When Will Nvidia's RTX 3080 Be Back in Stock & Where To Find It
In a gaming computer, arguably nothing is more important to your capabilities than getting the right graphics card.
Unfortunately, deciding on your card is the easy part – it’s finding one in stock at a reasonable price that’s been difficult for the last few years.
The reasons for this are complex. Today, we’re here to help you understand why it’s so hard to get your hands on a great graphics card like the Nvidia RTX 3080, one of the best from the RTX 30 series.
We’re also talking about how best to combat the GPU shortage until the next RTX 3080 restock, including ways to find the cards you’re looking for and alternatives to improve your gaming experience in the meantime.
Whether you’re curious about the graphics card shortage, trying to build a new PC, or looking to upgrade your old one, today’s WTFast guide has something in it for you.
Let’s jump right in!
Why Is It So Hard To Find Graphics Cards?
Even if you’re new to the computer gaming scene, you’ve probably heard about the graphics card shortage.
That’s because this issue goes way beyond graphics cards, hurting other industries such as automobiles and medical technology. As a result, retailers have had to jack up the MSRP on everything from Intel processors to PC gaming computers and video game consoles like the Xbox One and Playstation 5.
It’s become a serious economic detriment worldwide, as demand for certain products (like graphics cards) has remained unusually high, while supply has been falling. You might find scalpers selling these precious graphics cards — or their contemporaries, the RTX 3050, RTX 3060 TI, RTX 3070, RTX 3080 TI, and RTX 3090 — through online auctioning sites like eBay way above retail price.
The Supply Shortage
Speaking of falling supply, one major shortage is at the core of the issue: semiconductors.
Semiconductors are an essential component for graphics cards, automobiles, and plenty of medical technologies. Everyone from Apple and Alienware to Asus, MSI, and EVGA needs semiconductors.
The factors behind this shortage are numerous and complex.
There are many producers of semiconductors, and the fact that every producer and sector is struggling to keep up — especially for so long — is highly unusual.
This issue has continued since early 2020 (arguably even before that) and is forecast by many experts to extend through 2022.
With semiconductors becoming harder to make and access, graphics cards have also been in short supply.
Sadly, that’s just the beginning.
The Graphics Card Skimmers
Once the component shortage became apparent, the problem grew exponentially worse with the arrival of what the community commonly calls “skimmers,” also known as resellers.
These skimmers use devious techniques to keep a close eye on the market, often with the help of bots. They buy up as many graphics cards as they can as soon as they become available. Then, they turn around, scalping graphics cards at immense markups.
The result? Normal consumers are left helpless, stuck with prices that are enormously higher than what they otherwise should be.
How To Find and Buy an RTX 3080
Unfortunately, there’s no way to guarantee that the graphics card you want will be in stock when you want it. The best way to pick up a card is to keep an eye on the top sites where restocks happen most often.
Those sites include giants like Newegg, Best Buy, and Amazon, plus others like Office Max and Overclockers. You might even find the coveted RTX 3080 Founders Edition on these sites after a while. Another option is to pick up a gaming computer with the RTX 3080, such as the Asus TUF Gaming OC V2, best paired with the ROG Strix series of monitors.
Some sites, such as B&H Photo, offer a feature to notify you when a certain card is in stock.
Prices
Wherever you find a card, be sure to check the latest prices around the web before committing. Many cards that do become available are being listed at unreasonable markups due to the shortage.
If you’re willing to pay the mark-up price to get your graphics card sooner, you’re going to have an easier time in the current market. Looking for GPU deals has never been harder than right now.
When To Buy
The natural question becomes, do we know when the GPU shortage will end?
Most experts project that the semiconductor shortage (and thus the GPU shortage) should die down as early as summer 2022 or possibly the beginning of 2023. Of course, there is no knowing for sure, but waiting it out may be the best course if you can stay patient.
In the meantime, there are many other ways to improve your gaming experience. So before committing to the big purchase, consider whether a brand new RTX GPU is even worth it.
Benefits of the RTX: Is It Worth It?
Let’s talk about the benefits of this latest and greatest graphics card from industry giant Nvidia to help you understand the value of an RTX card.
