It feels like forever ago, but also just yesterday. If you're scratching your head wondering when did 40 series come out, you aren't alone. The timeline was honestly a bit of a mess. Nvidia didn't just dump a pile of GPUs on our laps all at once; they trickled them out over a span of about two years, starting with a massive bang and ending with a series of "Super" refreshes that tried to fix the pricing mistakes of the past.
The RTX 4090 was the first out of the gate. It hit shelves on October 12, 2022.
I remember the chaos. People were terrified about their power connectors melting, yet the performance was so absurdly high that enthusiasts bought them anyway. It was a weird time for PC gaming. We were finally moving past the crypto-mining shortages, but then we hit the wall of "luxury pricing."
The staggered release of the Ada Lovelace architecture
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang took the stage at GTC 2022 to announce the Ada Lovelace architecture. It was flashy. He promised things like DLSS 3 and Frame Generation, which, at the time, sounded like black magic (and to some, it still feels like a "fake frames" cheat code).
But the actual rollout? That was a saga.
After the 4090 launched in October 2022, the RTX 4080 followed on November 16, 2022. You might remember the "unlaunching" drama. Nvidia originally planned two versions of the 4080—a 16GB model and a 12GB model. The internet collectively lost its mind because the 12GB version was basically a 4070 in disguise. To their credit, Nvidia actually listened. They pulled the 12GB model before it launched, rebranded it, and we didn't see it again until early the next year.
That "unlaunched" card eventually became the RTX 4070 Ti, which officially came out on January 5, 2023.
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A summer of mid-range cards
By the time mid-2023 rolled around, most gamers were waiting for the cards they could actually afford. The RTX 4070 landed on April 13, 2023. It was widely considered the "sweet spot" card, even if the price hike over the previous generation stung a bit.
Then things got busy:
- The RTX 4060 Ti (8GB) arrived on May 24, 2023.
- The base RTX 4060 launched on June 29, 2023.
- A 16GB version of the 4060 Ti—which nobody really asked for at that price point—showed up in July 2023.
It was a grueling schedule for tech reviewers.
The 2024 "Super" Refresh
Just when we thought the 40 series was done, Nvidia decided to iterate. In January 2024, during CES, they announced the Super series. This was basically a mid-cycle correction. They wanted to provide more VRAM and better performance for the same (or lower) prices to compete with AMD’s Radeon RX 7000 series.
The RTX 4070 Super kicked things off on January 17, 2024. It was a massive hit because it offered near-4070 Ti performance for $599. A week later, on January 24, the 4070 Ti Super arrived, finally giving that tier 16GB of VRAM. Lastly, the 4080 Super dropped on January 31, 2024, notably cutting the MSRP of the original 4080 by $200.
Why the release date matters for your wallet today
Understanding when did 40 series come out isn't just a history lesson. It’s about the product cycle. Because these cards started launching in late 2022 and finished their "Super" cycle in early 2024, we are now firmly in the twilight of the Ada Lovelace era.
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Historically, Nvidia sticks to a two-year cadence. If the 4090 launched in late 2022, you can do the math on when the 50 series (Blackwell) is expected to dominate the conversation.
The efficiency jump nobody talks about
Everyone obsesses over the frame rates. But the real story of the 40 series launch was the efficiency. The 4070, for example, uses significantly less power than the 3080 while trading blows with it in terms of raw output. If you're building in a small form factor case, the 40 series launch dates marked the moment when you could finally get high-end power without turning your room into a sauna.
Some critics, like Steve Walton from Hardware Unboxed, pointed out that while the tech was impressive, the value proposition at launch was "stagnant." We saw a huge jump in the high-end (4090), but the lower-tier cards like the 4060 felt like side-grades compared to the older 30 series cards if you didn't care about DLSS 3.
Looking at the Mobile Side
We can't forget the laptops.
Mobile versions of the 40 series started appearing in February 2023. First came the high-end 4090 and 4080 laptops, which were absolute behemoths. By March, the 4070, 4060, and 4050 laptops started hitting Best Buy and Micro Center shelves. This was actually a big deal because mobile GPUs usually lag much further behind their desktop counterparts. This time, the gap felt slightly narrower thanks to the efficiency of the 4nm process.
Summary of the major 40 series milestones
If you just need the quick hits, here is how the primary desktop lineup staggered out:
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Late 2022: The Titans
The 4090 (Oct) and the 16GB 4080 (Nov) defined the "halo" tier. These were for the professionals and the gamers with deep pockets.
Early 2023: The Correction
The 4070 Ti (Jan) and 4070 (April) brought the architecture down to the triple-digit price range.
Mid 2023: The Mainstream
The 4060 Ti and 4060 rounded out the bottom of the stack, focusing on 1080p and 1440p gaming with heavy reliance on software upscaling.
Early 2024: The Super Era
The 4070 Super, 4070 Ti Super, and 4080 Super replaced their predecessors, offering better value and effectively "fixing" the lineup for the remainder of the generation.
Actionable Next Steps for Buyers
If you are looking at a 40 series card right now, don't just buy the first one you see.
- Check the VRAM: Avoid the 8GB models if you plan on playing at 1440p. Modern games are starting to eat through 8GB of memory like it's nothing. Aim for the 4070 Super or higher.
- Compare to the "Super" variants: If you find an original 4080 and a 4080 Super at the same price, get the Super. It's slightly faster and newer.
- Evaluate your PSU: If you're eyeing that 4090 that launched back in 2022, make sure your power supply can handle the 450W+ transient spikes. You'll likely need an ATX 3.0 power supply or a reliable 12VHPWR adapter.
- Wait for Sales: Since we are past the initial launch window, these cards frequently go on sale during major retail holidays. Don't pay the 2022 launch MSRP in 2025 or 2026.
The 40 series was a wild ride of "unlaunches," power-melting scares, and genuinely impressive AI software. Whether you love or hate the pricing, there's no denying that October 12, 2022, changed the trajectory of PC graphics forever.