If you thought Nvidia’s RTX 5000 series launch was already chaotic—with power cables melting and stock levels resembling Bigfoot sightings—think again. The GPU giant has admitted that some RTX 5080 cards are missing ROPs, like their higher-end siblings, potentially affecting gaming performance.
What’s Going On?
Initially, Nvidia acknowledged that a “rare” manufacturing defect had affected a small number of RTX 5090, 5090D, and 5070 Ti graphics cards, leading to fewer render output units (ROPs) than advertised. Following reports from early adopters and tech reviewers, Nvidia has confirmed that some RTX 5080 cards also suffer from the same issue.
For those unfamiliar, ROPs (Render Output Pipelines) are responsible for finalizing pixel data and handing it off to your VRAM. In short, fewer ROPs mean slightly lower performance—around 4%, according to Nvidia’s estimates. While that might not sound catastrophic, some benchmarks suggest performance drops up to 11% in specific scenarios.
How Can You Tell If Your RTX 5080 Is Affected?
Luckily, there’s an easy way to check if your card got caught in this mess:
- Download GPU-Z (a free tool that provides detailed GPU specs).
- Check the ROP count:
- A fully functional RTX 5080 should have 112 ROPs.
- If yours only has 104 ROPs, congratulations—you just won a free RMA request!
Nvidia has advised affected users to contact their GPU manufacturer for a replacement.
Damage Control: Nvidia’s Response
According to Nvidia’s GeForce global PR director, Ben Berraondo, the issue was limited to early production units and has since been corrected. In other words, if you’re buying an RTX 5080 now, you should be in the clear.
Berraondo also stated that Nvidia was unaware of the problem before launch. However, given the string of RTX 5000 launch issues—from power delivery concerns to vanishing inventory—this latest hiccup isn’t helping Nvidia’s case.
Why Does This Matter?
While only a tiny percentage of GPUs are affected, this blunder fuels the ongoing debate about Nvidia’s quality control and transparency. Missing ROPs may not ruin your gaming experience, but when paying premium prices for high-end hardware, you expect to get what’s on the box.
For now, affected users can swap their faulty cards, but this situation reminds them to double-check their hardware—especially when early production runs are involved.
So, if you recently picked up an RTX 5080, grab GPU-Z and take a peek under the hood. Because in 2025, the true test of a new GPU isn’t just its benchmarks—it’s whether it has all its parts. 🚀
