Getting an Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-series graphics card has been a challenge since its release in September 2020. High demand, a lack of global chips, and speculators make any GeForce 30-series all-in-one cards impossible to get at retail prices.
This issue isn’t going away any time soon, as Nvidia warns that the shortage could continue into 2022. If you’re a PC gamer and are looking to upgrade to a new GeForce RTX card, you’ll be disappointed. Even if you do find an RTX card in stock, we feel now is not the time to buy a new graphics card.
But you can do what I did and buy a pre-built PC.
Before gaming PC makers rush to comment, I’m well aware of the aversion some in the PC gaming community have toward pre-built rigs. Some retailers sell them at exorbitant prices and may use lower quality parts. The bloatware that often comes with these rigs isn’t great either. There is also a belief that one should build a computer for themselves to truly understand its inner workings.
Those are all valid points, but I’ve wanted to build a new PC since late last year and got tired of waiting for GeForce RTX cards to become readily available. Ergo, my decision to buy a pre-built PC to get a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti rips without breaking the bank
The initial spark for choosing a pre-built PC came when YouTube recommended a video from Linus Tech Tips in which it reviewed a platform from Build Redux. My research revealed that Build Redux is a service offered by Digital Storm. In business since 2002, Digital Storm has a reputation for building high quality PCs. Build Redux launched last year and garnered the same amount of praise, especially from tech-savvy YouTubers.
You can “build” your computer on the Build Redux website. This includes a selection of computers starting at $1,419 all the way up to $2,483 (there are three options: good, better, better). After selecting a number of games from the list, you are then presented to your potential PC, along with a list of the parts it will contain.
The $2,408 design she made for me was fine, but the GeForce RTX card I chose was an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080. A powerful GPU, but not what I wanted. The same is true for some of the other ingredients.
I went to the Personalization menu and select the individual parts of the GPU, CPU, RAM, Storage, and OS. Choosing a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, Intel Core i7-10700K, 32GB dual-channel DDR4 RAM, 1TB NVMe M.2 + 2TB HDD, and Windows 10, I got a build that came in at $2,901 before adding shipping and taxes.
No more guilt than pre-built
Build Redux only charges $75 to build your PC. The low codec price, quality components, and praise from YouTube tech reviewers were almost enough for me to pull the trigger.
However, I wasn’t happy with the storage options. I had my heart set on a 2TB SSD and didn’t want a standard hard drive. I stopped buying this computer to get feedback from some of my more tech-savvy friends.
A friend directed me to a company called NZXT. He said Build Redux was fine, but that NZXT offers a much broader range of PC components. The $99 mark is higher than Build Redux’s $75 cost, but not by much. Building a PC on NZXT is not inherently the same as building a PC on Build Redux. The main starting point is the wider range of components available, my friend noted.
The NZXT excavator ended up with $3,500. Taxes and shipping have increased by as much as $3,900 (thank you, NYC taxes). Being on lockdown for a long time and not spending money on travel, the price was not out of my budget. I also wanted a computer that worked for at least five years. I can afford a very expensive price.
Here’s what’s inside my new computer:
The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (usually) retails for $1,199. The one on my rig costs $1,399. While this is higher than the MSRP, it is much less than what I would have paid the speculators. All other components, such as the Intel Core i7-11700KF ($399) and Seagate FireCuda 520 2TB SSD ($399), were at or close to MSRP.
I should also note that my computer arrived a week after I ordered it. This was a nice surprise because NZXT said it would take 2-3 weeks (some people had to wait months to get pre-built PCs from all kinds of retailers). I guess luck played a factor in charging my computer pretty quickly, but that doesn’t mean lightning can’t strike twice and others can get lucky too.
The point of this article is not to convince you to buy a pre-built PC, nor is it a classified NZXT advertisement. My primary goal was to discuss a viable option for a GeForce 30-series card. I also wanted to instil that one should not feel guilty about buying a pre-built computer.
While it’s best to build your own, the difficulty of getting a graphics card makes it tempting to buy a pre-built PC. I don’t have an iota of regret for the choice I made and you shouldn’t go down a similar path either.
Buying a pre-built computer isn’t the worst idea in the world — well, it might just be a great idea right now.