Nvidia recently launched a trio of RTX Super graphics cards and one of them has sold out in the US – would you hazard a guess as to which one?
It’s actually the most expensive of the three new Lovelace GPUs, namely the RTX 4080 Super, which is out of stock at all major online retailers in the US as VideoCardz first noticed.
Now, note that this is online stock we’re talking about, and it is still possible to get an RTX 4080 Super at your local brick-and-mortar store in some cases. But even then, it’s more than likely you’ll be paying over the MSRP (for third-party custom cards, which isn’t unusual, as many of these models are overclocked and command slightly more of a premium).
At the time the VideoCardz article was published, there were still RTX 4080 Super GPUs available above the MSRP online at Newegg, but we’ve just checked and right now, there aren’t any models at all – even the pricier custom boards – up for grabs.
Stock levels for both the other refreshes Nvidia introduced last month, the RTX 4070 Super and 4070 Ti Super, appear to be holding (relatively) firm for now – although getting a model at MSRP still involves some hunting (at the time of writing), particularly for the RTX 4070 Super.
Analysis: High or low cause?
Regarding the cause of stock running out, it could be two things, of course: high demand meaning RTX 4080 Super GPUs are zooming off the shelves, or low stock meaning that the graphics cards just aren’t hitting the shelves in much of a quantity in the first place.
So, which is it? Well, we can’t say (obviously enough), but what we can do is make a reasonable guess based on past rumors. Before all these RTX Super refreshes came out, there were rumblings on the grapevine that most of Nvidia’s production volume would be pumped into the RTX 4070 Super. That made sense, as it’s the most affordable GPU, so it’ll shift more units purely on that basis. The theory was that the RTX 4080 Super (and 4070 Ti Super) could be rather lean on the ground stock-wise.
Is it mainly a lack of stock, then? Wait a minute – there’s another side to this coin, namely that we feel there was some pent-up demand for a high-end graphics card that grew in recent times due to several factors. Firstly, the price of the RTX 4090 went through the roof (due to the situation in China, which affected pricing globally – we explain more here). And secondly, the RTX 4080, as the next rung down the Lovelace range from the flagship, has been poorly regarded since its launch.
Indeed, the unpopularity of the RTX 4080 is part of the reason Nvidia brought in a Super refresh, to give gamers a graphics card with a bit more pep, but mostly it was about cutting that price point by the best part of 20% – finally delivering something like a decent high-end value proposition.
So, gamers unable to buy a top dog 4090 due to ridiculous pricing, and 4080 avoiders who’ve been waiting for something better to turn up – namely the Super replacement (or perhaps big price cuts, which never really happened) – are now all pulling the trigger.
Overall, our feeling is that it’s a bit of both here – some decent demand due to the reasons theorized above, combined with somewhat low production levels. We might tilt our guesswork towards a leaner supply level on balance, but we’re just speculating.
The RTX 4070 Ti Super may also be rather slim in stock terms, but perhaps not as popular as the RTX 4080 Super initially (file that under ‘s’ for speculation, too). Whatever the case, we expect that RTX 4080 Super stock will soon buck up, as any modest spike in demand as noted will likely calm down soon enough.
Meantime, though, you’ll very much struggle to get one in the US – though the picture is brighter elsewhere, such as in Europe. For example, there’s some RTX 4080 Super stock online in the UK, but not at MSRP – you’ll pay about 10% more for the available custom models, but that's fair enough (for a faster card, on balance).
