When it comes to Nvidia’s RTX 40 series, many of us had valid concerns about pricing and value for the money. But with the recent RTX 40 Super refresh, it seems that Nvidia has taken an important step in the right direction. This is a strong indicator that Nvidia might have learned from its past mistakes, which is a promising sign for future generations of graphics cards.
The price of performance
Nvidia’s RTX 40 series undoubtedly brought some of the best graphics cards to the market, but as we know, raw performance is not the only factor to consider. When weighing the value of a GPU, the price is equally important and can often overshadow performance. Unfortunately, several GPUs in the Ada generation suffered from this issue.
For example, the RTX 4070 Ti lacked the necessary memory and CUDA cores and was overpriced at $800. Similarly, the powerful RTX 4080 was also overpriced at $1,200 and was widely criticized for its poor value.
The entire RTX 4060 series also suffered due to performance, VRAM, and pricing issues. However, the RTX 4090, despite its high price, made more sense considering the generation leap it offered.
Given the flaws in the lineup of impressive GPUs, it seemed unlikely that Nvidia would take any steps to address the issues with the RTX 40 series. However, the RTX 40 Super refresh proved me wrong.
How Nvidia says ‘sorry’
The RTX 40 Super refresh brought three new GPUs to the lineup: the RTX 4070 Super, the RTX 4070 Ti Super, and the RTX 4080 Super. However, the shocking surprise was their pricing, which indicated a positive change from Nvidia’s past pricing strategy. This was a rare instance of Nvidia addressing consumer feedback and improving its products.
| RTX 4070 Super | RTX 4070 Ti Super | RTX 4080 Super |
The significant bump in performance and the RTX 4080 Super’s price cut took these GPUs from good to great, addressing previous issues with underperformance and poor value. This was a win-win for consumers and reflected Nvidia’s willingness to listen and make necessary changes.
