What is old is new again. Chipmakers continue a sound the alarm for scarcity will continue until 2021, so Nvidia plans it release stocks of his GTX 1050 Ti and older RTX 2060 to make up for the global GPU shortage.
In a statement a PCWorld Cup, which initially broke the news, an Nvidia spokesman confirmed that it would re-launch the GTX 1050 Ti and RTX 2060 to board members so they could launch new hardware. The spokesman noted that GPUs “were never issued [end-of-lifed]”And that Nvidia only” meets market demand, which remains extremely high. ”
So why resort to old, possibly obsolete graphics cards?? While Nvidia surprised everyone last year with its new 3000 series GPUs, the chaos that followed after the launch ensured that most people couldn’t get their hands on it. Some of this can be attributed to global supply chain problems spurred by the pandemic, but graphics card climbers also made the problem worse, as robots got the coveted GPUs to resell them at affordable prices. ridiculous. After an RTX 3080 supposedly sold by one terrible $ 70,000 on eBay, a Gizmodo research found that the GTX 3080 was in the center of a legitimate civil war during which angry users fired at climbers to raise prices and hopefully clear their lists. In October, Nvidia too he pushed back the pitch of the RTX 3070 to prevent customers from getting more angry.
In accordance with PCWorld Cup, removing older GPUs is a smart move because they can be manufactured with established process technology, thus reducing costs. In the case of the RTX 2060, a card that supports ray tracked and first launched in 2019, Nvidia may spend less while getting a relatively current GPU in the hands of manufacturers. Meanwhile, the GTX 1050 Ti is considerably older—was launched in 2016—But it is still able to handle less demanding games or meet the needs of newer PC gamers. Another advantage is that the GTX 1050 Ti is equipped with previous GDDR5 VRAM, which makes it incompatible with Ethereum cryptocurrency mining, which requires more than 4GB of onboard memory. Because yes, people are trying to take advantage of the cryptocurrency bubble right now it also aggravates GPU shortages by obtaining newer and more powerful models.
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At the same time, this “solution” is not as affordable for consumers as it might initially seem. The GTX 1050 Ti was launched at $ 140 in 2016, but is currently online for over $ 200, with some achievements prices in excess of $ 400. The RTX 2060 is even more expensive, selling for over $ 700 when the launch price was $ 350.
The shortage of chips is worrying enough that even the Biden administration has pledged to take action. Bloomberg reports that Biden is expected to sign an executive order for a government-wide supply chain review, following the leaders of chip companies like Intel, Qualcomm, and AMD wrote to the administration asking for support. However, it is not likely to fix the current shortage immediately.
In the meantime, you probably need to stay fixate on prices and trust them sort. JoIf your current setup is sudden, you may want to try to stay zen about the set for a while longer.