RTX 4080 12GB to be AIB-only, no Founders Edition model

Announced earlier today at GTC 2022, the RTX 40-series is official, with Nvidia confirming the RTX 4090 as well as two versions of the RTX 4080, with slightly differing specs. Interestingly, it appears the RTX 4080 12GB will only be available through Nvidia's board partners (AIBs) and will not be available as a Founders Edition model.

We first became suspicious about the lack of a Founders Edition model for the RTX 4080 12GB when casting our eye over the official specs for the three new RTX-40 series GPUs. As you can see below, the RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 16GB both specify a 304mm length, 137mm width and 3-slot thickness – figures which are referring to the Founders Edition design. For all three dimensions however, the RTX 4080 12GB specs simply say ‘varies by manufacturer.'

Additionally, at the very bottom of Nvidia's press release for the 40-series announcement, Nvidia states the following (bold text added for emphasis):

‘The GeForce RTX 4090 and 4080 GPUs will be available as custom boards, including stock-clocked and factory-overclocked models, from top add-in card providers such as ASUS, Colorful, Gainward, Galaxy, GIGABYTE, Innovision 3D, MSI, Palit, PNY and Zotac. The RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 (16GB) are also produced directly by NVIDIA in limited Founders Editions for fans wanting the NVIDIA in-house design.‘

In other words, there won't be a Founders Edition design for the RTX 4080 12GB. This marks a change from the 30-series, where Founders Editions were produced for SKUs all the way down to the £369 RTX 3060 Ti, so it will be interesting to find out if there is a particular reason behind this decision.

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KitGuru says: The Founders Edition is usually a popular choice and the overall design looks great. Would you have bought a 4080 12GB Founders card if Nvidia made it?

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