders though.

Zhiye Liu
Zhiye Liu
RAM Reviewer and News Editor

Zhiye Liu is a Freelance News Writer at Tom’s Hardware US. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Heat_Fan89
    Crazy money unless you are either a miner or have money burning a hole in your pocket. If you already own an RTX 3080 it's best to wait till next year for the 4080 if that's what it's called.
    Reply
  • bigdragon
    I expect that Nvidia will set their FE cards at $1100 to $1200 while Asus, MSI, and friends have their cards start at $1600, minimum. The most available cards will be $1800. Scalper prices will easily be $2500 to $4000. Those placeholder prices are most likely the real, first sale prices. Nvidia has completely lost control of their supply chain. Most of the cards available for sale now will go right to miners and scalpers well before Nvidia's launch event.
    Reply
  • spongiemaster
    If these have an effective mining limiter that drops hash rates in half, within a couple months or whatever is long enough for people to believe the limiter won't get cracked quickly, the price should drop into the $1500 range where the 3070 is and availability will improve.
    Reply
  • bigdragon
    spongiemaster said:
    If these have an effective mining limiter that drops hash rates in half, within a couple months or whatever is long enough for people to believe the limiter won't get cracked quickly, the price should drop into the $1500 range where the 3070 is and availability will improve.
    Given the enormous amount of money involved and potential future profits from crypto mining, I would expect people trying to crack the mining limiter driver would be a small concern vs. organized hackers breaching Nvidia's internal data. Why try hot wiring a car when you can just break into the dealership and grab the keys? That mining limiter is not going to stick -- miners will beat it one way or another.
    Reply
  • Zhyr
    Heat_Fan89 said:
    Crazy money unless you are either a miner or have money burning a hole in your pocket. If you already own an RTX 3080 it's best to wait till next year for the 4080 if that's what it's called.

    I hate to tell you this, but the AUD of ~$1700 is pretty reasonable for Australian pricing.

    The cheapest 3080 at launch was ~$1300 and the Strix models were around 1800.

    Between freight to get it here, freight around a large country, 10% GST, and all the other fun stuff, <Mod Edit> expensive.
    Reply
  • watzupken
    MSRP no longer holds any meaning nowadays. It is likely that Nvidia will mark this with an MSRP of around 1 grand, but in reality, this will likely end up in the MSRP of the RTX 3090 @ 1499 USD when it hits the market. After all, the RTX 3090 are already sold upwards of 2 grand easily nowadays.
    Reply
  • lazyabum
    It's DIY 3D printer fabrication at home or BUST!
    Reply
  • hehehahaho
    i can afford 700 max canadian and that buys me a 1050 right now not a 3080 what a joke!

    https://www.newegg.ca/msi-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-gtx-1050-ti-gaming-x-4g/p/1FT-0009-005N1?Description=1050%20nvidia&cm_re=1050_nvidia-_-9SIADDZEA22328-_-Product#
    Reply
  • ingtar33
    Congratulations consumers and miners... by buying these cards at scalper prices, you've proved to these companies that the market price for their gpus are too low. expect msrp to go up drastically as a result
    Reply
  • Jim90
    ingtar33 said:
    Congratulations consumers and miners... by buying these cards at scalper prices, you've proved to these companies that the market price for their gpus are too low. expect msrp to go up drastically as a result
    Yup, that's about the nuts and bolts of it. There are a shocking number of Idiots out there very clearly happy paying these idiot prices.
    It'll be interesting to see final MSRP pricing once this crapfest is over and, equally, whether Nvidia and AMD can force ABI's to include options at this pricing - and in number, for if not, MSRP means F. all.
    Reply