NVIDIA 3000 Series Launch & Micro Center FAQ!

TSTonyV

ray_d said:

hi what will the deal be with waiting outside in the morning, when will we be able to get in line?

JohnH said:

How will the voucher system work?
will the website show what stock will be available for a particular store before Thursday morning?

Still waiting on specifics re: the voucher system. As for stock, I expect the listings to go up in the morning before the store opens, I'm not sure if they will be posted on Wednesday or not. 

greentea

WillI be able to Online purchase for instore pickup on the day of release? Speaking for Brooklyn Stores.

DrutypeR

I just came back from Microcenter here in MD, they told me that its FCFS, no vouchers. Line up outside and hope for the best. 

greentea

WillI be able to Online purchase for instore pickup on the day of release? Speaking for Brooklyn Stores.

TSTonyV

greentea said:

WillI be able to Online purchase for instore pickup on the day of release? Speaking for Brooklyn Stores.

We will not have reservations available for the cards on release, it will be first come first served. 

BolognaBruh

umgoblue007 said:

Any idea if a Z390 motherboard and/or a Intel Core i9-9900K (5.0 GHz Turbo) (16-Thread) (8-Core) 3.6 GHz CPU will be good enough to handle the 3090 card?  I just bought a new custom rig earlier this year and thinking about getting a new graphics card.  

The CPU would be good enough for the card, but the board is limited to PCIe 4.0. I would strongly recommend upgrading to ryzen, and getting an x570 board with PCIe4.0. I believe that PCIe3.0 will be a bottleneck if you want to get the max out of that card. 

BolognaBruh

Any updates on what the procedures will be for the launch of these cards? I was told that Micro Center would be receiving an update from corporate on monday about procedures to be followed, and that these procedures would likely be posted here on Monday. 

Syldee99

BolognaBruh said:

Any updates on what the procedures will be for the launch of these cards? I was told that Micro Center would be receiving an update from corporate on monday about procedures to be followed, and that these procedures would likely be posted here on Monday. 

I’m with you on that my friend, we’re two days away from release and I feel like we should have the info by now. I’ve been stressing all week about making sure I do the best I can to ensure a 3080. So hopefully waiting from midnight to open is a good idea

Syldee99

How does the voucher system work? 

BolognaBruh

Syldee99 said:

BolognaBruh said:

Any updates on what the procedures will be for the launch of these cards? I was told that Micro Center would be receiving an update from corporate on monday about procedures to be followed, and that these procedures would likely be posted here on Monday. 

I’m with you on that my friend, we’re two days away from release and I feel like we should have the info by now. I’ve been stressing all week about making sure I do the best I can to ensure a 3080. So hopefully waiting from midnight to open is a good idea

haha yep, I planned on getting back from my classes, eating quickly, then sleeping from 6pm-11pm, then waking up and driving there haha. 

Digitalhen

BolognaBruh said:

Syldee99 said:

BolognaBruh said:

Any updates on what the procedures will be for the launch of these cards? I was told that Micro Center would be receiving an update from corporate on monday about procedures to be followed, and that these procedures would likely be posted here on Monday. 

I’m with you on that my friend, we’re two days away from release and I feel like we should have the info by now. I’ve been stressing all week about making sure I do the best I can to ensure a 3080. So hopefully waiting from midnight to open is a good idea

haha yep, I planned on getting back from my classes, eating quickly, then sleeping from 6pm-11pm, then waking up and driving there haha. 

I'm too old for this s***! haha. Good luck to you if you're getting there before midnight 

John_Hammersley

lol im gonna have a few battery packs with and some food

Davesterdave

TSTonyV said:

Davesterdave said:

Did we ever get an answer will the store carry the new cards on launch I would like to know please! 

We will have the AIB cards from manufacturers like EVGA, ASUS, MSI, etc... on launch day, but we will NOT carry Founders Edition cards. 

varsityplayer said:

How fast will you sell out of the RTX 3080? I have a doctor's appointment until 10:30, do you have any idea on how long the RTX might last in the store?