First, when it comes to graphics cards, it’s a simple fact that the more you spend, the better performance you’ll get.
Whether the improvements are actually worth the price comes down to your budget, your monitor’s capabilities, and the games you want to play.
The RTX does have outstanding graphical capabilities, offering the best in Ray Tracing (advanced lighting) and DSSL 2.0 (which hugely improves frame rates at high resolution, including 4k).
This is true whether you opt for the 20 series or the 30 series. All RTX cards have the core capabilities listed above – the 30 series just improves those capabilities in terms of performance. This is due to the new 2nd-generation Ampere architecture used in the 30 series.
GTX cards are an older but perfectly sufficient alternative to the RTX if you’re looking for something on a smaller budget.
Don’t let the GTX fool you, though. It’s still an excellent GPU for most general gaming needs, especially if you don’t have a 4k monitor or only play games that don’t offer the latest and greatest graphics anyway.
Other Options: AMD
Nvidia is widely known as the leader in GPU technology, but AMD has become a fierce competitor in recent years.
So before we move on, AMD graphics cards also deserve a mention. While not quite as popular, their RX line can achieve similar results to the RTX Nvidia cards.
If you’re considering investing in one of these top-of-the-line graphics cards, consider an AMD RX card. You may still find the GPU shortage an issue as you look for inventory in-stock at a reasonable price, but AMD should be on your radar as an option once the market levels out.
Other Ways To Improve Your Gaming Experience
Upgrading to the latest and greatest graphics cards is one of the best ways to elevate your gaming experience, but it’s far from the only way.
If you’re trying to play games on high graphics settings but encounter lag, your GPU might not be the issue. There are tons of different factors that could be causing lag – and plenty of solutions, too.
Solutions that, thankfully, aren’t plagued by a worldwide shortage.
Other Hardware Solutions To Lag
Your GPU is just one of many components that help your game run smoothly. Are you meeting the GPU requirements for your game but still lagging?
It’s possible that you simply need to update your graphics driver. This is easy to forget, so do a quick web search for your graphics card and see if you need a new install.
Your CPU, gigabytes of RAM, and cooling systems are just as important to gaming performance, so take a look at those areas while you’re at it.
For cooling, ensure you don’t have excessive dust build-up in your case or laptop vents, and rethink your case positioning if needed to get better airflow.
In terms of CPU and RAM, don’t forget to close background processes while you game even if you're meeting requirements. It’s easy to forget the two dozen Chrome tabs from the report you were writing or that chunk of footage you’re processing from your latest stream highlights.
Your computer can only do so much at once, so make sure it can focus on your game to give you the best performance possible.
Online Lag and Solutions
If you’re gaming online, lag could be coming from your hardware or your network. GPU, CPU, and RAM mean nothing if you can’t establish a smooth and stable connection.
One simple step to improve your connection is to switch to a wired connection if you’re using a wireless one. Wired internet is proven to be much faster and more stable (thanks to fewer disconnects or random lag spikes) in almost all cases.
Also, take care to shut down background activity on the same network while you game. Like your hardware, your network can only efficiently handle so much data going back and forth at once. If you’re watching an HD stream and downloading a big update while you game, lag is almost certain to come your way.
The easiest and best way to take care of network lag for good is to put our WTFast GPN to use.
A GPN, or Gamer’s Private Network, is an innovative network solution that controls your gameplay data (and only your gameplay data) to the online game server through the fastest and most stable route possible.
VPNs are another common option many have tried to use for similar purposes — to little avail. That’s because VPNs aren’t built for speed but to encrypt your activity and bypass geo-restrictions, which can actually be flagged as hacking by your online game.
Our GPN works differently—– our focus is optimizing your gaming connection. We don’t mask or encrypt your activity at all to ensure we comply with game server security standards.
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Whether you decide to take the plunge and go for the latest GPU or upgrade your gaming experience using our WTFast GPN, a world of lag-free gaming is waiting for you!
Keep coming back to WTFast for helpful guides like this one and more to help you secure the W!
Sources:
Why We're in the Midst of a Global Semiconductor Shortage | Harvard Business Review
A chronological history of the catastrophic GPU shortage | Spider GL
Graphics Card Shortage Update: A Promising Sign? | Screen Rant
