After failed attempts to auction off the brand’s GeForce RTX 4090 on eBay (opens in new tab), EVGA has taken to its forums (opens in new tab) to carry out the auction. After the company’s abrupt exit from the GPU market, the GeForce RTX 4090 FTW3 prototype, or “Next Gen Graphics Card” as EVGA calls it, will make a fine collector’s item.
EVGA previously took to eBay to auction off the graphics card. It had fetched up to $13,200 before eBay removed the listing (opens in new tab). The company has restarted the auction on the EVGA forums, where the current bid, at the time of writing, is $6,200. However, it still has a long way to go before it matches the last bid on eBay.
All the proceeds from EVGA’s auction will go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The auction finalizes on December 16th at 11:59 AM PT, so interested parties have more than enough time to submit a bid. However, the brand is auctioning the graphics card as it is and will not provide a warranty or accept returns.
Although it’s a preproduction sample, EVGA’s GeForce RTX 4090 FTW3 is a working graphics card. YouTuber JayzTwoCents has already taken one of the samples for a spin. Since EVGA ended its partnership with Nvidia, the graphics card uses a qualification AD102 die and relies on EVGA’s home-brewed firmware. The prototype features a 2,520 MHz boost clock, the same as the Founders Edition. Therefore, its performance should be in the same alley as the GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition.
EVGA was one of the most popular Nvidia partners and was very good at making graphics cards. So it’s a shame that the company departed from the graphics card market. Many enthusiasts would love to see EVGA hook up with another significant chipmaker like AMD or Intel. However, the company has said it is concentrating on its other hardware products, potentially offering higher profit margins.
If you’re an EVGA fan, it’s your chance to own what is likely the last graphics card that the company manufactured. It won’t come cheap, but it’s for a good cause.
