Locating a scarce Nvidia RTX 50 series GPU can be quite frustrating for many enthusiasts. A Reddit user named EssDee3D experienced a surprising twist after buying an RTX 5080 Founders Edition. Although the packaging clearly stated it was the right graphics card, Nvidia had labeled the housing as an RTX 5090. Unfortunately, tests later revealed that the GPU inside was indeed an RTX 5080.
Initial Reactions to the Discovery
When EssDee3D shared a photo of the incorrectly labeled GPU in the LinusTechTips subreddit, it was met with some doubt. Since his account was new, some users thought he was just looking for attention. However, a few hopeful commenters speculated that Nvidia may have mistakenly sent an RTX 5090 in the wrong box. After promising to investigate further, EssDee3D eventually uploaded a video showing the GPU installed in his PC. Sadly for him, the tests confirmed it was just an RTX 5080 FE, which is priced at half of the RTX 5090 FE.
Quality Control Concerns
So far, Nvidia’s new GPUs have not faced the melted power connector problems that affected the RTX 4090. However, some users have reported crashing issues with games and isolated cases of bricked RTX 5090s. This raises some worries about quality control, but EssDee3D’s post remains the first well-documented case of a mislabeled graphics card.
Similarities in Design
Despite the RTX 5080 having more CUDA cores and memory, the designs of the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 are almost indistinguishable. Both Nvidia Founders Edition GPUs are dual-slot cards with identical dimensions in width, length, and thickness. This makes it plausible that a mix-up could occur during the assembly process.
Even though EssDee3D can expect the performance he originally paid for, he still mentioned the possibility of returning the card in his video. If he decides to sell the RTX 5080 or his PC in the future, any potential buyer will likely need a detailed explanation of the situation.
Source:
Link
