Why You Can Trust CNET Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 and 3080: Check for inventory restocks at Best Buy, Newegg and more
Are either of the middle cards in Nvidia's RTX 3000 series in stock anywhere? We're keeping tabs on inventory to help you find a new GPU.
If the crypto miners are all chasing after the flagship GeForce RTX 3090 and budget-minded gamers are buying up the entry-level GeForce RTX 3060, could that mean one of the middle children in Nvidia's latest graphics processor lineup -- the RTX 3070 or RTX 3080 -- stand a better chance at being found in stock? As much as I want to answer my own hypothetical question in the affirmative, reality says no. As with every other RTX 3000 series graphics card, the GeForce RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 cards are currently out of stock everywhere. You'll have the same rotten luck trying to find one of AMD's new Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs.
Your luck could change, however, in the coming weeks. As it did earlier with its RTX 3060 card, Nvidia is limiting the hash rate of its higher-end RTX cards to discourage crypto miners from buying the cards to get them in the hands and PCs of gamers. According to Nvidia, the new cards will begin shipping in late May and will be branded as "Lite Hash Rate" or LHR cards. These cards will throttle back performance if they detect that you're mining using the Ethereum algorithm, but will run at full speed for games.
The RTX 3070 is priced at $499, and the RTX 3080 is priced at $699. Both cards offer good bang for the buck. You'll pay significantly more than list price, however, for any RTX 3070 or 3080 that you find in stock right now, whether from a reseller on Amazon or an auction site like eBay or StockX.
If you are willing to wait, you might luck into finding a card at or closer to its list price. To help improve your luck, bookmark this page and check the links below to RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 product pages at Best Buy, Newegg and B&H. You won't find anything in stock for either the RTX 3070 or RTX 3080 at the moment, but these retailers have a number of product listings from Nvidia and its partners -- Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and others -- for the new cards.
Where can you find a GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card in stock and not outrageously priced? We're tracking inventory for it and its RTX 3080 sibling.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 (starts at $500)
Here are your best bets for finding the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 at national retailers.
As with other vendors, the baseline RTX 3070 starts at $500 at Best Buy. But as of this publication, the retailer has nothing in stock.
Newegg has numerous listings for RTX 3070 cards, including some packages that include a motherboard. Pricing starts at $500 but nothing is currently in stock.
B&H has RTX 3070 product listings that start at $620 but nothing in stock at the moment.
Additional reseller options (at higher prices): Amazon | eBay | StockX
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 (starts at $699)
Same story as above. Best Buy has product pages for the RTX 3080 starting at its list price of $700 but everything is out of stock.
Newegg has many listings for RTX 3080 graphics cards, including bundles that include a motherboard. Again, not a single one is currently in stock.
As with the RTX 3070, B&H has a handful of high-priced, out-of-stock RTX 3080 options.
Additional reseller options (at higher prices): Amazon | eBay | StockX
In addition, keep an eye on Nvidia's site to check inventory for the new cards. You can also sign up for Discord's Stock Informer and get alerts on your phone when a card is in stock. You'll have to act fast when a notification appears -- there are currently more than 50,000 Stock Informer members -- but it will let you keep your finger on the next-gen GPU pulse.