AMD is pretty busy at the moment. Not only does it have its new line of Zen 3 processors and Radeon RX 6000-series GPUs, but it’s also supplying components for both the Xbox Series X and Sony PlayStation 5.
So it’s perhaps unsurprising that, as with the Nvidia RTX 3000-series of graphics cards, people wanting to get their hands on a Big Navi card at launch might want to be quick off the mark.
- AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT benchmarks revealed — and RTX 3080 should be worried
- Nvidia RTX 3080 vs AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT: Which graphics card will win?
- PLUS: PS5 and Xbox Series X have arrived a year too early — here's why
The latest warning comes from an ASUS representative on the Sweclockers Forums. Responding to a question about how much stock there would likely be, he painted a worrying picture which should be familiar to anyone who’s tried to buy high-profile hardware at launch in 2020.
“It will be quite limited I think that it will sell out quickly,” the representative wrote (via Google Translate). “More RX6800, less 6800XT ... as with basically all graphics cards now, we expect that everything will be gone in a few minutes so you need to hang on the lock.
“Then it is 1-2 weeks later until we start delivering our Partners cards, too early to say what the supply looks like there, but the demand will probably continue to be great.”
On one level, this isn’t surprising at all. Hyped new hardware is almost always in short supply, but especially in 2020 when coronavirus is disrupting supply chains and strict social distancing measures need to be observed.
All PS5 and Xbox Series X stock was snapped up almost instantly, as was Nvidia’s first batch of RTX 3000-series GPUs, leading to some weird cases where people got sent unboxed, battered versions. Given AMD’s new cards offer performance in a similar ballpark to Nvidia’s latest at a cheaper price, it would be pretty weird if they weren’t in huge demand.
But on the other hand, the hints had previously suggested that AMD wasn’t anticipating any serious supply issues. While no official statements have been forthcoming, the company’s chief architect of gaming solutions tweeted “I look forward to taking your $10” in reply to somebody betting that “AMD will be a paper launch.”
Either way, if you’re keen to get AMD’s new GPU in your gaming PC, we wouldn’t recommend hanging around. That means getting up bright and early on November 18 if you fancy a Radeon RX 6800 ($579) or RX 6800 XT ($650) – or on December 8 if you’re hankering after a $999 Radeon RX 6900 XT.
