By Toby Saunders

Published: Wednesday, 21 September 2022 at 12:00 am


The NVIDIA 4080 and 4090 graphics cards have been unveiled and both of the GeForce RTX cards are looking rather tasty. Both the 4080 and 4090 should offer up to twice the speed of NVIDIA’s last-gen GPUs and come packed with that shiny new DLSS3 technology that helps you get more performance out of games thanks to clever AI – up to four times more performance.

Of course, given the continuing parts shortage, expect both the 4080 and 4090 to cost a pretty penny or two. PC gaming at the highest levels doesn’t come cheap. You’ve got to pay up when you’re after a new GPU that can play ray-traced games at up to four times the speed compared to last-gen NVIDIA cards.

If you’re looking to upgrade, you’ll find everything you need to know about the new NVIDIA Ada Lovelace-powered GPUs below, including the NVIDIA 4080 and 4090 release date, specs, price, and pre-order information.

NVIDIA 4080 and 4090 release date – when are they coming out?

The release date for the NVIDIA RTX 4090 24GB is Wednesday 12th October 2022.

The NVIDIA RTX 4080 16GB, meanwhile, is scheduled for a November 2022 release date. A 12GB edition of the RTX 4080 will also release, presumably on the same date as its 16GB sibling.

You’d better start saving up now because the 4090 and 4080 RTX cards won’t come cheap, even if you do opt for the 12GB edition.

NVIDIA 4080 and 4090 specs – what’s the difference?

The NVIDIA 4080 and 4090 share similar architecture, but the 4090 is carrying more power under its hood. As per the official NVIDIA website, the GeForce RTX 4090 contains a whopping 16,384 CUDA Cores compared to the 9,728 Cuda Cores in the 16GB edition of the 4080 and 7,680 within the 12GB, respectively.

The cards are similar to one another, but those extra cores do make a difference. Those looking for the very best and extra cutting edge will want to go for the 4090, which has (according to Eurogamer and Digital Foundry) a total memory bandwidth of 1018GB/s, compared to the 4080’s 742GB/s (557GB/s in the 12GB model). Simply put, the 4090 is a beast.

That extra horsepower requires extra wattage to run, however. The RTX 4090 has a total power usage of 450W, compared to 320W and 285W in the 4080 models. This means you’ll need a total power requirement of 850W to run the 4090, compared to 750W for the 4080. These are power-hungry GPUs. The 4090 is the most powerful, but at what cost?

NVIDIA 4080 and 4090 price – how much do they cost?

The NVIDIA 4080 costs £1269 for the 16GB edition, or £949 for the 12GB model.

The NVIDIA 4090 costs £1649. That’s a lot. You’ve got to pay up for the best, and these cards really are the best when it comes to getting the most out of your library of PC games. Remember to factor in those running costs, too.

NVIDIA 4080 and 4090 pre-order – where can you buy them?

You can currently sign up to be notified of availability for all three of the NVIDIA 4080 and 4090 graphics cards. Simply head to the official NVIDIA website to sign up. The GPUs will be available to buy from the official site, too, so it’s good to have that bookmarked if you’re after either of the new DLSS3-powered cards.

Follow Radio Times Gaming on Twitter for all the latest insights. Or if you’re looking for something to watch, see our TV Guide.

Visit our video game release schedule for all upcoming games on consoles. Swing by our hubs for more Gaming and Technology news.

The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.