The most affordable desktop GPU under NVIDIA’s new RTX 30-series, the new RTX 3060, will be going on sale starting 25th February 2021. Launched in January 2021, the new GPU comes with 12GB of GDDR6 memory, along with improved ray-tracing performance and support for DLSS as well as NVIDIA’s RTX apps. The company had announced the GPU with a price tag of just $329, marking it as one of the bargain options because of the value it would bring at that low price. However, if you have been planning to get one, chances are that you might end up paying a lot more.

The NVIDIA RTX 3060 cards might end up selling for about $600 (€499) and above as per certain retailers in Europe. Spotted by Videocardz user The Determinator and WhyCry, customers should prepare themselves for a more expensive ride as they might have to pay almost double the amount for the upcoming GPU when it hits stores next week.

NVIDIA cannot force retailers to have a fixed price, but it does place an expectation on them to sell the initial stock as MSRP. Apparently, retailers, who have been given stocks of the new graphics card to fulfill pre-orders, are canceling these pre-orders, consequently leaving buyers with no option but to purchase at increased prices. The most expensive RTX 3060 would be the Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Twin Edge, which is listed at €689 or ~$835, making it almost three times the original launch price. Even certain retailers in Pakistan are selling the RTX 3060 for about $750, which is surprising as the GPU hasn’t officially released yet in the country.

The GPU market has been extremely volatile since the second half of 2020, with growing demands forcing GPU makers to work overtime. Notably, the demand is not just restricted to gamers as the booming crypto market has also attracted a large number of miners investing in new hardware. A few days back, we had reported that NVIDIA is hoping to address the increased demand for graphics cards by releasing stock of its older GPUs- the GTX 1050 Ti and the mid-range RTX 2060. Although, we have our doubts as that would only cater to a small portion of the demand.

If it helps, we do maintain our NVIDIA GPU restocking guide, so check that out to see if you have any reasonably priced options available.