Nvidia ended 2021 as rocky as it started, as insufficient RTX 2060 12GB stock levels somewhat stifled the company’s Turing relaunch. That hasn’t stopped the green team from gearing up for yet another GPU release, though, as the company’s officially confirmed the RTX 3080 12GB as a real thing.
Originally unveiled via a GeForce Experience driver update, the RTX 3080 12GB model comes with a 2GB memory increase, 384-bit memory bus, and an increased bandwidth limit of 912GBps. The new card’s spec also requires an additional 30W, resulting in a higher 350W TDP.
Nvidia has no plans for an RTX 3080 12GB Founder’s Edition release, but various vendors have now announced their own take on the GPU refresh. So far, MSI, Inno3D, and Asus have announced custom models, including overclocked variants boasting 1,890MHz boost clock speed.
MSI’s take on the RTX 3080 12GB also popped up early on the German store Mindfactory, alongside an eye-watering €1,699 price tag (roughly $1,925 USD). This specific listing is currently live on the site, meaning we could be faced with inflated board partner prices. That said, we’re still waiting for word on official pricing, so we’ll need to wait and see whether this new GPU is as expensive as leaks suggest.