Nvidia is indeed set to launch a trio of RTX Super GPU refreshes staggered throughout January 2024, we’re told, and the previously rumored release dates are apparently correct – with a YouTube leaker throwing additional light on Team Green’s tactics here.
Moore’s Law is Dead (MLID) just published a new video in which the leaker lets us know that the launch dates leaked by VideoCardz are correct (still, add salt as ever).
That launch timing is supposedly that Nvidia will unleash the RTX 4070 Super first on January 17, then the RTX 4070 Ti Super on January 24, and finally the RTX 4080 Super come January 31.
(Note that the unveiling of all these graphics cards should happen at CES 2024 on January 8).
As well as backing up VideoCardz in these assertions, MLID gives us another nugget of info (again, reach for the seasoning), namely that Nvidia will be producing one of these refreshes in greater volume – the RTX 4070 Super.
That particular graphics card is going to be a key focus and make up the “bulk” of the volume of Nvidia’s Super-powered (sorry) GPU push at the start of next year. Why would that be? Well, let’s dive a bit deeper into that next.
Analysis: Taking the upper-mid-range fight to AMD
The main point MLID makes regarding why Nvidia would prioritize the RTX 4070 Super over the other releases is that it could simply be, in part, because this is the easiest refresh to implement.
In practical terms, Nvidia could (in theory) make it using the same board as the existing RTX 4070 Ti, without having to change much – so it’s pretty much ready to go, as it were. (The other rumor, as you may recall, is that Nvidia will ditch the RTX 4070 Ti when these refreshes emerge – and the RTX 4080 as well – so this makes sense in that light, too).
Furthermore, it also makes sense that this refresh would be first out the door as rumored, if it’s the priority. For us, there’s another simple fact here: the RTX 4070 Super is the most affordable of these new GPUs, so it’ll logically sell the most. And – here’s the exciting bit – that’ll be particularly true if Nvidia prices it competitively.
Zooming back to take in the bigger picture, these refreshes are all about Nvidia making itself more compelling in the mid-to-high-end space, mainly through the RTX 4070 Super and RTX 4080 Super (the latter corrects for the apparently truly dismal sales performance of the RTX 4080).
This is where AMD has been embarrassing Nvidia and as MLID also observes in this video, the 7800 XT has in particular been selling up a storm for Team Red. Elsewhere today we’ve also seen observations of how the 7800 XT is heading up in price, showing the demand for this GPU and how popular it is.
If Nvidia wanted to do something about this – and surely the company would, you’d imagine – then it’s the RTX 4070 Super which is going to be pushed as the new (and improved) rival. Maybe with a really competitive price point (well, we can hope).
The most recent pricing speculation around the RTX 4070 Super was that it may be pitched as low as $599 (in the US, and in line with that elsewhere), the current MSRP for the RTX 4070 (that GPU would be notched down proportionally, of course). With performance not far off the current RTX 4070 Ti, in theory, this could be a really tempting mid-range GPU to put AMD’s 7800 XT in its place.
Unless, of course, Team Red lowers pricing on that card – we can but hope for part two (rubs hands together at the prospect of a mid-range pricing war). Whatever the case, it’s a distinct possibility that our best graphics card rankings may see some movement toward the top at the start of next year.