Assuming we do stick with a voucher system, the cards could all be spoken for before we actually open. At the very least I would expect them to sell out almost immediately. I think some people may be overestimating how many of these cards we'll actually have. We're not going to have all the shelves just lined with 3080s ready and waiting, it'll take some time for supply and demand to equalize and stock is going to be limited at the very beginning. Shanks said:

I have a 2070 S paired with a Ryzen 7 3700x and I use a 1440p 165hz monitor, do you think it's worth the upgrade to 3080 get the most out of my monitor? Or should I just stick with the 2070 S?

Well, does your GPU do everything you need it to right now? That's the question I'd be asking.

"Worth it" is pretty relative in my opinion. It's not like when the 3080 drops your 2070 Super is suddenly going to perform worse. I'm considering the 3080 (or a similar AMD competitor if RDNA2 turns out to be really solid) but it's not like I need to upgrade. I just like new shiny things   

If you make a habit of playing graphically intense titles, then it could certainly be worth it, especially if you play games that support RTX and want that experience. But if you're playing stuff that's lighter, and/or doesn't support RTX, I would ask myself "is this ACTUALLY going to give me the improvement I'm looking for?"

TSTonyV said:

Davesterdave said:

Did we ever get an answer will the store carry the new cards on launch I would like to know please! 

We will have the AIB cards from manufacturers like EVGA, ASUS, MSI, etc... on launch day, but we will NOT carry Founders Edition cards. 

varsityplayer said:

How fast will you sell out of the RTX 3080? I have a doctor's appointment until 10:30, do you have any idea on how long the RTX might last in the store?

Assuming we do stick with a voucher system, the cards could all be spoken for before we actually open. At the very least I would expect them to sell out almost immediately. I think some people may be overestimating how many of these cards we'll actually have. We're not going to have all the shelves just lined with 3080s ready and waiting, it'll take some time for supply and demand to equalize and stock is going to be limited at the very beginning. Shanks said:

I have a 2070 S paired with a Ryzen 7 3700x and I use a 1440p 165hz monitor, do you think it's worth the upgrade to 3080 get the most out of my monitor? Or should I just stick with the 2070 S?

Well, does your GPU do everything you need it to right now? That's the question I'd be asking.

"Worth it" is pretty relative in my opinion. It's not like when the 3080 drops your 2070 Super is suddenly going to perform worse. I'm considering the 3080 (or a similar AMD competitor if RDNA2 turns out to be really solid) but it's not like I need to upgrade. I just like new shiny things   

If you make a habit of playing graphically intense titles, then it could certainly be worth it, especially if you play games that support RTX and want that experience. But if you're playing stuff that's lighter, and/or doesn't support RTX, I would ask myself "is this ACTUALLY going to give me the improvement I'm looking for?"

Okay so will there be a voucher system I opened a micro center credit card just for this release? 

BolognaBruh

Digitalhen said:

BolognaBruh said:

Syldee99 said:

BolognaBruh said:

Any updates on what the procedures will be for the launch of these cards? I was told that Micro Center would be receiving an update from corporate on monday about procedures to be followed, and that these procedures would likely be posted here on Monday. 

I’m with you on that my friend, we’re two days away from release and I feel like we should have the info by now. I’ve been stressing all week about making sure I do the best I can to ensure a 3080. So hopefully waiting from midnight to open is a good idea

haha yep, I planned on getting back from my classes, eating quickly, then sleeping from 6pm-11pm, then waking up and driving there haha. 

I'm too old for this s***! haha. Good luck to you if you're getting there before midnight 

Never too old to want the latest and greatest! That just means you have more experience . And that is my plan, so thank you. I worked 46 hours a week to save up for this launch, so if I have to wait 10 hours, you bet yourself that I will. 

TSTonyV

Davesterdave said:

TSTonyV said:

Davesterdave said:

Did we ever get an answer will the store carry the new cards on launch I would like to know please! 

We will have the AIB cards from manufacturers like EVGA, ASUS, MSI, etc... on launch day, but we will NOT carry Founders Edition cards. 

varsityplayer said:

How fast will you sell out of the RTX 3080? I have a doctor's appointment until 10:30, do you have any idea on how long the RTX might last in the store?

