Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics cards will continue to be scarce till the end of 2022

Over the past year, multiple reports have prophesized that graphics cards will remain scarce through 2021 and maybe even 2022. The global chip shortage is far from over, and things are unlikely to change anytime soon. Those looking to get their hands on an Nvidia RTX 3000 GPU will have to keep their eyes peeled throughout 2022. Nvidia head honcho Jensen Huang said in an investor call (via Seeking Alpha) that supply will remain tight until the end of next year.

Nvidia raked in US$6.5 billion in revenue this quarter, of which 3.1 billion was accounted for by gaming hardware. In contrast, the newly-introduced CMP cards generated a mere US$266 million, falling short of Nvidia's expectations of US$400 million. It tells us that miners are still hesitant about transitioning to Nvidia's cryptocurrency mining hardware. We get to see outrageous mining rigs befitted with an ungodly amount of gaming graphics cards that would have otherwise found themselves in gaming rigs.

Jensen adds that only 20% of Nvidia's 200 million user base has upgraded to RTX-enabled graphics cards. This figure includes both Turning and Ampere SKUs. Steam's hardware survey statistics attest to this, as the Pascal-based GeForce GTX 1060 reigns supreme as the most widely-used graphics card on the market. That 20% figure will undoubtedly rise over the next year, despite spotty availability. Lastly, Nvidia is yet to launch the entry-level desktop RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti. These cards do exceptionally well in value-oriented markets where consumers might not be able to fork out US$500.

The inability to meet demand doesn't necessarily translate to component shortages, at least in some markets. With Ethereum moving to a proof-of-stake model soon, miners will have little use for gaming graphics cards. Furthermore, the volatile nature of the crypto market can cause miners to start dumping hardware on the second-hand market at a moment's notice. Recent trends have shown that the overall prices of most, if not all, GeForce graphics cards are coming down, which is unlikely to change in 2022. In essence, if you're on the prowl for an RTX 3000 series graphics card, 2022 could still be your year.

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