AMD will stop producing reference cards of the Radeon RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT in early 2021

Yesterday’s launch of the graphics cards in AMD’s Radeon RX 6000 series was long awaited for several reasons. In part, this meant the introduction of the architecture RDNA 2, which offers AMD new functions as hardware-accelerated ray tracing and full support for DirectX 12 Ultimate. It also meant a return to competitive performance in the top segment, where Nvidia has long acted undisturbed.

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A not as long-awaited common feature with Nvidia was that the launch was followed by graphics cards that sold out more or less as quickly as they were introduced. The reference cards for the Radeon RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT thus sold out quickly, and it was then not clear to what extent the reference cards will be sold before they completely hand over the baton to partner manufacturers. In a Twitter posts Scott Herkelman, head of the Radeon division, clarifies that production will continue for a while.

Yes, through early 2021. https://t.co/mWg3mALBvA

– Scott Herkelman (@sherkelman) November 18, 2020

The data do not extend beyond “early 2021”, which may be about the period January or February. It is also not clear at what rate new deliveries of reference cards can take place, or what volumes per region these consist of. Until the beginning of 2021, Radeon-hungry customers will thus be able to choose between reference cards or partner-made graphics cards, and then have to rely entirely on partner-made models.

The autumn of 2020 has generally been characterized by strained access to technology products, which together with high demand has left many technology enthusiasts with the shopping cart even after launch events. Everything from Nvidia’s Geforce RTX 3000 to the gaming consoles Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X / S has been affected, as well as AMD’s previous processor launch in the Ryzen 5000 series. It remains to be seen whether the year 2021 will be friendlier to early technology buyers.

Are you looking for a reference card, or are you instead waiting for the partner manufacturers’ variants with their own cooling solutions?