Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

It feels like Nvidia is gaslighting us with this ‘new’ GPU

Luke Larsen
By

Nvidia announced a “new” GPU dubbed the RTX 4070 Ti via its broadcast ahead of CES 2023. Why the quotations around “new,” you ask?

Well, it’s not a new GPU at all actually, but you’d never know it by the way Nvidia GeForce head Jeff Fisher just talked about it. If you weren’t paying close attention to tech media news for the past few months, you’d think this was Nvidia’s fourth GPU in the new RTX 40-series — but no. It’s just a new name for a product that was announced last year, and then quickly retracted.

The specs of the "new" RTX 4070 Ti listed on a graphic.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In October of last year, Nvidia did something unheard of in the tech industry. It “unlaunched” a recently announced product, the RTX 4080 12GB. And that was Nvidia’s own language, not mine, mentioned in a quiet blog post with a total of five sentences, most of which was spent on talking up the hype around the RTX 4090.

Recommended Videos

And then the rumors starting building that the GPU would get rebranded as the “RTX 4070 Ti,” which Nvidia seems to think would fix all the problems with this overpriced graphics card.

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!
Privacy Policy

Not only does it not magically make this thing a good value (even at $100 cheaper), but Nvidia just completely skipped over the fact that the RTX 4070 Ti is really just a rebrand. Again, if you were watching this broadcast and perhaps missed the news about the “unlaunch,” you’d have no idea that this wasn’t a brand new graphics card.

It’s like Nvidia wants us to just forget that all that “unlaunching” business ever happened, or that it announced a GPU called the RTX 4080 12GB that just now materialized with a new name.

Rather than come clean about what this “new” GPU really is, Nvidia is trying to do mind wipe. It would have been great chance to poke fun at itself or just be honest about what exactly happened. Why not admit that the change was in response to feedback? Tech enthusiasts and PC gamers love to hear that their opinions are heard.

But no. Nvidia wants to play it cool and pretend like it didn’t totally flub this product launch. At a time when its RTX 40-series GPUs already have a pretty bad reputation, gaslighting us wasn’t the wisest choice here.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Luke Larsen
Luke Larsen
Senior Editor, Computing
Luke Larsen is the Senior editor of computing, managing all content covering laptops, monitors, PC hardware, Macs, and more.
Why I’m feeling hopeful about Nvidia’s RTX 50-series GPUs
The RTX 4070 Super on a pink background.

I won't lie -- I was pretty scared of Nvidia's RTX 50-series, and I stand by the opinion that those fears were valid. They didn't come out of thin air; they were fueled by Nvidia's approach to GPU pricing and value for the money.

However, the RTX 40 Super refresh is a step in the right direction, and it's one I never expected to happen. Nvidia's most recent choices show that it may have learned an important lesson, and that's good news for future generations of graphics cards.
The price of performance
Nvidia really didn't hold back in the RTX 40 series. It introduced some of the best graphics cards we've seen in a while, but raw performance isn't the only thing to consider when estimating the value of a GPU. The price is the second major factor and weighing it against performance can often tip the scales from "great" to "disappointing." That was the case with several GPUs in the Ada generation.

Read more
AMD just did Nvidia a serious favor
The RX 7600 XT graphics card on a pink background.

AMD and Nvidia are always competing when it comes to producing the best graphics card of the year. It's safe to say that they both always try, but AMD's latest attempt feels like it may seriously backfire.

The new RX 7600 XT feels like an attempt to fix problems with the original RX 7600, but it ends up being something that Nvidia should be sending AMD a fruit basket for.
AMD repeated Nvidia's mistakes
Nvidia's RTX 40-series is, for the most part, a success. The addition of DLSS 3 made the lower-tier cards really pop, and the flagship RTX 4090 offers a massive generational uplift. But Nvidia made a couple of mistakes with this generation, and surprisingly, AMD repeated them both with the RX 7600 XT.

Read more
This underrated AMD GPU beats the RTX 4070 Ti Super
RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT on a pink background.

The RTX 4070 Ti Super and RX 7900 XT are unlikely rivals when shopping for the best graphics card in 2024. Price shifting and market repositioning have placed these two GPUs in direct competition, both targeting gamers looking for a premium 4K gaming experience without spending over $1,000.

Both graphics cards hit the mark, offering a smooth frame rate at 4K with all the settings cranked up. The differences between them lie in features and pricing.

Read more