There may be some relief on the horizon for PC gamers, with a new rumored claim Nvidia Will re-release the RTX 3060 GPU. Graphics cards, SSDs, and other components have seen rapidly rising prices recently as RAM becomes harder and more expensive for consumers and manufacturers alike to obtain. Now, if leaks are to be believed, Nvidia, one of the biggest players in the PC gaming space, may soften the blow by relaunching a more affordable option.
Getting new, high-end hardware for gamers hasn't been easy lately. As the global RAM shortage sends shock waves through the PC parts supply chain, with some retailers listing RTX 5090 GPUs for $3,000 and up, all signs point to even bigger increases on the way. Nvidia hasn't made an official comment on the matter, but there are plenty of rumors about what's going on behind the scenes. The latest one may offer an unexpected ray of hope for PC builders at an otherwise trying time.
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The leaker claims that Nvidia will re-release the RTX 3060 in early 2026
On January 5, PC hardware leaker hongxing2020 released a brief but promising claim that Nvidia will bring back the RTX 3060 in Q1 2026. Nvidia discontinued the RTX 3060 GPUs in late 2024, nearly three years after the line came out. The card was popular both before and after the discontinuation, and while it may not offer the kind of performance that the newer 40 and 50-series GPUs do, its price, which starts at $330, is for many a welcome change in a sea of sky-high price tags. That affordability, and the use of older, less AI-influenced memory, makes sense for a re-release, though there's been no official confirmation, and hongxing2020 didn't provide further details.
Despite the lack of specifics, hongxing2020's statements carry some weight, considering the leaker's history of accurate claims. In the past, they correctly leaked Nvidia's RTX 5050 to be released in July 2025. They also predicted a delay for the 50 Super series of GPUs, which appears in light of the fact that Nvidia has confirmed that it will not show any new GPUs at CES 2026. