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How To Get a RTX 3080/3090 Practical Advice (Updated 22/09/20)

Shadowmask72
Honored Visionary
OK fellow consumers and friends. I've been well-invested in this 3080 launch debacle, probably more than most since I already sold my RTX 2080 Ti so I'm now using an i9 9900K integrated graphics, GeForce Now, PS4 and Xbox Cloud Gaming for my kicks. 

As you may or may not know, Nvidia have acted pretty naively with the 3080 launch considering they should have expected bots and scalpers to take all the stock, and high demand after their own hype. However, thankfully they are revoking suspicious orders manually. You can see a stock checker for Digital River (European handlers) which seems to be rising hourly because this process obviously takes time.

The issue now then is how does Nvidia move forwards in announcing stock availability? They surely can't expect people to sit on their website and press F5 all day. How do they prevent the bots from taking all the stock again? In their statement, they did mention emails being sent out when stock becomes available, however faith in that system seems low considering the email notifications for the launch were sent out 1 hour after the launch time previously, by which time the stock was long gone. Perhaps then this will be the only way to buy from them via the email link so make sure you sign-up to be notified.

There's some reason to be encouraged though. Nvidia are looking into ways to prevent bot/scalper purchases even if adding a captcha to the store front. But bots can pass those checks, so I hope they figure something else out. Either way, I expect a 3080 relaunch in the coming days rather than them trickling out stock. How they handle it though is anyone's guess. Some retailers are taking pre-orders now but in a queue system, so you can take the gamble of pre-ordering now and waiting your turn. It could be weeks or months though. There's light at the end of the tunnel, as Nvidia is resupplying vendors daily. Yes, that's right, "daily" using their own words. This is encouraging then and means the wait might not be as long as you think. 

My advice though moving forwards then and especially if you are after a 3090 next week is to not put all your faith in getting the Founder's Edition cards and go for an aftermarket version. There is decidedly less interest in the 3090 though from my research, but stock levels are likely to be much less than the 3080. The problem I see with the Nvidia website is I think stock will naturally be extremely limited so even if you're not competing with Bots, your competing with like-minded consumers en-mass. I also don't believe Nvidia will have a tangible solution to the bot/scalper issue by next-week (but they have said they've improved things in a recent update to the store). Sure, it's easy to code re-captcha into a store-front but I am not confident this method can eliminate bots entirely. There is also no guarantee that their website won't "break" again like it did yesterday.

In my experience monitoring the 3080 launch, I found that alternative retailers offered the best chance of securing cards. Several hours after launch I saw pre-orders open for next day, and even a couple of cards in stock.  Some might suggest it's prudent to have more than one store page open in your browser. This might help. Getting alerts might help as well. There are several sites which offer this

Either way, the bottom line is Nvidia wants your business and if the bots/scalpers get them all, then the negative press shrouds them, so it's not a case of they are happy because they got the money anyway. There's enough legitimate customers to buy all the stock, and I would wager they prefer that and moving forwards against AMD who are poised to announce their own wares at the start and end of October. Now, some folks might want to wait for that and then make an informed choice (depending on the RX 6000 series specs). 

Also this is day one. Expect things to level-out over the coming weeks. Sure, the supply chains have been affected by COVID-19, but manufacturing still continues and there's plentiful resources available to large companies such as Nvidia.  Some people are concerned they won't have a new card for the release of Cyberpunk 2077. That's one of this year's most anticipated titles (and showcased during the 30 series reveal). I strongly believe that by the game's November 19th launch there will be plenty 30 series cards available. So a bit of patience will calm your nerves.  Also, word is that a greater amount of inventory will be available in October.

- Keep an eye on EVGA Jason's Twitter feed as he seems to announce when EVGA have stock US or EVGA have stock EUR. They are getting new drops every few days I believe. They are also manually reviewing orders and cancelling bot orders.


Happy Hunting.


System Specs: MSI NVIDIA RTX 4090 , i5 13700K CPU, 32GB DDR 4 RAM, Win 11 64 Bit OS.
34 REPLIES 34

Shadowmask72
Honored Visionary
Updated first post with some EVGA info.

Some user defined 3090 benchmarks showing better improvement. Also his CPU might cause some bottle-necking (i7-8086K @ 5.1 GHz).


See full thread here - https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/ix9zcg/early_msi_geforce_rtx_3090_ga...

Edit: Okay I'm on it. Comparing average fps from various reviews. Some are FE, some are 3080 gaming trio x. This was done with no double checking and really just grabbing things as I saw them. Take it with a grain of salt and I apologize for mistakes.

