We’re just days away from Nvidia officially unveiling the RTX 50-series, and while many leakers have already revealed some specs of the upcoming graphics cards, the pricing has remained a mystery — until now. A YouTuber named Vex recently shared some potentially shocking pricing information for Nvidia’s RTX 5080, and if this turns out to be accurate, gamers might be in for a repeat of the previous generation’s pricing nightmare, or even worse.
Before we go into the details, here’s a quick disclaimer: We can’t verify the credibility of this leak. According to Vex, someone working at an Australian retailer sent them a screenshot listing several Asus RTX 5080 cards, along with specs and prices. While this could be legitimate, it could also be completely fabricated, so take it with a grain of salt. But if this pricing is accurate, it could be disappointing for gamers.
The screenshot lists the RTX 5080 with 16GB of memory, which matches previous leaks. The card is an overclocked model, specifically the Asus Prime GeForce RTX 5080 16GB OC. While that’s all fine, it’s the price that stands out. According to the screenshot, the purchase price for this card is 2,544 Australian dollars, and the list price — the price consumers would pay — is an eye-watering 2,799 Australian dollars.
To put that into perspective, converting the prices from Australian dollars to U.S. dollars (taking current exchange rates into account), the purchase price comes out to around $1,581, and the list price would be about $1,740. It’s also important to note that these prices include sales tax, which would not be the case in the U.S., so the prices might feel more manageable there.
Still, $1,740 for an RTX 5080 is quite a bit of money. Some rumors suggest the RTX 5080’s performance might be similar to the RTX 4090, but if it falls short of that, the steep price could make it even harder to justify.
Earlier leaks have already hinted that the RTX 5080 might be priced higher than expected. For example, an Acer Predator Orion PC with the RTX 5080 was listed at around $3,640. But all is not lost. Even if this pricing from the Australian retailer turns out to be accurate, keep in mind that the card is made by Asus and is an overclocked version, which typically comes at a premium. Nvidia’s recommended list price (MSRP) is likely to be lower, with third-party manufacturers usually marking up the price a bit. The Founders Edition and non-overclocked models should be less expensive.
For comparison, the RTX 4080 launched at $1,200, which many felt was already steep. Nvidia later released a Super variant of the card, dropping the price to $1,000. So, could the RTX 5080 be priced somewhere between $1,200 and $1,500? Hopefully not. We’ll find out more when Nvidia officially announces the RTX 5080 on January 6.