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GPU Shortage Tracker Shows Grim Hardware Upgrade Outlook

The GPU Shortage Tracker reveals a bleak outlook for hardware upgrades as graphics card availability remains severely limited and prices continue to climb well

Someone’s tracking the GPU shortage fallout and it’s getting rough for anyone planning hardware upgrades.

The RTX 50 series launch basically flopped - no Super cards coming, limited stock on 5070Ti/5080/5090. Nvidia’s apparently bringing back the RTX 3060 just to fill the gap. Meanwhile RAM prices went nuts, with 128GB DDR5 kits hitting $1,460 (https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ram/newegg-bundles-usd1-460-128gb-ddr5-ram-kit-with-usd50-starbucks-gift-card-drink-coffee-while-you-game-retailer-says-as-memory-hits-rtx-5080-pricing). Storage costs also jumped.

Their takeaway: if you’ve already got decent hardware for LLMs or homelabs, baby it. No clear upgrade path for at least 3 years given these prices and availability issues.

Basically treat existing gear like gold - regular backups, good cooling, surge protection. Building a new rig right now means either paying ridiculous markups or waiting indefinitely. The “just upgrade later” strategy doesn’t work when later costs 2-3x more than it should.