Read This Before Pre-Ordering Nvidia RTX 30 Series Graphics Card
I know I know. The temptation is great if you’re a DIY PC build enthusiast who is tired of watching your games stutter when you set them to Ultra quality settings. Nvidia’s new RTX 30-series graphics cards are monsters. But is it worth pre-ordering? I would not.
I’m tempted, though, that even if Nvidia’s marketing overestimates their capabilities a little, you’ll get solid performance at a reasonable price, even if you go for the lowest price, the $ 499 Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070. faster than Nvidia’s previous flagship, the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, a card that cost at least $ 1,000 at launch.
This almost solidifies the deal if you are upgrading from something earlier, especially if your graphics card starts with a “10” or lower. But I’m still going to put on my skeptic’s hat and be that annoying voice. Reason: Don’t order a new graphics card in advance.
But if I don’t pre-order I won’t receive it.
I understand. There is an absolute thirst for new graphics cards because Nvidia has not offered a new lineup (actually a microarchitecture) since the launch of its GeForce RTX 2080 in September 2018. I bet you’ll see some sales on launch day (September 17), which means you might have to wait a while to get your hands on the new Episode 30 card. This is fine.
First, we still don’t have any practical, proven tests of what these Series 30 cards are capable of. Good at Nvidia for doing most of the initial work and throwing out some pretty diagrams to show how these new graphics cards outperform previous models. (They’re going to upset a lot of recent updates, especially those who recently overpaid for top-end 20-series cards.) But Nvidia’s numbers are PR, not actual performance testing.
You have to wait while everyone else – journalists and YouTube users – tries out these cards. Not only will this give you the best idea of how these cards perform in normal conditions, but you will also learn a lot about the nuances associated with the fact that these simpler “200% faster!” charts do not fall into.
For example, will a CPU bottleneck affect your ability to achieve high frame rates no matter how good your graphics card is? How much extra power will these cards require when you push your favorite games to the limit? Will these graphics cards turn into miniature heaters or jet engines as you play? Can these cards deliver noticeably higher frame rates in the games you love the most at the resolution and quality settings you usually play? (Hint: you probably don’t need a $ 1,500 graphics card to play Fortnite ).
Will Episode 30 sell sooner rather than later?
The release of the GeForce 30 series cards has been an exciting time. It is now September; pandemic-September, of course, but still September. This means that those big trading days at the end of November are just around the corner. While you probably won’t see great cash deals from, say, a $ 1,500 Nvidia GeForce 3090, you can at least buy a graphics card and get some free gifts – games, extra months to try the subscription service, discount on other equipment. you may need (like a new power supply), etc.
I’m not the only one to say “wait two months to save $ 50,” because it seems a little silly, but considering how close we get to some of the major selling-causing events, it’s worth holding out for a while if you haven’t. ” • completely convinced themselves to buy a new 30-series graphics card on launch day. And you may also see prices that are more aggressive than usual due to …
Don’t call AMD a comeback, it’s been around for years
Big Navi. We won’t see AMD announce its counter-offer to Nvidia’s 30-series graphics cards until October 28, which means we don’t know what performance to expect or how AMD plans to counter Nvidia’s already aggressive pricing for its 30-series. video cards. But since these are the first major AMD graphics cards to (finally) support ray tracing, you can expect healthier than usual competition.
What does it mean? Even if you’re an Nvidia fan, I wouldn’t buy a 30-series graphics card until I see at least what AMD has in store. If AMD’s offerings are compelling enough, Nvidia may have to work hard (or cut prices) to stay attractive. Who knows, perhaps AMD’s Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs really do turn out to be the best – perhaps in terms of performance and price. If so, you would be a sucker to spend $ 1,500 on a top quality Nvidia card right now, if you could get something better after just a month of waiting.
Simply put, the battle of the generations of the latest graphics cards hasn’t even begun yet. There is no reason to update immediately; If you’ve lasted that long on the update, you should be able to cope with a few extra weeks. This is a smarter move.
Powertrain: still pre-order, but …
I wrote this article and even I am still thinking about pre-ordering a 30-series graphics card because I don’t want to wait months if there are inventory issues. If I have not been able to convince you not to pre-order a new card, I will not be offended; however, I suggest you place a pre-order with a store that has an excellent return policy (and no return fees).
Nvidia? Amazon ? B&H ? It’s ok if you have an unopened graphics card. Newagg? No.
Buy a new Nvidia graphics card if necessary, but sit on it for as long as possible without using it. You may still not be aware of AMD’s announcements unless we see leaks before October 28, so I will try to place an order for the 30 series as close as possible towards the end of September.
Of course, now you’re playing everyone’s favorite video card guessing game: how long can you hold out until the cards run out where you are trying to buy them? I’m sure you will feel the demand after the launch of the new Nvidia cards, which will hopefully help you figure out whether to wait or pull the trigger sooner rather than later. Regardless, consider the strength of a good return policy and you might be able to close a better deal later, or get a better graphics card entirely.