NVIDIA RTX 5080 Arrives as Literal Brick, Outraging Buyer

A Brick, Not a Byte: NVIDIA RTX 5080 Edition Turns Literal

The phrase "bricked device" typically conjures images of a gadget that has ceased to function electronically. However, one NVIDIA RTX 5080 took this idiom to an astonishingly literal extreme. A Reddit user recently discovered the profound utility of video-unboxing documentation when their premium graphics card arrived not as a powerhouse of silicon and cooling, but as a solid, unassuming brick.

Given the considerable investment required for a card like the RTX 5080, receiving a literal brick in its place is, to put it mildly, a deeply disappointing and frankly absurd experience. While four-slot, hefty graphics cards are sometimes playfully referred to as "bricks" even when fully operational, this situation transcends any jocularity. As the unboxing footage clearly demonstrates, this particular "device" lacks any semblance of ports or cooling solutions. Depending on its composition, it might even contain silicon – a very different kind, of course. It certainly sparks curiosity about the weight of this ersatz GPU and how such a stark deviation went unnoticed during packaging and transit.

Unpacking the Absurdity: A Foundation Edition?

We've seen instances of sandbags, food items, and even miscellaneous small objects tucked away inside otherwise intact shipping boxes. However, in those cases, the weight discrepancies were often less pronounced. A standard building brick typically weighs around 3 kilograms (approximately 6.6 pounds), a considerable burden to bear for what should have been a cutting-edge piece of gaming hardware. This is certainly a novel interpretation of an NVIDIA RTX 5080.

Adding a layer of dark humor to the predicament, the brick was carefully placed inside an anti-static bag, a detail that one might interpret as a surprisingly thoughtful, albeit tragically ironic, gesture. The entire package was then meticulously secured with foam padding, presumably to prevent any damage to the... brick. One astute commenter humorously dubbed this anomaly the "Foundation Edition," a clever nod to its potential building material. While we've previously reported on incidents involving old, faulty graphics cards being swapped for new ones, or boxes containing cards devoid of chips and other random detritus, this exceptionally rudimentary forgery appears to be a first of its kind.

The original poster has yet to disclose what actions were taken following this remarkable discovery. The source of this peculiar tale, VideoCardz, has shed light on this bizarre occurrence that blurs the lines between hardware and construction materials.