NVIDIA Just Unlaunched Its 12GB GeForce RTX 4080, Will It Return As The 4070?

NVIDIA seemingly annoyed a few people with its decision to name two completely different Ada Lovelace graphics cards based on different GPUs both, "RTX 4080." The GeForce RTX 4080 16GB model uses the AD103 GPU and is significantly faster—according to NVIDIA's own data—than the GeForce RTX 4080 12GB model, which is based on the AD104 GPU. Outlets around the web (including us) commented that the card should have probably been called the a "GeForce RTX 4070."

It seems like NVIDIA might have taken those messages to heart, as today the company announced that it is "pushing the unlaunch button" on the GeForce RTX 4080 12GB. NVIDIA says outright that the RTX 4080 12GB is "a fantastic card, but it's not named right." It acknowledges that having two GPUs with the 4080 designation is confusing.

Team Green's brief announcement post includes numerous photos of customers lined around the block waiting for GeForce RTX 4090 cards, and the company says that it expects the reception for the now-singular GeForce RTX 4080 to be "awesome." Due to the lack of details, we don't know if this change will result in altered pricing for the new models, or if it's simply a discontinuation of the "RTX 4080 12GB" moniker.

We've asked NVIDIA for official commentary on the matter, and will update this post once we receive a response.