Assuming we do stick with a voucher system, the cards could all be spoken for before we actually open. At the very least I would expect them to sell out almost immediately. I think some people may be overestimating how many of these cards we'll actually have. We're not going to have all the shelves just lined with 3080s ready and waiting, it'll take some time for supply and demand to equalize and stock is going to be limited at the very beginning. Shanks said:

I have a 2070 S paired with a Ryzen 7 3700x and I use a 1440p 165hz monitor, do you think it's worth the upgrade to 3080 get the most out of my monitor? Or should I just stick with the 2070 S?

Well, does your GPU do everything you need it to right now? That's the question I'd be asking.

"Worth it" is pretty relative in my opinion. It's not like when the 3080 drops your 2070 Super is suddenly going to perform worse. I'm considering the 3080 (or a similar AMD competitor if RDNA2 turns out to be really solid) but it's not like I need to upgrade. I just like new shiny things   

If you make a habit of playing graphically intense titles, then it could certainly be worth it, especially if you play games that support RTX and want that experience. But if you're playing stuff that's lighter, and/or doesn't support RTX, I would ask myself "is this ACTUALLY going to give me the improvement I'm looking for?"

TSTonyV said:

Davesterdave said:

Did we ever get an answer will the store carry the new cards on launch I would like to know please! 

We will have the AIB cards from manufacturers like EVGA, ASUS, MSI, etc... on launch day, but we will NOT carry Founders Edition cards. 

varsityplayer said:

How fast will you sell out of the RTX 3080? I have a doctor's appointment until 10:30, do you have any idea on how long the RTX might last in the store?

Assuming we do stick with a voucher system, the cards could all be spoken for before we actually open. At the very least I would expect them to sell out almost immediately. I think some people may be overestimating how many of these cards we'll actually have. We're not going to have all the shelves just lined with 3080s ready and waiting, it'll take some time for supply and demand to equalize and stock is going to be limited at the very beginning. Shanks said:

I have a 2070 S paired with a Ryzen 7 3700x and I use a 1440p 165hz monitor, do you think it's worth the upgrade to 3080 get the most out of my monitor? Or should I just stick with the 2070 S?

Well, does your GPU do everything you need it to right now? That's the question I'd be asking.

"Worth it" is pretty relative in my opinion. It's not like when the 3080 drops your 2070 Super is suddenly going to perform worse. I'm considering the 3080 (or a similar AMD competitor if RDNA2 turns out to be really solid) but it's not like I need to upgrade. I just like new shiny things   

If you make a habit of playing graphically intense titles, then it could certainly be worth it, especially if you play games that support RTX and want that experience. But if you're playing stuff that's lighter, and/or doesn't support RTX, I would ask myself "is this ACTUALLY going to give me the improvement I'm looking for?"

Okay so will there be a voucher system I opened a micro center credit card just for this release? 

At this point I don't know. I've updated the first post with the updated FAQ, but we've gotten no confirmation one way or the other on a voucher system. I can only assume this is probably handled on a case-by-case basis at each individual store and we have no definite answer at this point. 

Just be aware that initial stock on these cards will be very limited. 

JMarc

BolognaBruh said:

umgoblue007 said:

Any idea if a Z390 motherboard and/or a Intel Core i9-9900K (5.0 GHz Turbo) (16-Thread) (8-Core) 3.6 GHz CPU will be good enough to handle the 3090 card?  I just bought a new custom rig earlier this year and thinking about getting a new graphics card.  

The CPU would be good enough for the card, but the board is limited to PCIe 4.0. I would strongly recommend upgrading to ryzen, and getting an x570 board with PCIe4.0. I believe that PCIe3.0 will be a bottleneck if you want to get the max out of that card. 

Even the rtx 4080 whenever that comes out won't be able to saturate the PCIe 3.0 lanes, please don't give bad info, the 9900k on Z390  won't be your bottleneck. He also forgot to mention no AMD cpu exists that can get better frames than a 9900k. Core per core for gaming Intel is still above AMD.

https://www.techspot.com/community/topics/do-you-guys-think-pcie-3-0-will-bottleneck-the-3080-ti-big-navi.262554/

Syldee99

How does the voucher system work exactly? I’d it an in person thing or online?

