Demand for Nvidia's RTX 30 series graphics cards has outpaced availability to an astounding degree, and finding the enormous GPU at market price is almost impossible. But shrewd gamers in the market for a comprehensive upgrade may be able to snag a tower featuring Nvidia's rare card and at a slight discount, no less.
Nvidia has publicly apologized for its mishandling of the RTX 3080 launch, with the Founder's Edition selling out of their online storefront virtually instantaneously. It is suspected that scalpers employed bots to quickly buy out the stock of all available cards. Users' criticism of the fiasco has prompted Nvidia to stop selling Founder's Edition cards through its own storefront, which seems to lack the cyber security measures to keep bots and automated purchasers at bay.
Users searching for the card are receiving eBay and Amazon availability alerts for 30 series cards reaching up to four-thousand dollars. PC enthusiasts who don't mind purchasing a pre-made machine however, can find a tower featuring an RTX 3080 at a much more reasonable asking price, though they should likely act quickly if they are interested. Alienware is currently offering its Aurora R11 desktop at the slight discount of $1,861.99 with the coupon "50OFF699," which, while admittedly steep, is still far cheaper than scalpers' offerings.
The Aurora R11 tower is normally available for $1,910, and features solid gaming specs apart from the GPU. The rig boasts a Core i7-10700 CPU, 8GB of ram, and a 1TB rpm HDD. The case also features impressive airflow and easy access for upgrading components. The Aurora also consistently ranks highly among mid-to-high tier gaming PCs. Given the likelihood of the RTX 30 series shortages continuing into next year, an all-in-one solution is likely an appealing option for many gamers looking to upgrade over the holidays.
Desperate gamers with no need for the tower may even consider buying the tower for the card itself, though this would be an extreme option. The unprecedented scarcity of Nvidia's new cards has led prospective customers to get creative in their war against scalpers. Certain card hunters have resorted to using false eBay accounts to disrupt the illicit card trade, or create false listings that inform people of the reason behind the tremendous price hikes.
There is something to be said for holding out until Nvidia's RTX 30 series availability returns to normal as well. Gigabyte accidentally revealed a memory-boosted series of RTX cards are in the works, and given the importance of graphics memory in rendering 4K textures, the boost is definitely something to consider. Though given how abruptly 30 series cards have been selling out, they are likely to be elusive as well.
Alienware Aurora R11 desktops are now available in North America.
Source: Tom's Guide