Due to the unprecedented GPU shortage, queue orders became the new norm over the past year or so for those hoping to acquire a graphics card.
With stock levels now stabilizing, certain manufacturers are starting to end their queue system, particularly for Nvidia RTX 30-series boards.
As reported by Tom’s Hardware, EVGA’s GPU Queue program seems set to be discontinued in the near future. Currently, the company will start by removing specific variants from the initiative, which will begin with its FTW3 models.
An email notified Tom’s Hardware that the GeForce RTX 3080 FTW3 Gaming edition can be purchased without the requirement to wait in the queue system from June 23rd.
Although it’s a step in the right direction that any graphics card model has been confirmed to be exiting the program — something that has been the cause of frustration for millions of gamers — the EVGA Queue system will “continue to be in place for high demand products.”
As such, apart from the GeForce RTX 3080, it’s unclear which other cards will be removed from the queue.
Still, Tom’s Hardware highlights how the more powerful, flagship boards such as the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti and GeForce RTX 3090 could be the next models to leave the initiative due to abundant stock levels; this is due to their expensive price tags, meaning the demand is naturally less than other, more affordable models including the 3060, 3070, and the like.
Elsewhere, VideoCardz notes how individuals can purchase two graphics cards as well moving forward. Because of the GPU shortage, customers would normally be capped to a single GPU per order.
GPU industry continues to show signs of recovery
Today’s dismantling of EVGA’s Queue system follows Nvidia’s Restocked & Reloaded campaign, which confirmed that availability has more or less returned to normal across the board for RTX 30-series GPUs.
Over the past month or so, the crypto mining community and scalpers have been scrambling to get rid of their inventory while they can, with the recent cryptocurrency crash driving prices for products well below the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP).
Within European regions, for example, the days of prices reaching 300% above a GPU’s MSRP are now over — AMD video cards are now 8% below their retail price tag, while Nvidia RTX 30-series boards are just 2% above MSRP.
Meanwhile, the mining community and internet cafes that made an absolute fortune at the height of the crypto bubble, have had to shift gears by offloading all their equipment. The crypto crash means it’s no longer profitable to operate batches of GPUs to mine various coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
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