Nvidia has had quite the launch season for its GeForce RTX 30 Series of graphics cards. The launches of the Nvidia RTX 3090, 3080, and 3070 have not gone smoothly, with cards selling out near-instantly and stock failing to be adequately filled more than a month later. PC gamers were hoping that the launch of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards would be better, that Nvidia would have built up stock for a smoother launch. That doesn't appear to have been the case.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti officially launched Wednesday morning at around 6:00 AM PT. It retails for a recommended $399, though third-party manufacturer cards can cost more. The card is said to provide performance akin to last generation's RTX 2080 SUPER, which retailed for $699 when it first launched mid-2019. In a different comparison, it performs about 40% better than its similarly-priced predecessor in the previous generation, the RTX 2060 SUPER. Suffice to say, it's a major improvement at its price point.
While there is high demand for the new Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics card, which would be worrying to those wanting to buy the card, a much more substantial amount of stock was also expected for launch. Retailers described the stock situation as like the RTX 3090, 3080, and 3070 launches combined. However, these retailers also made clear that they expected their entire stock of RTX 3060 Ti cards to sell out in the first day of availability.
The retailers were, of course, entirely correct. The online retailer Newegg sold out of its diverse range of Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards in minutes, if not seconds. The outlet even made a follow-up post on Twitter saying that "traffic on our site at launch was in the 6 figures and our inventory was nowhere near that amount." Suffice to say, most users never even got close to ordering an RTX 3060 Ti, or even seeing that it came in stock.
The usual frustrations and accusations are being shared online following this morning's release. Frustrations over Nvidia launching its cards before there's adequate stock. Accusations that retailers are catering to scalpers, allowing bots to purchase cards faster than humanly possible, which are then put on eBay for exorbitant prices. But, like with the releases of the RTX 3090, 3080, and 3070 cards, nothing is likely to change.
It's unclear how restocks will work with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. It may receive more frequent restocks than other cards due to its higher demand or it may not. The result is likely to remain the same, however. It's going to be incredibly difficult to find these cards, just like it's still near-impossible to find a 3090, 3080, or 3070 at retail pricing. A lot of PC gamers will be playing Cyberpunk 2077 without the new Nvidia graphics card they wanted this holiday season.