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Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom\u2019s Hardware. Although he loves everything that\u2019s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-24/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Zhiye Liu News Editor, RAM Reviewer & SSD Technician Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.
CParsons My main gaming machine has 3060 Ti in it and it has been more than enough for my needs. Reply
usertests Did 3050 6GB production ever end? Because that remains Nvidia's best consumer offering for sub-75W. Low profile ones are in the $220-250 range, used to be around $200. Reply
dion_ "OH MY GOD! OKAY, IT'S HAPPENING! EVERYBODY STAY CALM!" https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Steve-Carell-in-the-office-its-happening-scene.jpeg?w=1200&h=675&fit=crop Reply
hwertz Indeed, The older cards are physically capable of everythng the new ones are (in the past you'd have tesselation, or new shader capabilities, or more recently raytracing… which my GTX1650 doesn't have. I. e, not 'I want more VRAM or speed' but 'this GPU will not do these things newer games want, period.' ) Not the case with a 3050 compared to the latest and greatest. It's sensible to continue making models for those on some kind of a budget. Reply
Lieutenant Barclay "Overall, the return of the GeForce RTX 3060 and GeForce RTX 3050 to the market is not necessarily a bad thing" hahaha ok bro. Keep sucking up to $5T mega corps; it's not like other tech blogs are any different. Reply
bigdragon This news just tells me there is no urgency or need to upgrade the 3060 that's in my HTPC. That 3060 will be relevant for years to come. The pace of technological advancement int he GPU space has stopped due to the AI bubble. Back in the early 2000's there were multiple antitrust cases brought against LCD panel manufacturers for price fixing and restraining capacity to enable price fixing. I'd really like to see history repeat itself and for class action and government lawyers to go after the memory companies. There has to be a case there somewhere. Reply
usertests bigdragon said: This news just tells me there is no urgency or need to upgrade the 3060 that's in my HTPC. That 3060 will be relevant for years to come. The pace of technological advancement int he GPU space has stopped due to the AI bubble. The 3060 is in the ballpark of PS5 performance, and faster than Xbox Series S. So it's relevant as long as current gen is relevant… at least another 5 years (games will continue to target PS5/XSS after PS6/XH come out), ultimately 10+ years after it was released. Getting 12 GB was practically an accident due to the 192-bit bus and competition from AMD, that is ensuring the card has decade+ longevity. Nvidia could have made it a 6 GB card below the 3060 Ti 8GB, 3070 8GB, 3070 Ti 8GB, 3080 10GB, 3080 Ti 12GB. Reply
PEnns bigdragon said: This news just tells me there is no urgency or need to upgrade the 3060 that's in my HTPC. That 3060 will be relevant for years to come. The pace of technological advancement int he GPU space has stopped due to the AI bubble. Back in the early 2000's there were multiple antitrust cases brought against LCD panel manufacturers for price fixing and restraining capacity to enable price fixing. I'd really like to see history repeat itself and for class action and government lawyers to go after the memory companies. There has to be a case there somewhere. Good luck with that. Tech companies are throwing money at the king-wannabe and his family, are feasting at his table and he's taking them with him on trips to China! Reply
hwertz bigdragon said: Back in the early 2000's there were multiple antitrust cases brought against LCD panel manufacturers for price fixing and restraining capacity to enable price fixing. I'd really like to see history repeat itself and for class action and government lawyers to go after the memory companies. There has to be a case there somewhere. Oh, there've been multiple rounds of suits against Samsung, Hynix (Hyndai memory division for the old ones), Micron, and I think in the past there was like Elpida (bought by Micron) and I think one other. They have been found to be operating a cartel, fined for price fixing and collusion on RAM, multiple times since like the late 1990s. The last of these I'm aware of was close to 10 years ago. I have no idea why there aren't at least rumblings of someone (some of those more litigious states like California or New York… or US Gov't… OK I know why they aren't doing it, I'll stay out of politics… or EU… or Australia… or whoever) looking into pricing fixing and collusion fines again. Well, I suppose they are all smitten with AI and don't want to 'stand in the way of progress'… when, honestly, expecting companies to not run a cartel doesn't stand in the way of anything. I mean, while doing the 'well, we can't keep up with demand, sorry about that', one of these companies (I can't find the info on which) actually shut down a few production lines at the end of 2025 — specifically to further tighten demand and raise prices (i.e. they didn't convert these lines to HBM either, they just idled them.) Reply
thestryker I wouldn't blame the memory situation, since nvidia is perfectly happy using GDDR6 on the 5050, so much as greed since manufacturing these costs less. Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/memory-famine-compels-gpu-vendors-to-re-release-2020-graphics-cards-geforce-rtx-3060-and-geforce-rtx-3050-return-to-asian-market#main
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- Valve to discontinue physical Steam gift cards by the end of 2026 due to scammers — says nefarious actors continue to exploit them despite years of restrictions
- Various vendors add AMD EXPO Ultra-Low Latency to 600-series motherboards in latest BIOS updates — tech tightens memory subtimings on compatible kits, boosting
- Microsoft's bug-hunting nemesis extends vendetta with more zero-day attacks — Nightmare Eclipse publishes RoguePlanet and GreatXML local privilege escalation ex
- Anthropic's warning over AI self-improvement has a hidden message — accelerating development requires more compute before companies ever risk losing control of
- Louis Rossmann is suing Samsung after firm offers $330 refund for defective SSD while selling the drives on Amazon for $949 — spat over 4TB 990 Pro SSD is heade
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.