Nvidia revives RTX 3060 and 3050 GPUs amid global memory shortage

Facing a worldwide shortage of high‑speed GDDR7 memory, GPU manufacturers have brought back Nvidia's older Ampere‑based cards. Asian assembler Manli quietly released refreshed versions of the GeForce RTX 3060 and RTX 3050, using slower but cheaper GDDR6 chips. The RTX 3060 is offered with 12 GB of memory at a base price of $299.99, while the RTX 3050 comes with 6 GB at $239.99, targeting budget‑conscious gamers and entry‑level AI users. The move sidesteps the costly production of newer Ada Lovelace and Blackwell GPUs, which require the scarce, faster memory. Industry analysts note that the RTX 3060 remains the most used graphics card on Steam, and the RTX 3050 holds a strong market position, making the revived models attractive despite being five‑years old.