Nvidia's next-gen Lovelace graphics cards could be delayed until December 2022, or so it's rumored.
This new speculation comes from prominent YouTube leaker Moore's Law is Dead (opens in a new tab) (MLID), who believes that the launch of the RTX 4000 GPUs may be delayed based on feedback from multiple industry sources.
Now, we've already heard that Nvidia and its partners have to deal with RTX 3000 overstock, and it sounds like it could be an even bigger problem than previously thought, with MLID saying that some sources are now speaking in terms of the situation. 'desperate'.
Quotes from MLID sources (some of the most respected and trusted, sponsor claims) include this: "We've been forced to swallow tens of thousands of high-end amp boards we don't want, and we're not sure we can sell them." above what we paid.
In fact, it seems like a dire straits, if retailers start considering selling the graphics cards at almost zero profit, such is the potential rush to get rid of them.
Of course, this puts pressure on Nvidia, because if Team Green releases, or even reveals, the RTX 4000 graphics cards too soon before the surplus RTX 3000 stock is sold at a more acceptable level, it could be a strain. business. the partners.
The upshot is that a source MLID is in contact with said the next-gen Lovelace GPUs should have arrived in October – which is certainly a rumor we've heard before – but now there could be a delay until in December.
Another source says that the RTX 4000 may not arrive until November, and while all of this talk is framed in terms of "could be," the general suggestion is that Lovelace is likely to be delayed from Nvidia's originally planned launch, so that we hear appearing on the shelves – calendar. It's possible, and even highly likely, that this will be preceded by some kind of initial reveal, but even that couldn't come too soon without risking some headwinds for current-gen sales.
Analysis: Rock and Anvil?
This isn't the first time we've heard of a possible RTX 4000 GPU theft, although remember, this is all just speculation across the grapevine, but it's somewhat concerning that it comes from more than one source now spouting this theory. If you recall, a recent DigiTimes report (from just over a week ago) noted that Nvidia was allegedly looking to remove orders for Lovelace from TSMC, in part due to a "huge inventory of still backlogged RTX 3000 card channels, and that this could mean a delay in shipments of RTX 4000 models.
Nvidia is apparently facing a number of issues, including this allegedly large stock build at a time when GPU prices are still relatively high (especially for Team Green models), and a cost-of-living crisis is brewing. starting to hit the budgets of PC gamers. .
Add to that the crypto lockdown that has caused old mining graphics cards to now flood the used market, further affecting demand for new GPUs (be very careful buying a used GPU on eBay right now, of course). In addition, there is also another consideration: sales to Russia have also been blocked, and this inventory must be unloaded in regions already saturated elsewhere.
Overall, it's not a pretty picture, but Nvidia's problem is that if the decision is made to delay the release of the RTX 4000 cards, it leaves the door open for AMD to get a head start on its next-gen RDNA. 3 GPUs, gaining market share even before Team Green was in the starting blocks.
With RDNA 3 still scheduled to release in Q3, possibly October, this limits how long Nvidia could put things off without losing too much ground in the next-gen race. Although it depends on which RDNA 5 models AMD starts with and in what quantity, although Team Red is rumored not to have tweaked XNUMXnm (next-gen) controls with TSMC, while Nvidia is looking to do so, as mentioned.
What the outcome of all this will be, ultimately, we don't know, but the weight of evidence is mounting that Nvidia has a number of thorny issues on its hands here regarding the transition from Ampere to Lovelace, which could be much to the benefit of AMD.
In the meantime, if you're considering a current-gen GPU as prices continue to drop, the advice remains to hold off, especially for Nvidia graphics cards, as it looks like the race to sell the stock RTX 3000 is about to begin. really. , and that should mean an even faster price drop (well below MSRP in all areas, probably, if those rumors are true).
Today's best graphics card deals
Via Digital Trends (Opens in a new tab)