Update, September 17 (9:25 am ET): It appears most stock has been depleted at major retailers following the launch. Keep checking back (if retailer sites aren't down due to traffic) to see if you can still snag a card.
What you need to know
- NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3080 Founder's Edition graphics card is now available.
- The RTX 3080 is NVIDIA's flagship card, sitting between the RTX 3070 and RTX 3090.
- The GeForce RTX 3080 Founder's Edition is available now at NVIDIA for $700 (opens in new tab).
Just weeks after NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 30 series was unveiled, the first graphics card from the lineup is now available. The GeForce RTX 3080 Founder's Edition (opens in new tab) is on sale now directly from NVIDIA for and third-party sellers for $700. Also available are a number of aftermarket cards from various retailers.
The RTX 3080 was launched alongside the 3070 and 3090, though the RTX 3090 isn't expected to launch until September 24 and the 3070 is due out in October. If you're wondering which RTX 30 series card you should buy, the 3080 is billed as NVIDIA's flagship for the series. In other words, it's the best bang for your buck and takes over the top spot in our collection of the best graphics card picks.
The RTX 3080 offers roughly double the performance of the previous generation's RTX 2080, but at the same price. That's a huge leap, and it beats out the RTX 3070's performance hike of around 60 percent. Of course, the 3070 will come in much cheaper at $499 when it launches later this year.
The king of the line is the RTX 3090, though, which brings a performance boost of 50 percent over the Titan RTX, allowing it to push even 8K gaming at respectable framerates for a hefty $1,500. With all three cards, you'll get HDMI 2.1 as well, which works with compatible displays to push 4K at 120Hz with G-Sync.
For a lot of people simply wanting to game in 4K, the RTX 3080 is likely to be the sweet spot. If you're wondering where to buy NVIDIA's RTX 3080 graphics card we've put together a guide, including aftermarket options with custom shrouds and cooling setups. Don't wait too long; the RTX 3080 is likely to sell out fast.
Next-gen is now
The GeForce RTX 3080 is the flagship graphics card from NVIDIA's latest lineup. The card offers truly substantial performance improvements over the previous RTX 20 series at a solid price.
Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the Editor in Chief for Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. Got a hot tip? Send it to daniel.thorp-lancaster@futurenet.com.
