NVIDIA started to discontinue its GeForce RTX 3060 GPUs back in 2024. The original lineup, which was introduced back in 2021, is still the most popular gaming graphics card on Steam, and while the 4060 & 5060 are picking up the pace, it looks like NVIDIA might once again open up production lines for this GPU.
This indicates the extent to which the DRAM shortages have affected consumer GPUs. The GeForce RTX 5060 makes use of GDDR7 memory, and as DRAM costs rise, the RTX 5060 might not only be affected in terms of pricing but also in supply, since procuring the memory is also an issue due to poor supply. The 60-series product family is made for mass consumption, so NVIDIA will have to offer some alternative to its partners.
Any consumer still buying anything nvidia is directly supporting the fall of society.
I would buy AMD, I really would, but for what I use GPUs for, 3D rendering on Blender (cycles), nvidia is must much faster for a card of the same price point due to optix raytracing acceleration.
This isn’t a knock to you as a person. I don’t understand this way of thinking. Nvidia is one of the major players in the destruction of both the planet and society, but folks will continue to use their products and support them through those purchases even with this knowledge. Is it just something you don’t think about? How do you rationalize it?
No offence taken.
My desision comes from two factors that play together.
First I am relatively poor and if I save to painfully save money and give up on other things that are also important so I can buy a GPU I want to make sure that I pay as least as possible for the most performance, if it takes a day to render a small animation on an nvidia GPU, it will take two days to do the same on AMD at the same price point. Besides I want to try to do this professionally one day, if that is to happen I can’t let my clients wait double, they will hire someone else.
Also I use Linux, so trust me I would love to get an AMD instead and get proper drivers.
The other factor is that I don’t believe my purchases as single individual make any dent in the market whatsoever. I can’t get it in my mind, I’m just one person, there are billions out there with way more money than me. The children get killed in Palestine and the data centres boil the earth no matter if I personality buy nvidia or buy from amazon or not. It’s kinda of a paradox because if everyone thinks like me then collective action doesn’t happen.
It’s kinda similar how I would be vegan if I had to kill the animals myself, but I don’t believe that if I stop buying chicken that less chickens get raised and killed, the retailer orders 1000 chickens independently if I buy one or not.
Edit: I know I sound like a terrible person, but I try to make conscious choices when the price is similar and most people just laugh when I mention it and say something in the mids of “lol who cares”.
No, man, you don’t sound like a terrible person; you sound like a person. I understand what you’re saying and I appreciate you responding. I also know that my choices as an individual don’t matter, but like you I choose them anyway. I make myself miserable in a lot of ways trying to make the best decisions I can to not contribute to the mess that is our world knowing full well I’m a grain of sand in a tsunami. I lose sight of everyone else’s struggles sometimes so thanks again for the perspective.
Yeah. I heavily regret buying my 4070 Ti Super last year. Wish I’d just gone full AMD.
I mean, it’s a great card. I just spent more money on it than I needed to, and also supported nvidia.
Got a 9070XT from Microcenter for $580. Never going back to Nvidia unless there’s MAJOR changes in the GPU market.
That being said, depending on the price they resell the 3060 for, it might not be a terrible deal for budget builds possibly (but knowing Nvidia, it’ll probably be overpriced).
What’s the benefit of bringing back the 3060, compared to a smaller, more modern chip?
They can use older process nodes which are cheaper. The RTX 3060 was made using 8 nm vs. 4nm of the RTX5060.
Probably don’t want to develop a new chip using older memory.
