Nvidia RTX 3080 could be very hard to find at launch

Nvidia RTX 3080 could be very hard to discover at launch — here's why

(Epitome credit: Nvidia)

If you're drooling over upcoming GPUs like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 or the abominable RTX 3090, y'all might desire to keep that credit card handy and your hands on the keyboard and mouse. Those sweet new cards are likely going to exist in very brusque supply, which ways snagging one (or two, fifty-fifty) could be difficult for the foreseeable futurity.

TweakTown reports that Nvidia's new Ampere GPUs could very well be hard to snag until at least 2021, equally industry sources allegedly betoken that stock will be "extremely low" after the cards launch throughout the cease of the year and possibly across. In fact, the same sources indicated that the offset wave of cards could be "the smallest launch in many years." That's bad news for anyone who's been waiting patiently to pick upwardly i of these new releases, specially with graphics-intensive games coming downward the line later this twelvemonth.

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TweakTown reports that Nvidia's new Ampere GPUs could very well be hard to snag until at least 2021, as industry sources allegedly bespeak that stock will be "extremely low" afterwards the cards launch throughout the terminate of the year and possibly beyond. In fact, the same sources indicated that the first wave of cards could exist "the smallest launch in many years." That's bad news for anyone who'due south been waiting patiently to choice up ane of these new releases, particularly with graphics-intensive games coming down the line later this year.

Why will the new GPUs exist in short supply? It's all about the yield in terms of Samsung's 8nm process, which Nvidia supposedly wants to maximize. Until then, the visitor is looking to reduce the number of cards in production until a palatable goal is reached. There'south as well the thing of AMD's upcoming RDNA 2 debut. Nvidia is wanting to observe how the upcoming Big Navi GPUs will end upwardly competing against the electric current line of Ampere cards.

Even if the cards weren't already going to be released in lower quantities due to the reasons outlined above, the RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 are very affordable and desirable GPUs in terms of pricing. Even the $499 RTX 3070 blows the current RTX 2080 Ti out of the h2o. Upgrading to the RTX 3080 for only a couple hundred more than gets you even more power.

Information technology's a massive spring in toll for the RTX 3090, but it's worth information technology, as well. With CUDA cores numbering over 10,000 and a whopping 24GB of GDDR6X retention, the 3090 is going to be something seriously special in terms of functioning, though you lot're certainly going to pay for it, every bit well. It's going to go for $1499, but it also promises to deliver smooth sixty frames-per-second gameplay at a whopping 8K resolution for those who desire that kind of overkill.

Time is quickly ticking down until the new line of cards arrives. The RTX 3080 is gear up to debut on September 17, and you tin can expect the large boy RTX 3090 on September 24. The RTX 3070 is a chip further out, expected in October. Right at present, information technology'south looking like you may just take to be the fastest draw on the internet if you want to make ane of these cards yours, as preorders aren't yet available – and it's unclear if they will exist. Your best bet is to sign up via the official Nvidia website to be notified via email when they're available to lock in.

Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over 13 years for publications including Tom's Guide, MTV, Rolling Stone, CNN, Popular Science, Playboy, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, and more. She's also appeared as a panelist at video game conventions similar PAX E and PAX W and has coordinated social media for companies like CNET. When she'south non writing or gaming, she'southward looking for the next great visual novel in the vein of Saya no Uta. Yous can follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake.