Nvidia’s next-gen Lovelace graphics cards could be delayed until December 2022, or so the rumor reckons.
This new speculation comes from a prominent YouTube leaker Moore’s law is dead (opens in new tab) (MLID), which believes that the release of the RTX 4000 GPUs may be delayed based on feedback from various industry sources.
Now, we’ve heard about Nvidia and its partners having to deal with excess RTX 3000 stock, and it sounds like this could be an even bigger problem than previously thought, with MLID stating that some sources are speaking in terms of the situation being ‘desperate’.
Quotes from MLID sources (some of the most favored and trusted, the leaker claims) include the following: “We have been forced to swallow tens of thousands of high-end Ampere cards that we don’t want, nor are we sure we can sell above what we pay.”
This really sounds like a hopeless situation, if retailers are starting to look at the prospect of selling graphics cards at almost no profit, such is the rush to get rid of them.
Of course, this puts pressure on Nvidia, because if Team Green releases, or even reveals, RTX 4000 graphics cards too soon before the overstocked RTX 3000 is sold to a more palatable level, it could damage the relationship with retail partners.
The upshot is that a source MLID is in contact with said that the next-gen Lovelace GPUs were supposed to arrive in October – which is certainly a rumor we’ve heard previously – but now there could be a delay to December.
Another source says the RTX 4000 might not arrive until November, and while all this talk is couched in ‘maybe’ terms, the general suggestion is that Lovelace will likely be delayed from Nvidia’s originally planned release – with what we want say appearing on shelves – timeline. It’s possible, and indeed highly likely, that this is preceded by some sort of early reveal, but even that couldn’t come too soon without the danger of creating headwinds for current-gen sales.
Analysis: Rock is a difficult place?
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of a potential lag for the RTX 4000 GPUs – although mind you, this is all just speculation – but it’s a little worrying that more than one power supply is now floating around on this theory. If you recall, a recent report from DigiTimes (from just over a week ago) noted that Nvidia was allegedly trying to cut Lovelace’s orders at TSMC, in part due to a ‘huge channel inventory’ of RTX 3000 cards still available. out there – and that this could mean a delay in the shipments of RTX 4000 models.
Nvidia is apparently facing a number of issues that include the supposedly huge inventory backlog at a time when GPU prices are still relatively high (especially for Team Green models) and a cost-of-living crisis is starting to take a toll. PC players budgets.
Additionally, the cryptographic crash that meant ex-mining graphics cards are now flooding the second-hand market, further impacting the demand for new GPUs (whether much be careful when buying a used GPU on eBay now, of course). In addition, there is also another consideration – sales to Russia have also been blocked and this stock must be dumped in already saturated regions elsewhere.
Overall, it’s not a pretty picture, but the problem Nvidia has is that if the decision is made to delay the release of RTX 4000 cards, that leaves the door open for AMD to come in with a head start for their RDNA next time. generation. 3 GPUs, grabbing market share before Team Green is out of the starting blocks.
With RDNA 3 still scheduled for release in Q4, potentially October, this limits how long Nvidia can delay things without losing too much ground in the next-gen race. Although it depends on which RDNA 3 models AMD starts and in what quantity – although rumor has it that Team Red hasn’t fitted 5nm (next-gen) orders with TSMC, while Nvidia is looking to do so, as mentioned.
What the outcome of all this will ultimately be, we don’t know, but the weight of evidence is growing that Nvidia has a thorny set of issues on its hands here regarding the transition from Ampere to Lovelace, which can be very difficult. AMD’s advantage.
In the meantime, if you’ve been eyeing a current-gen GPU as prices continue to drop, the board continues to wait, particularly for Nvidia graphics cards – as it looks like the race to sell the stock RTX 3000 might be on the way. starting in earnest, and that should mean falling prices even faster (finally dropping below the MSRP overall, probably, if these rumors are to be believed).