Nvidia’s RTX 4090 will not hit shelves until October 12, which is in a few weeks, and yet it looks like at least one person has managed to buy a GPU earlier.
How VideoCardz (opens in a new tab) Reports a Hong Kong retailer is selling a Gigabyte RTX 4090, with evidence provided at LikHK (opens in a new tab) (Hong Kong internet forum that essentially resembles Reddit). This includes photos and a lot of them showing the Gigabyte Gaming OC 4090 graphics card in question.
Of course, be skeptical about such leaks, but we already know that flagship GPUs are shipped to reviewers, and of course they need to receive cards in time to get their grades ready for publication at launch.
However, even if you could get your hands on the RTX 4090 – if you’re in Hong Kong and could find a retailer that jumped up – it’s now a pointless purchase as without a new graphics driver supporting the new generation Lovelace, the product just won’t work.
While you may have an edge when it comes to how this massive GPU will fit into a PC’s case?
The chatter from the rumor mill indicates that the Gigabyte card is selling for Hong Kong $ 20,000 or so, which translates to about $ 2,500 in US currency (or £ 2,300, AU $ 3,800); Obviously well above the official suggested retail price (more than 50% more, in fact).
Still, what a person is willing to unravel to get a pre-order card obviously doesn’t really matter, and besides, third-party models come with their own recommended prices (although the Gaming OC variant is historically not one of Gigabyte’s more expensive brands).
Analysis: So a promising tip for other Lovelace GPUs?
Perhaps it is of some importance that third-party RTX 4090 graphics cards have already been shipped to retailers long before the official release date. And with any luck, this means we can expect a decent amount of stock right from the start.
Of course, there are some caveats here, and since its price is so high, the RTX 4090 GPU will be a niche proposition, so Nvidia will hardly throw them away. In addition, Team Green won’t feel that selling out is a bad thing – it makes the cards look popular, and even if they don’t sell, it could be considered a negative opinion about the launch of the flagship Lovelace.
Still, it’s still a hint that Team Green is well-positioned for the first launch, which bodes well for the stock RTX 4080, slightly more affordable high-end GPUs (there are two of them, including the 12GB model that hides a little dirty secret). These products will follow the RTX 4090 model and will go on sale in November.
When it comes to really crucial GPUs, let’s face it, the RTX 4070 and 4060 – they will be much more affordable – there is probably still a long time before they go to market, so hopefully Nvidia will be able to significantly increase the Inventory . It’s very likely that we won’t see any of these major graphics cards until 2023, and we expect one or both of them to be revealed in January.