What you need to know
- Graphics cards are in short supply all over the world.
- Amid said shortages, companies such as NVIDIA are still releasing new cards in limited capacities.
- The release of the RTX 3080 Ti saw people literally camping outside of Best Buys.
Do you like to camp in the woods amid the serenity of nature, or are you fine with doing it on concrete sidewalks surrounded by folks eager to spend thousands of dollars on graphics cards?
That's the question, and for a lot of folks, the answer is the latter. Thanks to some excellent reporting over on PCMag, we now have a microscopic look at the macroscopic problem of the global graphics card shortage. At a Best Buy in West Los Angeles, the pilgrimage to RTX salvation has been formally documented so that future generations can look back and weep at humanity's 2021 rat race for rare PC hardware.
The article exposes the lengths some people will go to secure RTX cards (in this case, the hot new RTX 3080 Ti) in the current market landscape. One man drove over an hour to reach the Best Buy in question almost 24 hours ahead of time, then plopped himself down and began a day-long wait. That same man, Edward Arciga, was quoted as saying, "people offered to buy our seats. They said, 'We'll give you whatever you want. $2,500 for a seat.'"
The reasons for such desperation are many. Some people hate the idea of giving into scalpers' inflated demands. Others don't want to ruin every day of their lives by fighting bots online. But whatever the reason that brought them to Best Buy, the end goal was the same: To claim an RTX 3080 Ti. Sadly, only 64 units were available, meaning many went home empty-handed.
There's more to the story, so definitely check out the full piece. And if you want more coverage of the graphics card shortage and how various companies are responding to it, be sure to check out our plethora of coverage right here on Windows Central.
