The highly-anticipated RTX 4080 and 4090 GPUs from Nvidia have been unveiled, and they will cost some pretty pennies. The newest generation of graphics cards was announced at the company’s Beyond Fast showcase, with the RTX 4090 being the first to take to the stage, followed by two versions of the RTX 4080: a 16GB and a cheaper 12GB alternative.
Touted to be the most powerful consumer card produced by Nvidia, the RTX 4090 is the standout of the GeForce RTX 40-series line, and features 16,384 CUDA cores and 24GB of memory. This power boost, on paper, makes it two to four times faster in games like Cyberpunk 2077 as compared to the RTX 3090Ti, the flagship from the previous generation.
Due to the large supply of the power, though, the new GPU will require three 8-pin power adapters with an optional fourth for overclocking. It’s slated for release on 12 October 2022, with prices starting at US$1,599.
The RTX 4080, meanwhile, is set to drop sometime in November, with the claim that it’ll be two to four times faster than the RTX 3080Ti. The difference between the 16GB and 12GB versions isn’t confined to just memory space, however, as both actually feature different specs. The former boasts 9,728 CUDA cores, whereas the latter has 7,680 and slower memory speeds.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 (12GB) will retail for US$899, with the 16GB variant priced at US$1,199. All three desktop GPUs are built on the new Ada Lovelace architecture, and will offer a host of new features, including real-time path tracing and DLSS 3, the third generation of Deep Learning Super Sampling. According to Nvidia, the upgraded technology is reportedly capable of generating additional frames and boosting game performance by up to two times.
Along with the new-generation graphics cards, a few games with RTX-enabled ray tracing upgrades were also announced. Among them is the puzzle platformer classic Portal, which has received the Portal with RTX update, made free for owners of the original game.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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