Launched on January 5th at a recommended $799 price set by Nvidia, the RTX 4070 Ti is the newest addition to the RTX 40 graphics card series, currently it is also the most affordable and budget-friendly option compared to the $1,599, and $1,199 prices for the RTX 4090, and RTX 4080 respectively, and we use the words affordable and budget very very loosely here.
At this price, and given Nvidia’s claims that the card offers up to three times the performance of last-gen’s flagship the RTX 3090 Ti, you would think the RTX 4070 Ti would be selling like hotcakes, which is often the case with Nvidia’s new GPU releases, especially on launch day, but so far this doesn’t seem to be the case at all.
Since its launch, the RTX 4070 Ti has received some scathing reviews, most notably Steve Burke from ‘Gamers Nexus’ calling it a “rip off” and describing Nvidia’s 3X performance claims as “wholly unattainable”, noting that the company is misleading gamers by basing its claims on the use of DLSS3 technology on the RTX 4070 Ti vs DLSS2 or possibly even no DLSS at all on the RTX 3090 Ti, rather than comparing native performance.
Are gamers going on a buying strike?
It seems that the same sentiments are also echoed by gamers, with reports saying that the card is available in stock everywhere, which is a stark difference compared to the RTX 4090 for example, that card sold out almost instantly when it first launched even though the RTX 4090 is a much more expensive card.
More than a week has passed since launch, and the RTX 4070 Ti continues to be readily available in stock everywhere, even at the $799 price set by Nvidia, and when we say everywhere, we do mean it.
- Newegg: MSI Ventus GeForce RTX 4070 Ti – $799
- Newegg: GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti EAGLE – $799
- Newegg: ZOTAC GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Trinity – $799
- B&H: ZOTAC GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Trinity – $799
- Micro Center: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Eagle Triple Fan – $799
- ZOTAC Store: ZOTAC GAMING GEFORCE RTX 4070 – $799
This is odd, considering the RTX 4070 Ti has no Founders Edition, and many predicted that since this is the case, it would be near impossible to find it at $799 anywhere, at least in decent enough volume, and especially as time goes by. (B&H listings indicate there’s even more stock coming soon at $799)
Custom MSI models discounts
Other than the reference model, if you want a fancier cooler or an overclocked GPU, again those are more than readily available if you’re willing to fork out a little extra cash.
In fact, we’re beginning to see some custom AIB models like the Gaming X Trio or the SUPRIM X from MSI receive some discounts already. ($50 discount in both cases)
Resellers are given the cold shoulder
Meanwhile, over on eBay, scalpers and resellers are struggling to make a quick profit off of the RTX 4070 Ti stock they have, and with asking prices as high as $1400+, it’s no wonder that this would be the case.
Units Sold
The GeForce RTX 4070 Ti has sold no units at all on its first launch day and only a total of 9 units on eBay in its first week since launch.
When you compare this to the GeForce RTX 4090 that launched on October 12th, this is again a stark difference, the RTX 4090 has sold 246 units in its first day alone, and resellers & scalpers managed to sell a total of 723 units over its first launch week, with average selling prices that went as high as $2,572 in some days, almost a full $1,000 over MSRP!
In fact, despite its much higher price, The RTX 4090 continues to sell well on eBay to date, selling over 1,000 units in the last 30 days at an average price of $2,156.
Even the less popular GeForce RTX 4080 which launched on November 16th, still managed to fare better than the RTX 4070 Ti, selling 85 units in its first week, with 21 units sold on launch day, at average prices that went as high as $1,619. ($400+ over MSRP)
All of the data above does beg the question: is this a case of oversupply in the market? Or is Nvidia’s pricing of the RTX 4070 Ti simply proving to be a bad value proposition for gamers?