RTX 4090 owners are in for some bad news

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU. — Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Nvidia’s RTX 4090 remains the undisputed most powerful GPU on the market right now, despite being a year-and-a-half old. As such, you might think that reselling it later should be a breeze, not to mention that it should net you a nice amount of money — but that is not always the case.

Wccftech reports that one owner of an MSI RTX 4090 tried to use the Micro Center GPU Trade-In Program to get some money back, and the GPU was valued at just $700 — a mere 36% of the total cost of the graphics card.

The GPU in question is the MSI GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming Trio, which sells for $1,940 at Micro Center. According to the publication, one of its readers attempted to use the trade-in program to get rid of their RTX 4090 and get some money back, only to be surprised by the shockingly low price estimate of $700. You’d be hard-pressed to find a working RTX 4090 at that price just about anywhere; in fact, getting one below $1,000 is a stretch.

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Trade-in programs are fairly common among various retailers, with Newegg and Amazon also offering money for used graphics cards. For comparison, Newegg is willing to pay up to $1,500 for a used RTX 4090. That might be a pretty generous estimate, given that not every GPU will be in great shape, but it’s also more along the lines of what you’d expect to see for a GPU that currently sells for $1,850 and above. It’s worth noting that the RTX 4090 isn’t even that old yet, having launched in October 2022.

MSI RTX 4090 Suprim X on a pink background. — Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

It’s hard to say what might have led to the low price of the RTX 4090 at Micro Center. It’s true that a GPU that has been used extensively and was purchased at the end of 2022 would see a drop in value, but still, $700 doesn’t sound right — though we don’t know the state of the GPU in question. It’s also possible to bring your GPU to a local Micro Center to get a quote in person, which might be more accurate.

While the RTX 4090 is past its prime, it’s still the best graphics card on the consumer market, beating every alternative by a large margin. It’s also one of the few GPUs that actually went up in price after its launch, selling for up to $500 more than the recommended list price (MSRP) of $1,600, largely thanks to the AI craze and the import ban.

This is a good example that, even if you’re in a hurry to get rid of your old GPU, it’s best to shop around. Trade-in programs are safer and quicker than reselling the GPU yourself, which makes you more susceptible to various scams, but it come at a price as you’ll usually get less money. In this case, a lot less.

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