Nvidia surprised the tech world this week by announcing a new lineup of “Super” refresh graphics cards, the GeForce RTX 40 Series Super family. The new cards promise better performance at lower prices compared to the original RTX 40 series.
RTX 40 Series Hit by Shortages
The announcement comes amidst reports of shortages affecting Nvidia’s current GeForce RTX 40 series graphics cards (RTX 4080, RTX 4090). The shortages seem to be caused by Nvidia prioritizing production of its data center and AI accelerators over gaming GPUs.
As reported by WCCFTech [1]:
Nvidia is facing major shortages in supplies for its GeForce RTX 40 gaming graphics cards. The reason behind this is that TSMC, Nvidia’s main foundry partner, is prioritizing orders for the Ada Lovelace chips meant for Data Center & AI applications rather than those aimed at gamers.
This has made the existing RTX 40 series cards difficult to find in stock, and resulted in inflated pricing over MSRP from retailers. The new RTX 40 Super series cards aim to alleviate these availability issues.
[1] https://wccftech.com/nvidia-gaming-gpus-facing-global-shortages-as-ai-chips-take-production-priority/
RTX 4070 Super, RTX 4080 Super, and RTX 4080 Ti Super
The new Super lineup looks to consist of three models – the RTX 4070 Super, RTX 4080 Super, and a new RTX 4080 Ti Super:
| Model | Pricing |
|---|---|
| RTX 4070 Super | $799 |
| RTX 4080 Super | $1099 |
| RTX 4080 Ti Super | $1299 |
Pricing for the new cards looks very competitive, with the RTX 4080 Super coming in $200 cheaper than the existing RTX 4080 16GB.
NotebookCheck [2] revealed the alleged full specifications:
RTX 4070 Super
- 7680 CUDA cores
- 12GB GDDR6X memory
- 21 Gbps memory speed
- 285W TDP
RTX 4080 Super
- 9728 CUDA cores
- 16GB GDDR6X memory
- 23 Gbps memory speed
- 320W TDP
RTX 4080 Ti Super
- 11872 CUDA Cores
- 24GB GDDR6X memory
- 24 Gbps memory speed
- 420W TDP
The new cards seem to slot in nicely between existing models, providing buyers more choice.
Images of custom Zotac RTX 4070 Super cards leaked by VideoCardz [3] show them featuring dual and triple fan coolers. All models use Nvidia’s new 12VHPWR power connector, capable of delivering up to 600W.
[2] https://www.notebookcheck.net/Latest-RTX-40-SUPER-pricing-leak-reveals-enticing-RTX-4080-SUPER-RTX-4070-Ti-SUPER-and-RTX-4070-SUPER-MSRPs.789269.0.html
[3] https://videocardz.com/newz/zotac-geforce-rtx-4070-super-cards-pictured-all-with-12vhpwr-connector-on-board
Aggressive Pricing Aimed at AMD Competition
According to Forbes [4], the pricing suggests Nvidia is aiming to compete strongly with rival AMD’s upcoming RDNA 3 refresh graphics cards, expected to be announced at CES 2023:
The prices seem almost too good to be true at this point based on the specifications leaked. It shows Nvidia is taking RDNA3 very seriously indeed, likely based on early benchmark data it has seen already.
The pricing is seen by many as a preemptive strike against AMD before any official RDNA 3 refresh details have been unveiled. This also benefits gamers who should see better availability of powerful graphics cards at reasonable prices.
[4] https://www.forbes.com/sites/antonyleather/2024/01/04/nvidia-in-surprise-low-pricing-for-rtx-40-super-graphics-cards/amp/
Official Announcement Due January 8th at CES 2023
Nvidia has begun teasing the announcement of new GeForce graphics cards across its social media channels in the lead up to CES 2023 next week. The teaser image (seen below) states “The Ultimate Countdown”, hinting at something big in store.
While no specifics were revealed, the prevailing rumor is this teaser is for the upcoming RTX 40 Super lineup. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is scheduled to deliver a keynote presentation on January 8th at CES where the announcement will likely take place.
Impact on Gamers and Nvidia
The introduction of the GeForce RTX 40 Super Series looks set to expand and improve Nvidia’s next-generation ray tracing graphics card offerings. If pricing holds, the new cards could shake up the high-end graphics card market in a very positive way for gamers.
More competition and better availability of powerful cards will drive prices down across the board. And the selection of GPUs able to deliver high frame rate ray traced gaming will increase.
For Nvidia itself, the new cards will help boost sales and retain market share in the face of AMD’s upcoming refreshes. The early aggressive pricing seems designed specifically to prevent AMD from undercutting Nvidia on cost.
The CES 2023 keynote and unveiling of final details will clarify precisely how much impact these new RTX 40 Super GPUs will have. But the outlook is overwhelmingly positive for gamers hoping the card shortages and inflated pricing of 2022 won’t be repeated.
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