What is old is new again. C.hipmakers continue to loud alarm about shortages continue in 2021, so Nvidia plans release stocks of his older GTX 1050 Ti and RTX 2060 to make up for the global GPU shortages.
In a statement to PcWorld, which initially broke the news, an Nvidia spokesperson confirmed that it is re-releasing the GTX 1050 Ti and RTX 2060 to board partners so they can release new hardware. The spokesperson noted that the GPUs “were never EOLed” [end-of-lifed]And that Nvidia only ‘met the demand of the market, which remains extremely high’.
So why would you use old, arguably outdated graphics cards?While Nvidia wowed everyone with its new 3000 series GPUs last year, the subsequent post-launch chaos left most people unable to get their hands on one. Some of that can be attributed to global supply chain problems fueled by the pandemic, but graphics card scalpers also made the problem worse when bots rallied the coveted GPUs to resell at ridiculous prices. After an RTX 3080 supposedly sold for one blatant $ 70,000 on eBay, a Gizmodo research discovered that the GTX 3080 took center stage of a legit bot civil war in which pissed off users shot back at scalpers to drive up prices and hopefully remove their listings. In October also Nvidia pushed the launch back of the RTX 3070 to avoid further anger from customers.
According to PcWorld, trying out the older GPUs is a smart move because they can be manufactured using established process technology, reducing costs. In the case of the RTX 2060, a card that supports ray tracing and first launched in 2019, Nvidia gets less cash while getting a relatively current GPU in the hands of manufacturers. The GTX 1050 Ti, meanwhile, is considerably older –it launched in 2016-but it is still able to tackle less demanding games or meet the needs of newer PC gamers. Another benefit is that the GTX 1050 Ti is equipped with older GDDR5 VRAM, making it incompatible with Ethereum cryptocurrency mining, which requires more than 4 GB of internal memory. Because yes, people who are trying to cash in on the cryptocurrency bubble now which also exacerbates the GPU shortage by purchasing newer, more powerful models.
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At the same time, this ‘solution’ is not as affordable for the consumer as it may seem at first. The GTX 1050 Ti launched in 2016 for $ 140, but currently goes online for over $ 200, with a range prices above $ 400The RTX 2060 is even more expensive, selling for over $ 700 when the launch price was $ 350.
The shortage of chips is disturbingly, 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, after leaders at chip companies love Intel, Qualcomm, and AMD wrote to the administration asking for support. However, the current deficit is unlikely to be resolved immediately.
In the meantime, you will probably have to keep a keen eye on prices and rely on luck. IIf your current setup is dragging you may want to try to stay zen about the whole thing for a while.