MustyGus

Quick question, will the store have Founder's Edition cards available for purchase on launch day? Or will the store only be selling AIB models?

looking4a3090fe

On the 24th, will the Rockville, MD location open up on normal business hours, or will it open up earlier because of the 3090 launch? Will there be any 3090's there at all, even if they're limited? I'm trying to decide whether to go to that Mircro Center location that's an hour and a half drive for me, or go to Best Buy on the 24th that's only a 10 minute drive from me. Also is it true, no founders edition for the 3090? If so, what versions of the 3090 will be sold at Rockville, MD location? I'd like to google them before buying them if I can't get the FE

SethHarrison

Has anyone chatted with a Denver Microcenter customer rep. about card availability? I am planning on texting them tomorrow but would like to spare them the time if someone already has an idea on stock.

JohnH

Tony has been very helpful on these boards, however my local Microcenter, which is 60 miles away in Tustin CA, was unhelpful regarding ANY information. I asked about any voucher system, rough estimate of stock, if any staff will be there early in the morning to regulate the line, If stock will reflect on the website before Thursday, etc... all I was told is I should probably come as early as possible and just hope for the best. I’ve only had good experiences with my microcenter over the years but I’m disappointed with the lack of information dissemination. Microcenter won’t be getting my business this round unfortunately.

SethHarrison

JohnH said:

Tony has been very helpful on these boards, however my local Microcenter, which is 60 miles away in Tustin CA, was unhelpful regarding ANY information. I asked about any voucher system, rough estimate of stock, if any staff will be there early in the morning to regulate the line, If stock will reflect on the website before Thursday, etc... all I was told is I should probably come as early as possible and just hope for the best. I’ve only had good experiences with my microcenter over the years but I’m disappointed with the lack of information dissemination. Microcenter won’t be getting my business this round unfortunately.

Hey John, in all fairness to Microcenter, it seems info is lacking everywhere in regards to this launch. 

BolognaBruh

JMarc said:

BolognaBruh said:

umgoblue007 said:

Any idea if a Z390 motherboard and/or a Intel Core i9-9900K (5.0 GHz Turbo) (16-Thread) (8-Core) 3.6 GHz CPU will be good enough to handle the 3090 card?  I just bought a new custom rig earlier this year and thinking about getting a new graphics card.  

The CPU would be good enough for the card, but the board is limited to PCIe 4.0. I would strongly recommend upgrading to ryzen, and getting an x570 board with PCIe4.0. I believe that PCIe3.0 will be a bottleneck if you want to get the max out of that card. 

Even the rtx 4080 whenever that comes out won't be able to saturate the PCIe 3.0 lanes, please don't give bad info, the 9900k on Z390  won't be your bottleneck. He also forgot to mention no AMD cpu exists that can get better frames than a 9900k. Core per core for gaming Intel is still above AMD.

https://www.techspot.com/community/topics/do-you-guys-think-pcie-3-0-will-bottleneck-the-3080-ti-big-navi.262554/

While there is a good chance you are right on PCIe 4.0 not giving a performance increase, Zen 3 is still coming out this year. Zen 3 very well could win single threaded performance while maintaining higher core counts. I personally think that the extra bandwidth of PCIe 4.0 could offer a small performance increase, and if I was spending $1500 on a graphics card, I would want to squeeze every ounce of performance out if it that i could. 

bbnn

TSTonyV said:

Davesterdave said:

Did we ever get an answer will the store carry the new cards on launch I would like to know please! 

We will have the AIB cards from manufacturers like EVGA, ASUS, MSI, etc... on launch day, but we will NOT carry Founders Edition cards.

will microcenter carry the Top tier models for AIBs? personally looking for evga's ftw ultra. contacted our local MC and they've informed me they have no idea what model they will have on stock tomorrow. which is kinda weird...

JMarc

BolognaBruh said:

JMarc said:

BolognaBruh said:

umgoblue007 said:

Any idea if a Z390 motherboard and/or a Intel Core i9-9900K (5.0 GHz Turbo) (16-Thread) (8-Core) 3.6 GHz CPU will be good enough to handle the 3090 card?  I just bought a new custom rig earlier this year and thinking about getting a new graphics card.  

