Someone is already selling the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti for $3,500

(Image credit: u/FaisalKhatib)

The skillful news is that more pictures of Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti partner cards are showing upwards, further pointing towards a release in the very near hereafter.

The bad news is that ane of these allegedly comes from a retailer in the United Arab Emirates, which has put an MSI Suprim 10 version of the RTX 3080 Ti on sale for 12,500 AED: with tax, that'due south about $3,500. Non too encouraging, in other words, for the prospects of an ordinary launch with plentiful stock.

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While tech YouTuber Moore's Constabulary is Expressionless tweeted an image of a Gigabyte-made RTX 3080 Ti, Reddit user u/FaisalKhatib posted a shot of the MSI cards apparently stacked in the U.A.East. shop.

Specs-wise, these only really ostend a detail we were already very sure of — the RTX 3080 Ti using 12GB of video memory instead of the originally rumored 20GB — though the MSI Suprim model looks practically identical to the GeForce RTX 3080 Suprim 10 10G, if yous were curious virtually the GPU'southward sizing.

Just to confirm from my end - the RTX 3080 Ti 12GB is certainly existent, and coming presently™️.I obviously blacked out the background to protect someone, but that's a real 3080 Ti someone I know has their hands on... pic.twitter.com/sn18aNbboaMay four, 2021

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The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti release date has supposedly been pushed back from May to June, though the fact that these partner cards have already been sent out backs up rumors that a launch is close. It's merely a shame that this development is accompanied by a articulate attempt at price-gouging. We don't know how exactly how much the RTX 3080 Ti'due south MSRP will be, but y'all can bet it won't be anywhere near $3,500.

Sadly this follows a pattern of behaviour from less scrupulous retailers surrounding Nvidia's latest graphics cards. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 appeared for hundreds of dollars above its recommended cost simply prior to its release earlier this yr, driven past a worldwide GPU shortage and booming interest in cryptocurrency mining that's only driving demand even higher.

Although the RTX 3080 Ti will release with a hash charge per unit limiter designed to limit its announced to miners, nosotros wouldn't exist surprised if the GPU has such little stock bachelor that some retailers — and specially resellers — effort their luck with similarly inflated prices. Still, this isn't the only reason to avoid engaging with sellers that break the street date for graphics hardware, as the RTX 3080 Ti's commuter software hasn't been released all the same either.

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James is currently Hardware Editor at Rock Paper Shotgun, but earlier that was Audio Editor at Tom'due south Guide, where he covered headphones, speakers, soundbars and annihilation else that intentionally makes noise. A PC enthusiast, he also wrote computing and gaming news for TG, usually relating to how hard it is to detect graphics carte stock.