NVIDIA CEO, Jensen Huang has opted to bend over his more cash strapped customer base in a pitiful attempt to upsell you on his more expensive wares.
The RTX 3050’s 8GB variant has reportedly affected sales of the RTX 4060 to such a great extent, that NVIDIA are now going to discontinue the 8GB model outright.
Instead, they plan to introduce a new version with 6GB of memory, and aligning it with the specifications of its revised mobile variant.
To recap, the RTX 3050 utilizes NVIDIA’s previous generation GA106 graphics core, a cut-down variant of the RTX 3060, featuring 2560 CUDA cores, a 128-bit memory bus, a TGP of around 130W and 8GB of GDDR6 memory rated for 14Gbps.
It closely resembles the RTX 4060 in terms of specifications on paper, NVIDIA’s low-end model for their latest Ada Lovelace series, given how NVIDIA have yet to formally release an RTX 4050 graphics card for the desktop market.
The introduction of an RTX 3050 model with 6GB of memory suggests the possibility of either a 96-bit or 192-bit memory bus, given the nature of NVIDIA as a corporation, there’s a 99.99% chance that they’ll opt toward the shorter memory bus.
The rumor stems from China’s Board Channels, and when translated proclaims the following:
NVIDIA is preparing to make a significant adjustment to the RTX 3050 series products. AIC brand manufacturers have been notified that the production of the RTX 3050 8GB version will be discontinued, and the focus will shift to selling the RTX 3050 6GB version to better meet market demands.
As per details from AIC brand manufacturers, the RTX 3050 8GB version is slated to be gradually phased out as existing inventory is depleted. In its place, the RTX 3050 6GB version is anticipated to be available for purchase, with a potential market release by January.
NVIDIA has made several adjustments to the RTX 3050 series in the past year, including the release of a GA107 core variant with a lower TDP value of 115W, NVIDIA have also provided OEM customers with a stripped down version of the RTX 3050, featuring just 2304 CUDA cores. This decision to discontinue the 8GB variant and introduce a new version with 6GB of memory is a clear deceptive tactic.
NVIDIA’s strategy is to “address market demands” and “refine” their product lineup, but I see through their bullshit, the immense price hikes NVIDIA have brought to the table with the release of the RTX 4000 series which is by far the most overpriced generation to date but seemingly the most stripped down versus what could be possible.
Leave it to NVIDIA to proactively shelve a popular product and make it worse, the reasoning behind the discontinuation is simply due to the fact that not enough shmucks are happy to spend $300+ USD for what’s clearly an entry level product in the form of the RTX 4060 equipped with the AD107 graphics core.
The GeForce RTX 4060 is such a pile of shit that in very rare circumstances it can actually perform worse than the previous generation RTX 3060, that in and of itself are various reasons why consumers are instead opting into buying AMD Radeon for this segment, such as the previous generation RX 6700 / XT which blows the 4060 out of the water in terms of rasterized performance.
Consumers are so unimpressed with the RTX 4060, they’re instead flocking to the vastly inferior RTX 3050 8GB which can be found anywhere from $230-280 USD, marginally cheaper in terms of pricing with just shy of half the actual performance, and yet consumers are still buying it in large enough numbers to warrant these changes.
As both the RTX 3050 (for now) and the RTX 4060 both come equipped with 8GB of VRAM, and to the unsuspecting buyer, having both products priced within $50 of one another with “similar” specifications can be quite confusing.
Which is why NVIDIA are winding down on the 8GB RTX 3050 and instead plan to offer a 6GB variant in its stead, because eight is greater than six.
However in the eyes of those who are somewhat tech savvy and aren’t loyalist retards pertaining to a singular brand, this decision is quite possibly one of the biggest middle fingers NVIDIA have given to their consumers, rather than actually making ADA Lovelace enticing to buy by perhaps dropping its pricing, NVIDIA would rather jump through hoops to simply gimp hardware that’s a generation old.
Especially considering the cries and pleas consumers have had in recent times due to NVIDIA purposefully stifling customers with inadequate amounts of VRAM, unleashing a 6GB product in what’s to be 2024 is beyond laughable in fact it’s spiteful.
Considering the vast performance differences between the RTX 4060 and the 3050 you’d imagine that NVIDIA would have simply discontinued the product outright but apparently not, it was selling and producing immense overheads for the company, however the profiteering has clearly been hindering the margins that otherwise could have been made from the RTX 4060 instead.
NVIDIA could have also opted to announcing a desktop variant of the RTX 4050 to plug the gap but apparently this option was a complete waste of time, rather the best case for the company would be to effectively gimp the existing outdated RTX 3050 by strapping a 6GB ball and chain to it, making the 8GB RTX 4060 much more appealing for just $50 more.
If for whatever reason dumb tech illiterates continue to buy the 6GB 3050, this just means that NVIDIA will be making even more money off each individual sale, and hopefully consumers will spend just that little bit more into buying the latest GeForce generation instead.
It’s a win-win, unless you’re a consumer in which case Jensen Huang demands you turn your head and cough as he whips out the (4090) D.
NVIDIA is reportedly set to introduce the new RTX 3050 6GB model in January, although the specific release date has not been disclosed. The discontinuation of the RTX 3050 8GB variant is expected to coincide with the availability of the new 6GB version.
