Is the RTX 4080 Getting Cheaper?

With the release of Nvidia’s RTX 20 series cards, graphics card prices have been on a steady upward trajectory. Now, it seems that there may be some changes coming to their flagship RTX 4080 GPU. Rumors suggest that Nvidia is planning to use a slightly different chip in the card, potentially leading to lower costs for board makers – but will this trickle down to consumers? 

Reports from Tom's Hardware and HKEPC (a tech site in Hong Kong) indicate that while the current RTX 4080 GPU is based on the AD103-300 chip, Nvidia could switch up its design with an AD103-301 model instead. This has since been corroborated by several third-party graphics card makers listing this new variant as ‘AD103-300/301’ under their product descriptions. Additional reports also suggest that when it comes time for Nvidia to unveil its upcoming RTX 4070, it might take a similar approach – utilizing both an AD104-250 and an AD104-251 chip in order to create savings in terms of its BOM (bill of materials). 

However, even if these rumors are true and such cost reductions come about due to these new chips being incorporated into their GPUs, we will unlikely see any dramatic price drop for consumers. HKEPC claims that even if both versions of the RTX4070 are released onto the market with different chipsets—the differences between them would be minimal at best, amounting to merely a $1 difference between them from a BOM standpoint alone! What’s more - current reports make no mention of improved performance accompanying these potential changes either - meaning you won’t be getting much extra bang for your buck should you decide to invest in one of these revised designs either way. 

At this point in time, all we can do is wait and hope against hopes - because as things stand now, sadly enough - any cost reduction arising out when (or indeed if) these new GPUs ever reach shelves looks set to remain marginal at best regardless.