Crypto Responsible for RTX 3000 and RX 6000 Shortages? Nvidia and AMD Respond
The new GPUs offer much better performance than the previous generation, only unfortunately it's hard to experience that in person. Both the new RTX 3000 and Radeon RX 6000 are hard to find in stores. How do their manufacturers explain this fact?
- The shortage of new RTX cards is unlikely to have beeen caused by the demand for cryptomining, but poor availability may persist through Q1 2021, claims Nvidia and does not rule out introducing dedicated devices for "miners".
New graphics cards from the Ampere family are still unavailable in many stores. The situation is similar with the new Radeon RX 6000, although AMD previously assured that the situation should improve with the release of custom models. Is the rapid disappearance of graphics cards from stores a result of the high popularity of cryptocurrencies? Some form such speculations, seeing monstrous mining rigs like this one.
If a crypto mining rig consisting of 78 units of RTX 3080 is not an isolated case, and such spectacular scope found larger group of fans, it could in fact affect the availability of cards in stores. However, during the conference, a representative of Nvidia said that there is no data on the demand for new GPUs among cryptominers. Moreover, she does not see significant value in this market segment, although she finds the very fact of using RTX devices for mining "interesting".
"Yes, (...) cryptocurrency is interesting. So GPUs, as you know, have been programmable for many, many years, and it allows a constantly discovering capability for new applications to use the overall GPUs, and that has driven our overall growth in the market. Cryptocurrency mining is one of those such applications. (...) We don’t have visibility on how much of the RTX 30 Series end demand comes from mining. So, we don’t believe it’s a big part of our business today. Gaming demand is very strong, and we think that’s larger than our current supply."
A moment later, however, a rather interesting statement is made:
"So, in summary, if crypto demand begins or if we see a meaningful amount, we can also use that opportunity to restart the CMP product line to address ongoing mining demand."
CMP products in this case means a special line of graphics cards designed for crypto enthusiasts. They lack video outputs, which are useless to miners, making the devices more viable for them. This would mean that players who prefer Nvidia's hardware can rest assured that in the event of further growth of miner interest in new devices, Nvidia should start production of chipsets aimed at them. Nevertheless, the poor availability of Ampere cards may persist through the first quarter of 2021.
AMD CEO Lisa Su also commented (source) on Radeon's supply issues:
"We are committed to keeping GPU pricing as close to our suggested retail pricing as much as possible, because it’s the only way to be fair to the users. Normally when we have GPU launches, our own branded cards are available initially but then fade away for our partners to pick up. This time around we’re not phasing out our RX 6000 series, enabling us to sell direct to customers as low as possible. We’re encouraging partners to do the same."
Further the CEO of AMD explains the difficult situation related to the Covid-19 pandemic and increases in transportation prices:
"Not only tariffs, but the COVID environment has increased shipping and freight costs, which are hard to avoid. As we get into a more normal environment, this should improve. This also matters for our planned graphics updates through the first half of the year, as we have a lot of product coming to market."
There is talk of tariffs in the first sentence. It relates to former US President Donald Trump's actions regarding the inclusion of electronics imported from China in the list of products subject to an additional tax. There is also talk of considerable updates to the offer of graphics cards planned for this year and, implicitly, of related delays as a result of work on them. However, it is not difficult to notice that Lisu Su's statement lacks tangible information - we still do not know when the problems with the availability of hig-end models of Radeon will end.
The current situation may seem difficult for gamers completing their rigs. Last-gen GPUs run out of stock and new models quickly disappear from store shelves. Fortunately, the offer of both manufacturers will soon be supplemented with new, cheaper models - RTX 3060 in the case of Nvidia and the new Radeon RX 6700. This will give gamers more choice, and if Nvidia keeps its word, perhaps also miners will find something for themselves.
Arkadiusz Strzala
His adventure in writing began with his own blog and contributing to one of the early forums (in the olden days of Wireless Application Protocol). An electrical engineer by profession, he has a passion for technology, constructing and, of course, playing computer games. He has been a newsman and writer for Gamepressure since April 2020. He specializes in energy and space tech. However, he does not shy away from more relaxed matters every now and then. He loves watching science-fiction movies and car channels on YouTube. He mainly plays on the PC, although he has modest console experience too. He prefers real-time strategies, FPS and all sorts of simulators.
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