Both NVIDIA and AMD GPUs are currently experiencing shortages, making it hard for gamers to get their hands on their latest cards. Luckily, we can at least expect more supply for the reference card versions from AMD soon.
In a VR-centric interview with BabelTechReviews, AMD briefly touched on its plans to improve its GPUs’ availability for gamers. “Based on the response to our AMD Radeon RX 6800 Series and Radeon RX 6900 XT reference design graphics cards, we are extending production to make them available to as many gamers as possible on AMD.com at SEP,” AMD said. “Additional reference cards are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2021. We will also continue supporting our partners in the development of their custom AMD Radeon™ RX 6000 Series graphics card designs.”
The reference cards are priced at US$579 (~RM2,349), US$649 (~RM2,633), and US$999 (~RM4,052) for the the RX 6800, RX 6800 XT, and RX 6900 XT respectively.
Originally, sales of the RX 6000 series reference cards were meant to stop from early 2021. However, AMD walked back on its decision in December 2020 and said that the designs will continue to be sold “indefinitely”, citing popular demand.
AMD’s plans to provide more reference card supply in Q1 2021 have existed since at least January, when The Verge reported that the company “expects to sell more of its own reference design RX 6800, RX 6800 XT and RX 6900 XT cards on its own website in the first quarter of 2021” at sticker prices. As with BabelTechReviews, AMD told The Verge that it planned to make the cards available “to as many gamers as possible”, but whether that equates to an avoidance of another paper launch situation remains to be seen.
