The RTX 4080 is rumored to release in early 2023. Even though the card is a little while off, we’ve got all the latest leaks and details that we can muster from the internet to get you everything you need to know.
There’s a lot to talk about with Nvidia’s upcoming 4000 series, which will be one of the hottest tech releases of this year. But the key thing we want to get into the nitty-gritty with today is the RTX 4080, Nvidia’s true flagship card. Why true flagship? Because it’ll be usable by actual humans and not strange individuals who need a 4090 on their electricity bill.
Whenever Nvidia releases an XX80 card, it’s usually near the top of the pile, performance-wise before you start to hit a barrier of price-to-performance that begins to rapidly diminish, which makes every Nvidia XX80 card incredibly popular amongst gamers and PC enthusiasts alike.
You’ll start to notice more and more that graphics cards are slowly coming back into stock across the board, with the 3070 Ti, and 3080 now coming into stock regularly, a stark difference from the last 18 months, where stock drops were few and far between.
While the prices will continue to plummet, the RTX 4000 series is currently on track to hit store shelves properly this time – though expect to see prices hit the ridiculous levels if cryptocurrency rears its head. Nvidia has spent a total of $10 billion on acquiring, and ensuring there are enough parts to build graphics cards for the expected demand.
So far the main story surrounding the RTX 40-series cards is that it’s going to be a huge power draw, with leaked specs already indicating that some 1000-watt power supplies are going to be outpaced by the higher-end gear.
Nvidia RTX 4080 release date rumors
We are currently expecting the RTX 4080 to release in early 2023. This is after a tweet from an industry insider and leaker named Greymon55. They stated that although we are seeing the RTX 4090 release in 2022, we might not see the RTX 4080, 4070, or 4060 until 2023 at the earliest. This is still a rumor, so it’s certainly not set in stone, and Nvidia can change its plans very quickly.
Currently, Chinese suppliers have also claimed to be receiving the first RTX chips within a month. However, it’s not specified what chips they are expecting to receive. This does not change our estimated release date of Early 2023, since it’s likely that these suppliers are only receiving the AD102 chip. This is not the AD103. This is simply based on Greymon55’s estimates, which state that we may not be seeing the RTX 4080 for a little while.
It’s good to see movement on the production regardless, but don’t expect to get your hands on an RTX 4080 quite yet. We’re still expecting a delayed release.
AD102:2022AD103/104/106:2023
— Greymon55 (@greymon55) July 15, 2022
According to Moore’s Law is dead, we could still possibly see the RTX 4080 manage to pull ahead and release in 2022, however there is simply not enough evidence on the table to convince us that they are full launching this year. Leakers are going back and forth on the launch date, which still appears to be fluid.
2023 would be several months after when the previous entries like the RTX 3080 launched. Nvidia should be announcing release dates for their new line of cards in the coming months. Originally, Kopite7Kimi mentioned that we could be seeing announcements as early as July, but that rumor is currently dead in the water.
YouTuber Moore’s Law is Dead claims that due to an oversupply of existing 3000 series cards. This could become an issue where the snake begins to eat itself, as general punters will be looking to purchase the 4000 series, now that they are so close, instead of the now-aged supply of RTX 3000 series stock. This could see dates and timelines pushed all the way back into 2023.
It appears you will be waiting just a little longer for that next-generation graphics card, but you should blame the issues with oversupply and MSRP inflation over the past few years for that. The RTX 4080 may be delayed in order for sellers to get their older stock sold, for the time being.
Nvidia RTX 4080 price rumors
The RTX 4080 should cost $700, going on previous cards in the same ballpark. The 2080 and 3080 both cost this, as well as the 1080 Ti when it launched. Nvidia is pretty good with just slotting in the new card into the old version’s place price-wise, so expect similar results for the 4070, 4060, and so on. However, with the rise in material costs, it’s likely that this $700 boundary could be shattered.
