Nvidia’s budget GPU could be delayed – and RTX 4000 graphics cards might be, too

An RTX 2060 graphics card in a PC
(Image credit: Future)

Nvidia’s purported GTX 1630 graphics card has been delayed once again according to the rumor mill, and its incoming RTX 4000 GPUs may also have slid in terms of their release timeframe.

Early rumors pointed to the GTX 1630 launching at the start of June, before we heard that the budget GPU had supposedly been pushed to June 15, meaning it should be emerging early next week – but apparently that’s no longer the case.

VideoCardz has spoken to sources who claim that Nvidia just contacted the third-party graphics card makers who’ll be producing the GTX 1630, and given them a new embargo (release) timeline, with no specific date provided to replace June 15 – Team Green is simply saying that the date is ‘to be determined’ (or TBD, as they say).

The long and short of it is, Nvidia has run into trouble securing some components, the sources assert, and while some card makers may have manufactured the first GTX 1630 boards already, things are now being held up further. Those graphics card makers are currently waiting for an updated launch date, and so we’d guess a June release is entirely off the table now.

VideoCardz has also been in touch with sources in regard to clarifying the launch schedule for RTX 4000 (Lovelace) GPUs – of course, we don’t know anything for sure about when these are coming out later in 2022 – and the news is that these have been delayed by a month.

Previously, VideoCardz had prepared us to expect the possibility of a launch as early as August for the RTX 4090, with the RTX 4080 to follow in September, and the RTX 4070 to turn up in October. Now, the theoretical situation is that those respective graphics cards are looking like they will emerge in September, October and November respectively.


Analysis: Delays seem to be firmly in the (graphics) cards, then?

Regarding the RTX 4000 launch, we’ve been hearing a few timeframes recently, with Wccftech proposing that Nvidia is actually angling towards a launch even later in the year, with the RTX 4090 hitting in October, and then the 4080 and 4070 in November and December respectively (oh, and as for the RTX 4060 – that should debut in January 2023).

VideoCardz’s latest prediction of a September kick-off for the RTX 4090 splits the difference between the previous prediction from its sources, and Wccftech’s recent speculation – and seems about right to us. Indeed, it was the most likely timeframe put forward if you wind back the clock on the rumor mill, anyway. Really, though, any of these possibilities could turn out to be correct, and we should most certainly be cautious around putting too much weight on any one prediction.

As for the apparent delay of the budget GPU, that purported GTX 1630 is a far less high-profile affair for sure, although it’s something of a disappointment to hear about it slipping – punters are still keen to see what Nvidia might have on the table for what should be a seriously affordable graphics card. That said, plenty of questions have already been raised about whether this wallet-friendly GTX card might be a damp squib (though maybe, just maybe, Nvidia is looking to go really cheap with this particular GPU).

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).