  • Time Spy (graphics): 20569 vs 17645 (via arstechnica). 16.6% Increase

  • Time Spy Extreme (graphics): 10560 vs 8798 (via arstechnica). 20% Increase

  • Assassin's Creed Odyssey (4K/Maxed): 71 vs 63 (via arstechinica) 12.7% Increase

  • Horizon Zero Dawn (4K/Ultimate Quality): 86 vs 73 (via techspot) 17.8% Increase

  • Red Dead Redemption II (4K/Maxed/No MSAA): 66 (can't find any exact)

  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider (4K/Maxed/DLSS/No RT): 112 vs 103 (via guru 3D) 8.7% Increase

  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider (4K/Maxed/DLSS/RT): 82 vs 69 (via pcgamer) 18.8% Increase

  • Control DLSS Quality 55-70 vs 64.8 (via gamers nexus)

  • Control DLSS Performance 80-95 (can't find anything)



System Specs: MSI NVIDIA RTX 4090 , i5 13700K CPU, 32GB DDR 4 RAM, Win 11 64 Bit OS.

RuneSR2
Grand Champion
Did see that post too, but apart from 3D Mark can we be sure all other benchmarks are identical? 

Looking forward to more pro-reviews.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RuneSR2
Grand Champion
The above results did include some VR benchmark - if true:

"Not sure yet if at 90 or 120hz, but if at 120, boy oh boy is that a big jump from the 3080's 71. Here I am at a 48 on my 1080ti.."

https://www.reddit.com/r/ValveIndex/comments/ixkmd2/looks_like_someone_allegedly_got_their_hands_on_...

Now 84 fps (3090) is 18% faster than 71 fps (3080) - does seem reasonable compared to other leaked 3090 benchmarks. Only 18% more performance still is quite modest from a card costing 114% more. 

Then 3090 would be 75% faster than 1080 Ti. And 3080 would be 48% faster than 1080 Ti. That's in VR - but I don't know how that benchmark compares to real VR games, but it's close to the only VR benchmark we have  😕  :'(

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RedRizla
Honored Visionary



kojack said:



probably more than most since I already sold my RTX 2080 Ti so I'm now using an i9 9900K integrated graphics, PS4 and Xbox Cloud Gaming for my kicks.


That's one reason why I never sell anything, I've always got backups. 🙂 I've probably still got my Nvidia Riva TNT here somewhere if I get really desperate.

Somebody wrote a bot script that fucks with scalpers on ebay. It makes fake accounts then starts an unrealistic bidding war on 3000 series cards, boosting the price way too high, then of course not paying.

qfvte4ubwxt4.jpg





lol, this is the best thing I've seen all week 😄



I've just noticed people are using the buy it now option, but there are still some cards going for these prices, or should I say not going for these prices 😄

Shadowmask72
Honored Visionary
Got my Asus TUF 3090 coming tomorrow from Scan. What I managed to do on launch day is focus on two pages. I knew the Nvidia page was going to be a washout so I focused on a slightly more expensive model on Scan. The trick being is not only slightly more expensive but was pre-order only even before the 2pm sale time. I assume this put a lot of people off, so I was able to order in the first 5 minutes and with it arriving tomorrow I assume in the first batch. 

Now I can get out of this horrible race. What a nightmare. I wish everyone good luck if you're still looking out for a new 3080/90.


System Specs: MSI NVIDIA RTX 4090 , i5 13700K CPU, 32GB DDR 4 RAM, Win 11 64 Bit OS.

pyroth309
Visionary
Very nice, let us know how it works out for you. I wanted a founders edition 3090 but yea that was a waste of time to try lol.

nalex66
MVP
MVP
Well done. I still haven't seen any 3080's that I can buy, except if I go into a Canada Computers store and back-order one (full payment upfront, no estimate of when it would come in). I'll just keep watching NewEgg.ca and wait for stock to eventually show up (haven't seen any availability of any model there yet).

DK2, CV1, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3.


Try my game: Cyclops Island Demo

Shadowmask72
Honored Visionary

pyroth309 said:

Very nice, let us know how it works out for you. I wanted a founders edition 3090 but yea that was a waste of time to try lol.


Problem with the FE is it's the cheapest. So every Tom, Dick is going for it lessening your chances.


System Specs: MSI NVIDIA RTX 4090 , i5 13700K CPU, 32GB DDR 4 RAM, Win 11 64 Bit OS.

pyroth309
Visionary

nalex66 said:

Well done. I still haven't seen any 3080's that I can buy, except if I go into a Canada Computers store and back-order one (full payment upfront, no estimate of when it would come in). I'll just keep watching NewEgg.ca and wait for stock to eventually show up (haven't seen any availability of any model there yet).



Yea, I'm just going to wait and see where about these AMD cards land. We should start seeing some stock by the end of October I'm guessing. Nvidia as well as all the AIB's are in full production.

Nvidia and all of their partners said they had the normal amount of stock on hand for launch, it's just record demand. Nvidia Stock price should be going up lol.

pyroth309
Visionary
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