The shortage of the Geforce RTX 3000 series worsened during the first quarter

The shortage of computer hardware has gradually worsened during the corona pandemic. The problem was clarified with a message in the autumn of 2020, when newly launched graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD became almost impossible to buy. Many enthusiasts hoped for a brightening at the beginning of this year, but with the result in hand, the situation is getting worse day by day.

Retailers around the world have done their best to communicate with sighing consumers and one of these is Alternate, which paints a bleak picture. The retailer Alternate, which operates in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, writes that they have been in contact with Nvidia and that the lack of graphics cards in the Geforce RTX 3000 series will worsen during the first quarter of the year.

Like previous reports, there are a number of factors that play a role in why there is a crying shortage of graphics cards. This is partly due to the lack of raw materials and components, but also Nvidia’s graphics circuits manufactured by Samsung. This is topped off in the near future by the Chinese New Year, a period when large parts of the Asian population go on holiday for two weeks and a large part of the factories are closed down.

Alternate also goes into detail about what the availability looks like for each model. The worst situation is with the Geforce RTX 3080, where deliveries are very low and the number of active orders is many. According to retailers, the possibility for new customers to get hold of the graphics card is “practically zero”. A similar picture is painted for the more affordable RTX 3060 Ti.

Regarding the Geforce RTX 3090, the number of graphics cards delivered is also described as very low, but the number of pending orders and demand is not as high – probably due to the sky-high price tag. Geforce RTX 3070 is the only model where deliveries are described as “small” and the number of open orders is also “few”, so there should be a chance to get hold of the intermediate model in the range.

Alternate also writes that new customers can expect increased prices, but that they will honor prices that apply to previously placed orders. It is currently highly unclear when gaming enthusiasts can buy a graphics card, but all indications are that the shortage will continue until the third quarter of the year – but may extend beyond that.

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