NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series Allegedly Delayed, Is It To Sell More Ampere GPUs?
Gamers in need of a GPU upgrade face an interesting quandary—buy a graphics card now, with prices having finally started to approach MSRP levels, or wait for next-generation models, including NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 40 series based on Ada Lovelace. Those who decide to go the latter route may have to wait a little bit longer than previously expected.
To be very clear, there has been no official word from NVIDIA on when its next-gen GPUs will release. However, there have been numerous leaks and rumors, which earlier this month had pegged the GeForce RTX 4090 as launching in August, followed by the GeForce RTX 4080 in September and the GeForce RTX 4070 in October. It was further noted that all three models would be formally introduced in July.
You can tentatively tack a month onto each of those release time frames, according to Videocardz. The site's sources shared a supposed letter that NVIDIA sent to its add-in board (AIB) partners, which lists the new on-shelf dates as TBD (to be determined). According to the letter, the reason has to do with securing non-GPU components.
As things stand, rumor has it that the new release time frames have the GeForce RTX 4090 launching in September, followed by the GeForce RTX 4080 in October and the GeForce RTX 4070 in November. An announcement could still come in July, though. Additionally, the situation is essentially described as fluid rather than these release months being carved in stone.
We have no way of knowing for sure if there is actually a delay, but if so, the timing is interesting. Graphics cards continue to drop in price, with some models falling to and even below MSRP levels (most are still a little higher). This has raised speculation that NVIDIA could be pushing back the launch of its next-gen GPUs to move more Ampere cards.
This seems unlikely, though. If the leaked launched info is accurate, this only amounts to a one-month delay for all three models. It's hard to image that NVIDIA and its partners would move a significant number of Ampere models in a single extra month. Knowing that gamers are waiting for next-gen models, if anything it would make sense to launch the new stuff as soon as possible.
But hey, that's all for NVIDIA to decide. The question is, should you buy now or wait? There's no right or wrong answer, as it depends on your situation. If you're looking to go all out on a top-of-the-line GPU, it probably makes sense to wait. But if you're struggling to play games now and typically buy more into the mid-range sector, you're looking at possibly five months before the GeForce RTX 4070 arrives. That's five months that you could be playing at high settings on an Ampere GPU.
