Nvidia has announced that the desktop version of their RTX 3050 “entry-level” GPU will be available on January 27 for $249, prompting PC gamers all over the world to begin looking for ways to beat the scalpers and purchase one of these new GPUs before they enter the second-hand markets.

When and where to score an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 at launch

To be quite honest, the previous history of video game-related technology implies that obtaining an RTX 3050 at launch or anytime soon will be extremely tough. With the rise of bot accounts meant to get around security measures and buy new equipment in bulk, as well as current global shortages of critical hardware components, it’s more difficult than ever to get a good deal on new technology right out of the gate. While there has been much discussion about how to resolve these challenges, the truth is that we are no closer to “normalcy.” There will be a scarcity of RTX 3050 graphics cards.

The situation isn’t completely hopeless, though. While the odds are stacked against any honest PC gamer looking for a low-cost GPU update, there are a few things you can do to improve your chances of getting an RTX 3050.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050: Where and How to Buy

While it’s not sure as of yet, the chances of purchasing an RTX 3050 at launch from a retailer are really slim, this is still a “can’t win it if you’re not in it” situation. As a result, anyone interested in purchasing an RTX 3050 as soon as possible should, if they haven’t already, open an account with most of the big computer shopping sites.

To be more specific, these are the primary sites to keep an eye on if you’re looking for an RTX 3050 graphics card.

Amazon

Best Buy

Walmart

Nvidia

Newegg

B&H

Micro Center

Those in the UK should keep an eye on the Scan and Overclockers websites, as they appear to be some of the more dependable sources for restocks and initial shipments in that region.

According to what we’ve heard and observed so far, no big shops are allowing users with premium membership plans preferential access to the RTX 3050. While having a premium membership to one of the retail sites we mentioned above will obviously help (assuming you have or want a membership to one of those sites for different reasons), your best bet is still to go to those sites when the 3050 launches and keep refreshing until you (hopefully) manage to get one in your cart.

On that topic, it appears that most shops haven’t built up “placeholder” sites for the RTX 3050 yet, and that won’t happen until the device is introduced.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050: Restock Updates on social media

People are increasingly turning to social media networks for (relatively) timely product restocking updates. While these communities are obviously not a “perfect” answer to this problem, we’ve compiled a list of the best we’ve found across many platforms.

Twitter

Falcodrin Stock Alerts

The Stock Supply

GPU Restock Monitor

Matt Swider

Twitch

Falcodrin

These are, of course, just a handful of the numerous dedicated replenishment communities and accounts that exist. If you start probing around on different platforms, you’ll probably find hundreds more (but you’ll need an invite to join most Discord servers and some other restock groups).

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050: Price, Specifications, Release time & date

Below is a quick rundown of some of the most important features you should know about the RTX 3050 before it goes on sale.

Nvidia RTX 3050 MSRP: $249

Nvidia RTX 3050 Release Date: 27^th of January, 2022

Nvidia RTX 3050 Release Time: Not Known (many Nvidia GPU launches happen at 6:00 AM PST/9:00 AM EST on launch day)

Nvidia RTX 3050 Specs

Memory 8GB GDDR6

Shader performance (TFLOPS) – 9

RT performance (TFLOPS) – 18

Tensor performance (TFLOPS) – 73

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050: Performance

We can only go on the data offered by Nvidia in its keynote, which is essentially a comparison to earlier GTX cards, though Nvidia did supply some real figures to work with.

According to Nvidia, the RTX 3050 has 18 TFLOPS of ray tracing performance, 73 TFLOPS of tensor performance, and 9 TFLOPS of shader performance.

It will also enable DLSS and real-time ray tracing, but the latter is unlikely to be particularly impressive on its own.

To be honest, the biggest benefit you’re likely to see is from DLSS. And at $249, the extra frame rate bump is well worth it, especially if you’re upgrading from a GTX 50-series card.