NVIDIA's RTX 4090 GPU And 4000 Series Cards Met With Middling Reception As Scalpers And Prices Loom Over Fans

September 20th, 2022 - 5:03 PM EDT by Brandon Wink

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Fans of NVIDIA and its GPUs were excited to see the launch of the newest flagship graphics card, the GeForce RTX 4090. Earlier today, the new behemoth-sized 4090 GPU, much like its predecessors in the 3000 and 2000 series, launched with a whole bevy of new features aimed at gamers who not only want the best of the best but also want to enjoy the latest in PC gaming hardware.

Two years after the debut of the 3000 series GPUs, the newly unveiled 4000 series from NVIDIA promises gamers the top-performing components in the world of graphics cards, albeit at a hefty price. This was accomplished through one of the newer features that is aimed at giving more power to gamers and modders alike, with the ability to RTX mod games being added, which was shown off with an RTX upgraded version of The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind, much to the joy of everyone that isn't named Todd Howard.


However, it didn't take long for the luster and new card shine to wear off the RTX 4090, as people were quick to note a few things about the other cards present in the generation, namely the RTX 4080 12GB version.

In the past, cards that were of lesser quality were given a lower number, such as 2070, 2080 or 3070, 3080 and so on. This time around, many on social media are accusing NVIDIA of using the XX80 designation merely as a means to justify the price increase from the yet-announced 4070 to the 4080, setting a new price floor at $900 minimum while upsetting many — though it's pretty much guaranteed that the eventual 4060 and 4070 GPUs will be cheaper when released.


To many, there was one good silver lining to it all, which is that a new generation of cards typically makes the prices of existing cards go down, which coincidentally also aligns with the fall in GPU prices globally as cryptocurrency mining moves off GPUs due to Ethereum changing itself to a "proof of stake" system. This has given some hope, but others remain defeated, convinced that scalpers and bots will still run rampant and destroy the market as usual — unless you know how to get one for cheap or don't mind waiting months after release.




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