If you’re struggling to buy Nvidia’s new graphics cards or AMD’s latest CPUs, don’t give up. The demand for the new PC components is, indeed, insane. However, you can still snag the products—if you’re fast and persistent enough.
This guide simply reflects my own experience. But here’s how I was able to buy an Nvidia RTX 3070 and an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X CPU processor online this week.
Believe it or not, but the major retailers—including Amazon, Best Buy, and Newegg—are gradually receiving and releasing new stock. Unfortunately, units will sell out in minutes. So most of the time, the product listings display as sold out, a discouraging sign for any eager customer.
The key is learning when retailers restock. No normal person has the time to click refresh over and over on the product pages. Thankfully, there are a number of apps and services, such as Distill and OctoShop, that monitor product listings for when the hardware is back on sale.
I used HotStock.io after a number of social media users posted positively about it. The real-time product tracker works like this: Search the item you want to buy, and click “Alert Me.” HotStock will then constantly check the product’s e-commerce pages at Amazon, Best Buy, and Newegg for when it’s back in stock. In exchange, you’ll have to hand over a valid email address to HotStock.io, which can potentially share the info with third-party services.
I ran HotStock by leaving it open on my browser today. And to my surprise, it helped me snag a Gigabyte RTX 3070 from Best Buy, which was restocking the card this morning. The alert from HotStock came in at about 7:50 a.m. PT, prompting me to rush over to BestBuy.com’s product page for the graphics card, and scramble to finish the checkout process. Minutes later, I couldn’t believe my eyes: Best Buy had actually confirmed my order and is now preparing to ship it.
Still, HotStock, which also has a free mobile app, isn’t perfect. At first, the service was giving me repeated false alarms yesterday about AMD’s Ryzen 5000 CPUs. For whatever reason, HotStock was reporting the components in stock at Amazon.com when in reality the retailer had none. The emails alerts from the service also didn’t always go through.
To obtain AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X, I used Reddit as a resource, specifically r/buildapcsales, where users are routinely posting deals on new PC components. That includes when stock is available for in-demand items.
I’ve been constantly checking in on the subreddit, and yesterday users began reporting a restock of the 5800X through bundled deals at Newegg.com. Lucky for me, the restock was still ongoing. However, it took about 30 minutes to secure the product from Newegg’s website. For some reason, the retailer’s default checkout process wasn’t working. When I switched over to using PayPal to complete the payment process, I was finally able to successfully order the CPU.
I don’t have either product in hand, so I can’t declare victory quite yet. But I’m happy to report you can beat the ongoing sales rush and the scalpers, despite news of the supply shortages persisting into next year. On the downside, the product models that appear in stock may not be your first choice. So you may end up like me, and find yourself purchasing a 5800X when you originally wanted AMD’s Ryzen 3 5600X CPU.
If you have other tips on how to score the products, let us know at michael_kan@pcmag.com.