It’s a tricky one, though. As we’re currently witnessing GPUs drop in price after cryptocurrency bottomed out spectacularly and hasn’t been quick to recover, it’s safe to assume that the MSRP and what you pay will nearly be a one-to-one. Factories are also starting to ramp up production again since Covid-19 restrictions are being lifted en masse, so cards should start hitting shelves a lot quicker.
Nvidia 4080 specs and benchmarks
These cards are going to be powerful. The generational leap between the 20-series and 30-series was more to ensure that RTX worked and that 4K gaming was actually achievable without restrictions. The jump to the 40-series seems to be increasing just about everything to build monsters.
According to reports, the Nvidia RTX 4080 will be ‘cut down’ in some capacity, offering a variation on the ‘full’ chip inside the planned Ti revision. While it’ll be minimal from a consumer perspective, it’s those deeply embedded within the GPU world that believe the next cards should provide even more power than what’s being offered on the regular versions.
This doesn’t mean you should hold out, not one bit, as the RTX 4080 is going to browbeat pretty much whatever you eventually throw at it, from the latest games to productivity devices.
RTX 4080 rumored specs
- 16GB of GDDR6X VRAM
- 9728 CUDA cores (+18% more than 3080)
- 144 Ray tracing cores
- 440 Tensor cores
- 256-bit Bus width
- 21 Gbps of memory speed
- Total board power: 320W
Source: Kopite7Kimi
RTX 40-series rumored specifications
| GPU | CUDA Cores | Bus width | VRAM | Memory Speed | Memory Bandwidth | L2 Cache | Total Board Power | Time Spy Extreme Benchmarks | |
| RTX 4090 Ti | AD102-450-A1 | 18,176 FP32 | 384-bit | 48GB GDDR6X | 24Gbps | 1,152GB/s | 96MB | 800W | N/A |
| RTX 4090 | AD102-300-A1 | 16,384 FP32 | 384-bit | 24GB GDDR6X | 21Gbps | 1,008GB/s | 72MB | 450W | 19,000 |
| RTX 4080 | AD103-300-A1 | 9,728 FP32 | 256-bit | 16GB GDDR6X | 21GBps | 672GB/s | 48MB | 320w | 15,000 |
| RTX 4070 | AD104-300-A1 | 7,680 FP32 | 192-bit | 12GB GDDR6X | 21GBps | 504GB/s | 36MB | 285w | 11,000 |
The latest leaks from Kopite7Kimi showcase the RTX 4080 based on the AD103-300-A1 chip, along with 9,728 CUDA cores, in addition to 16GB of GDDR6X VRAM running on a 256-bit bus at 21GBps, giving it an effective memory bandwidth of 672GB/s. In addition to this, you’re going to get 48MB of L2 cache.
This is a slight downgrade on the leaks that we previously saw, but it should still manage to scream ahead of previous-generation cards, being around 35% faster than an RTX 3090 Ti, which is currently the fastest graphics card that you can buy. However, it does come at the cost of extremely high power-draw, in addition to a guarantee that these cards will run quite hot.
The latest leaks from Kopite7Kimi suggest that the RTX 4080 will in fact be 100W less power-hungry than initially anticipated, with the RTX 4080 potentially drinking a titanic 420W from your PC at the absolute peak of usage. That was the original suggestion, which clocked in at being 100W higher than the RTX 3080.
We can expect RTX 4080 with 320W and RTX 4070 with 285W.
— kopite7kimi (@kopite7kimi) August 9, 2022
However, this has since been revised, and now the new estimation for power is currently set at 320w. It’s unclear as of right now if this reduction in power usage will directly affect the estimated Time Spy Extreme benchmarks for the RTX 4080, however, it’s a good sign for gamers who are more power-conscious than others, as these cards will be certain to drink up a lot of power, regardless of the cut, or not. It may be common to see undervolting amongst many users of the RTX 4080 to make the card slightly more palatable for those who do not want it running at 320w.
