It’s not exactly a secret that graphics card stock is ridiculously short at the moment. It’s even resulting in many exceptionally dated 2nd-hand GPU models currently commanding ridiculously high prices on websites such as eBay. As such, when rumors emerged back in early February that Nvidia was planning to relaunch the 1050 Ti, it frankly made a lot of sense.
It could utilize a lot of outdated chipsets (that was apparently still available in good volumes at Nvidia’s manufacturing centers) while providing consumers with a decent and affordable entry-level graphics solution. In regards to the ‘affordable’ part, however, there we have have just hit upon a pretty notable snag.
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
Coming in a report via PCGamesN, sources are claiming that Nvidia has formally relaunched the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card solely within Japan (at least at the time of writing). Albeit, we should note that in various European markets, there has undoubtedly been a notable gain in 1050 Ti stock levels.
What is notable, however, is that the graphics cards are currently being sold for $210. This is, roughly speaking, about $80 more than their original MSRP back in October 2016 and even in 2nd-hand terms, is double what they were achieving back in late 2019/early 2020.
What Do We Think?
While many perhaps hoped that this move would help alleviate some of the market pressure on current graphics card stock levels and give consumers an affordable entry-level solution, the sad truth appears to be that Nvidia is only (potentially – pending confirmation) relaunching the 1050 Ti because it can produce them at minimal costs and apparently sell them for more than they ever garnered before. In other words, they don’t appear to have done this as any sort of favor to the community.
Does a nearly 5-year old graphics card such as the 1050 Ti really warrant a $200+ price tag though? Well, unless it’s made out of solid gold, in my opinion, no!
What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!
