Anyone hoping to snatch a new GeForce RTX 3080 or RTX 3070 graphics card in the coming weeks may be slightly confused by Nvidia's decision to re-introduce the previously discontinued RTX 2060, just weeks before the company was due to launch its latest GeForce RTX 3060 GPU.
Stock shortages have been a consistent issue with the latest generation of graphics processing units from Nvidia, and there has currently been no official reason given for relaunching an older GPU whilst demand for newer, competitively priced models is so high.
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This information was originally shared by Overclocking.com, with multiple sources stating that Nvidia has already started to distribute GeForce RTX 2060 series stock to board partners and systems integrators. The number of units being shipped hasn't been disclosed, and Nvidia hasn't made any official statement to explain its decision for bringing back a GPU that was discontinued from market only a few weeks ago.
The GeForce RTX 2060 models were incredibly successful for Nvidia in both its desktop and mobile versions, being priced at $349 (around £255, AU$450) at launch. Despite its popularity, the upcoming 3060 models are intended as an almost direct replacement for the older tech, and will launch at a lower price of $329 (£299, around AU$429).
We're running with the assumption that further stock shortages are expected for the release of the RTX 3060, and that Nvidia is hoping to do some damage control by re-introducing the RTX 2060. There has been no official word if the older card will be available at a reduced cost, but sources suggest that the reintroduced RTX 2060 and RTX 2060 Super will be priced at €300 (around $360/£270/AU$470) and €400 (around $490/£350/AU$630) respectively.
The GeForce RTX 2060 Super actually received a price drop of $50 last year, down to $299, so these numbers could be concerning if proved to be true. Until we see the new wave of RTX 2060 stock hit the shelves we won't know for sure, and as good as the older graphics cards are, they're no match for the new 3060 or 3060 Ti in power or value. Let's hope this isn't an indicator of things to come for those who haven't yet managed to get their hands on a new RTX 3000 series GPU.
Via VideoCardz
