Here we are about two months after Nvidia released its GeForce RTX 3080 to retail, and several weeks removed from the retail launch of the 3090 and 3070 that followed suit, yet it is still next to impossible to actually buy one. That is, unless you are willing to pay an exorbitant eBay or second-party seller tax. It's been a frustrating situation for gamers looking to replace an aging GPU that is long in the tooth, and that fact is not lost on Asus, which has issued a statement and apology.
"We know the demands for these new 30 series graphics cards are causing frustration for a lot of you. We see the messages and the comments and we are trying our hardest to get the graphics cards into your hands as quick as we can," Asus ROG UK stated on Twitter.
According to Asus, shipments in the UK have gone up in November, and it has promised to ship more cards "as fast as possible to distributors and retailers." But unfortunately for Asus and consumers alike, it is ultimately out of the company's hands, to a large extent.
Nvidia said in September that the 3080 launch was "simultaneously the best GPU launch ever and the most frustrating." Demand for the card has been both "off the charts" and "truly unprecedented," according to Nvidia, and simply put "we and our partners underestimated it."
All of the statements up to this point have come without any actual numbers. Nvidia claimed in September that it had "great supply" of the 3080, just not for the level of demand. And of course it has not helped that "malicious bots and resellers" flooded the scene when each card launched. Nvidia's strategy of delaying the retail launch of the 3070 to have more units available didn't stop them selling out almost immediately, either.
Best CPU for gaming: the top chips from Intel and AMD
Best graphics card: your perfect pixel-pusher awaits
Best SSD for gaming: get into the game ahead of the rest
On the bright side, Nvidia and its add-in board partners are not standing around doing nothing.
"Asus, TUF, and ROG 30 series GeForce RTX graphics cards are constantly in production and are being shipping as soon as they physically can be," Asus added. "We apologize that this is a frustrating time but please make sure you check your order status status as frequently as you can and look for any direct communication with your chosen vendor."
Asus also promised to ping the online community with regular updates on the supply situation. Ultimately, though, it all rests on Nvidia's ability to get more GPUs into the hands of its hardware partners, and the overall situation is not likely to improve until after the holiday season.
