First of all, if you're actually looking to buy a graphics card this Cyber Monday, run away from this page. PCG's hardware editor Dave James is currently curating all the actually good Cyber Monday GPU deals (opens in new tab) over there, whereas I'm here to tell you about one of the most remarkable graphics cards I've seen and one which you probably should not buy.
When someone suggested this as a deal to highlight, we almost immediately rejected it because, frankly, while the RTX 3080 is a great graphics card you can also get hold of a superior RX 6900 XT for much cheaper than this. But then I began to look at the features, and I've simply never seen a GPU with a 'flower fragrance module' before. I'm not making this up: this RTX 3080 apparently wafts a pleasant anime scent out as you game.
- We'll carry on curating the best Cyber Monday PC gaming deals (opens in new tab) all the way through.
On top of this, the in-built fans have been designed to look like petals, it has some sort of waifu plastered over one side, and there's a packet of anime-style stickers included. I know custom GPUs are a thing but...
Wait, because this gets even more amazing. People have actually been buying this thing and leaving reviews. "The waifu aesthetic isn't for me lol" writes one Colby F. (opens in new tab), which makes me wonder how they hell they ended up with this thing. "The card did have a... scent. I'd read that it may be a possibility and it definitely was. It's not unpleasant (smells like cherry blossoms... I guess?) but I typically don't like the thought of my hardware being perfumed lol."
Who are these people dropping a grand on a graphics card they don't like?!? Maybe it was a case of supply and demand, but this has only been on-sale since May this year, so hardly at a time of low availability. For the sake of completeness, I'd add that most reviews say this card gets very hot and needs a build with an excellent ventilation. Of course you're not going to buy it, because here is PC Gamer telling you not to buy this card, but if for some reason you do then bear that in mind.
A lot of people are also saying they can't detect the scent, or they think it wasn't included. I will just leave that information there without comment, though the mental image of someone sniffing their waifu desktop hoping for a faint hint of cherry blossom is undeniably amusing.
Please, if you want a GPU, follow Dave's advice and leave this place. Leave me here with my anime RTX 3080, the indiscernible scent of flowers, and petal fans.
Where are the best Cyber Monday graphics card deals?
In the US:
- Amazon - save up to $200 on current-gen Nvidia & AMD graphics cards (opens in new tab)
- Best Buy - the only place to buy Founders Edition cards in the US (opens in new tab)
- Walmart - RTX 3070 discounts up to $200 (opens in new tab)
- B&H Photo - discounts of up to $500 on select GPUs (opens in new tab)
- Newegg - save over 20% on the list price of AMD graphics cards (opens in new tab)
- RTX 3080 - Yeston RTX 3080 |
$1,099$769 (save $330) (opens in new tab) - RTX 3060 Ti - Zotac RTX 3060 Ti Amp White |
$409.99$389.99 (save $20) (opens in new tab) - RTX 3060 - MSI RTX 3060 Aero |
$369.99$315.99 (save $54) (opens in new tab) - RX 6750 XT - MSI Mech RX 6750 XT |
$549.99$369.99 (save $180 after rebate) (opens in new tab) - RX 6700 XT - PowerColor Fighter RX 6700 XT |
$399.99$359.99 (save $40) (opens in new tab) - RX 6700 - XFX Speedster SWFT309 RX 6700 |
$399.99$309.99 (save $50) (opens in new tab) - RX 6650 XT - MSI Mech RX 6650 XT |
$280$249.99 (save $30.01) (opens in new tab) - RX 6600 - PowerColor Fighter RX 6600 | 8GB |
$259.99$209.99 (save $50) (opens in new tab)