Some believe that the RTX 4080 will be launching with more CUDA cores than this, and it may do so, however, these claims are based on the overall AD103 chip, and not what we believe to be the cut-down model, which is the RTX 4080. Specs are prone to fluctuate as the GPU ekes towards release, so these are by no means final numbers. If you can’t wait until then, you’ll be able to use GeForce Now on your Samsung TV.
However, the rumored TDP would firmly place higher-end power supplies in demand, as some overhead will be needed to make sure your PC doesn’t just decide enough is enough. Many power supply manufacturers are adopting a new-generation PCIe power socket in order to supply cards with this amount of power. No one wants hundreds of cables attached to their cards, and it’s something that we hope AIB manufacturers get involved with, too.
It’s suspected that the RTX 4080 will run on TSMC’s 5nm process, moving on from the 8nm Samsung fabrication process that we saw previously in the Ampere lineup of cards. This will not directly correlate with performance. However, it is a step in the right direction for many. Though the blistering specs of this card will mean that it’s likely to have a larger form factor compared to its rivals.
RTX 4080 benchmark speculation
According to Kopite7Kimi, the RTX 4080 will achieve a 3DMark Time Spy Extreme score of around 15,000. This is significantly faster than the RTX 3080’s score of around 8,500. This would make the RTX 4080 around 55% faster than its previous-generation counterpart, which is no small feat. Details of how this benchmark was run are light, but if it is any indication of the performance that we can come to expect form the RTX 4080, then it’ll be one of the most powerful consumer graphics cards ever made.
However, you will also have to contend with that reported increase in power draw from your system in order to attain that kind of score. Since this is a pre-launch benchmark, be sure to take it with a grain of salt, as nothing is officially confirmed quite yet.
Right now, there are no official benchmarks for the RTX 4080. However, we originally expected it to be around 20% faster than the RTX 3080 if the rumored specs are true. Just from looking at the specs, you already know this is going to be fast. The card is destined to be that premium level of hardware that just does what it says on the tin. It won’t even go anywhere outside your PC for a long, long time, as Nvidia’s DLSS and AMD’s FSR supersampling will extend its life far beyond what was originally envisioned.
The price-to-performance ratio is really the golden number that you’re looking for with graphics cards, and while it’s likely that the RTX 4080 won’t be the sweet spot. The ideal price-to-performance ratio is usually a tier lower, but you still will be getting a supremely speedy graphics card.
Should you upgrade to the RTX 40-series?
If you’re on a 10-series or 20-series, yes. Now is the time to upgrade. However, if you’re on a 30-series, no. Unless you absolutely need to remain on the cutting edge. These cards will supposedly need PCIe 4.0, even though 3.0 is forward compatible, if you’re planning on making the leap to the RTX 4080 or any of its siblings, you’re going to be upgrading the full thing. Motherboard, CPU, etc. It’s time. Let it go.
For those on the 30-series, just don’t bother. The Ti variations might be worth it, but the jump at a consumer – that’s you – level is not worth the hassle of having to get, install and pay out the nose for yet another new GPU. So if you recently upgraded or built a machine and are now kicking yourself, then don’t. New graphics cards will not magically make your older card slower.
If you are looking for a brand-new graphics card to grab right now, then you could do much worse than picking up the old reliable RTX 3080.
How many CUDA cores does a 4080 have?
Right now, leaks suggest that the RTX 4080 will have 10,240 CUDA cores. They work to complete calculations on the graphics card. Additionally, improvements to architecture mean that you will be able to complete tasks faster, thanks to the boost in performance that more CUDA cores affords.
Where to buy the RTX 4080
Currently, the RTX 4080 is not available for purchase or pre-order anywhere. You can expect pre-orders for the RTX 4080 to go live after the card is officially announced. We should hope to see a release date by then, too. But, until then you might have to hold on tight to get your hands on a brand-new graphics card.
Until then, you can still pick up an RTX 3080 if you are in desperate need of a new graphics card. Though, you might want to hold off a little until the RTX 4080 releases.
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