Nvidia RTX 3070 will be easier to buy than RTX 3080 — here’s why

(Image credit: Nvidia)

It’s safe to say the launch of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 wasn't a great one, and it's still very hard to get a hold of the powerful graphics card right now. But the upcoming GeForce RTX 3070 could be different.

PC Watch, via WCCFtech, has reported that retailers in Asia will have a “considerably larger” supply of GeForce RTX 3070 cards when they go on sale on October 29. Whether this will be true of non-Asian markets wasn't made clear, but Nvidia has said it will ensure plenty of RTX 3070 cards are available at its release.

Nvidia RTX 3080 vs. RTX 2080 Ti: How much better is it?
PS5 hands-on impressions — here's what we think so far
Just in: AMD Big Navi launch event: How to watch the reveal live

For $499, the RTX 3070 is the price of an Xbox Series X, but promises significantly more graphics power. In fact, it's set to outperform the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, a $999 graphics card that was once the crown jewel in Nvidia’s graphics card lineup.

At this compelling price, the RTX 3070 could bridge the gap between mainstream GPUs and those for high-end gaming PCs, As such, we’d expect it to be very popular indeed with PC gamers. We’re still expecting the RTX 3070 to sell out very fast when it launches, much like the RTX 3080 and even the $1,499 GeForce RTX 3090 did.

Nvidia did delay the release of the RTX 3070 from early October to the end of the month to ensure that it would have more graphics cards available for Nvidia fans. But we’d still be surprised if demand wasn't hugely high.

There is a fly in the ointment here, and it comes in the form of AMD Big Navi and the Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards. Due to be revealed on October 28, Big Navi aims to take on the RTX 3080, while the rest of the new RDNA 2-based Radeon cards could challenge the RTX 3070. If AMD can undercut Nvidia’s cards on price, yet still deliver high-performance GPUs, then it could present a real thorn in the RTX 3000-series’ side.

We’ve only got a few days to go before we see what AMD brings to the graphics card arena. But with the PS5 and Xbox Series X coming in November, new Nvidia GPUs, and Big Navi, this fall is an interesting time for gamers of all variety.

Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face.