Graphics card manufacturers in China are telling distributors to focus on older GeForce cards as RTX 50 supply tightens and prices climb.
According to VideoCardz, the future of PC gaming appears to be finding something Nvidia launched five years ago and hoping nobody has increased the price. Some manufacturers have exhausted their RTX 50 inventory, while others have limited quantities remaining.
Manufacturers are reportedly recommending the GeForce RTX 3060 12GB, RTX 3060 8GB and RTX 3050 as alternatives, alongside unspecified AMD Radeon models.
ChannelGate attributes the squeeze partly to increased cryptocurrency mining demand and China’s e-commerce promotional season.
The advice concerns distributors keeping products available as newer cards become harder to obtain. It does not establish that Nvidia has formally changed its GeForce product strategy. The RTX 3060 returned to production and retail channels earlier this year, despite launching in 2021.
Colorful began shipping new RTX 3060 12GB cards in China in June, with further models appearing in Europe and the US. Palit introduced its RTX 3060 Infinity 2 OC in July, demonstrating that board partners were producing fresh Ampere designs instead of simply emptying a forgotten warehouse.
That revival has hardly delivered a bargain. VideoCardz previously reported that an MSI RTX 3060 12GB model at Newegg became 45 per cent more expensive in less than two months following its return. The increase left the older card costing more than newer alternatives such as the RTX 5050. Nostalgia now apparently carries a surcharge.
ChannelGate expects older GPUs to hold their prices or become slightly more expensive as distributors seek substitutes. Its report concerns China, with no confirmation that manufacturers are issuing equivalent advice elsewhere.
