We thought we’d seen the back of GPU scalpers snaffling up stock of the latest graphics cards and immediately reselling them at inflated prices. However, it appears as though the popularity of the latest Nvidia RTX 4080 Super has prompted the practice to take off again, with stock of normally-priced cards seemingly sold out in many stores, while listings for the same cards have appeared at much higher prices.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super immediately found its way onto our best graphics card guide thanks to its large drop in price compared to the original RTX 4080 Super, along with a small performance increase. All of a sudden, arguably the worst-value card of the Nvidia RTX 4000 series became the most desirable one, after it had taken on its Super form.
As such, it’s no surprise that the card has proved popular. However, a browse of US online retailers and Nvidia’s own online store shows almost all units of the card with a standard $999 price are out of stock. Meanwhile, sellers on the likes of Newegg are reselling RTX 4080 Super Founders Edition cards at a ludicrous price of $1,550 – a markup of over $500.
Thankfully, the situation isn’t as dire as in the dark days of the COVID pandemic, when huge demand from gamers stuck at home looking to upgrade, along with cryptocurrency miners, led to huge amounts of GPU scalping and speculation.
A browse of Amazon and Newegg shows there are plenty of models still available for only a slightly higher than MSRP level. These include the PNY GeForce RTX 4080 Super 16GB Verto available for $1,123 and the stunning-looking MSI Expert RTX 4080 Super is available for $1,149.
These prices tie-in with the broader trend we’re seeing of graphics card price drops, with a wide range of AMD and Nvidia cards now cheaper than they’ve ever been. Moreover, it’s also quite possible that this RTX 4080 Super speculation will be a temporary blip that lasts a few weeks until more stock arrives. If you show a little patience you may be able to get an MSRP card again in the not-too-distant future.
Otherwise, there’s generally plenty of stock of other top-tier GPUs, so if you’re looking to build a gaming PC with a decent graphics card, check out our best graphics card guide for a range of options at various prices. These include the beautiful all-black RTX 4070 Super Founders Edition or excellent-value Radeon RX 7800 XT – the latter being ideal if you aren’t too fussed about ray tracing performance.