The CPU would be good enough for the card, but the board is limited to PCIe 4.0. I would strongly recommend upgrading to ryzen, and getting an x570 board with PCIe4.0. I believe that PCIe3.0 will be a bottleneck if you want to get the max out of that card. 

Even the rtx 4080 whenever that comes out won't be able to saturate the PCIe 3.0 lanes, please don't give bad info, the 9900k on Z390  won't be your bottleneck. He also forgot to mention no AMD cpu exists that can get better frames than a 9900k. Core per core for gaming Intel is still above AMD.

https://www.techspot.com/community/topics/do-you-guys-think-pcie-3-0-will-bottleneck-the-3080-ti-big-navi.262554/

While there is a good chance you are right on PCIe 4.0 not giving a performance increase, Zen 3 is still coming out this year. Zen 3 very well could win single threaded performance while maintaining higher core counts. I personally think that the extra bandwidth of PCIe 4.0 could offer a small performance increase, and if I was spending $1500 on a graphics card, I would want to squeeze every ounce of performance out if it that i could. 

I don't base giving informational advice on "could be" or "maybe" or worse "rumors". I try to base it on facts...

Fact#1: Already been tested PCIe 3.0 will not bottleneck any 3000 series card, maybe even the 4000 and above as the 3080 was barely using 65% of the available bandwidth.

Fact #2: Zen 3 is a rumor, or at best unannounced hype, anything not finalized or worse anything you can't buy right now is irrelevant. No one is going to buy a GPU and wait until god knows when to use it, they want to use it with what they have available right now. Also see my comment above about how much I value rumors.

Even if it comes from the dragon's mouth like the 3080 giving you 100% fps increases over the 2080ti as we saw today (from actual benchmarks) manufacturers can't be trusted this is true of both Nvidia AMD and Intel. 

That said I still think the 3080 is incredible value for money for what you get and yes I will be buying one.

SethHarrison

This is the response I received from Denver Microcenter about stock for tomorrow if it is helpful for anyone.

TSTonyV

Syldee99 said:

How does the voucher system work exactly? I’d it an in person thing or online?

We don't know at this point. Best I can say is that it's being handled by stores individually. I have no confirmation one way or another, what information we have is what is in the FAQ. 

JohnH said:

Tony has been very helpful on these boards, however my local Microcenter, which is 60 miles away in Tustin CA, was unhelpful regarding ANY information. I asked about any voucher system, rough estimate of stock, if any staff will be there early in the morning to regulate the line, If stock will reflect on the website before Thursday, etc... all I was told is I should probably come as early as possible and just hope for the best. I’ve only had good experiences with my microcenter over the years but I’m disappointed with the lack of information dissemination. Microcenter won’t be getting my business this round unfortunately.

I understand your concerns, we just don't have a lot of information to give. Believe me, all of us would love to be able to tell everybody as many exact details as possible, but we don't have that available to us. I know it doesn't feel great on your guys' end but we're doing the best we can with what we have. 

bbnn said:

TSTonyV said:

Davesterdave said:

Did we ever get an answer will the store carry the new cards on launch I would like to know please! 

We will have the AIB cards from manufacturers like EVGA, ASUS, MSI, etc... on launch day, but we will NOT carry Founders Edition cards.

will microcenter carry the Top tier models for AIBs? personally looking for evga's ftw ultra. contacted our local MC and they've informed me they have no idea what model they will have on stock tomorrow. which is kinda weird...

I don't know what models we'll have, but I've definitely read things online suggesting that the top-end models will be delayed a bit, which would be unfortunate. 

Sulo

I know it's difficult to give specifics on something like this, but how early do you believe someone needs to show up to try to secure a card at any given retail store?

qwertytheasdf

I know you mentioned to check the local store's site for stock. Around what time do you expect the site to be updated? If stock can also be posted, this may give us a better indication on who may be able to get a card vs who will miss out while lining up (better than voucher system).

Catdag123

So for the cards is it just going to be a first come first serve based on a line that'll form outside, or will there be vouchers given out. If it is first come first serve, will there be a separate line for 3080 buyers, when we walk in how do we get the cards asap.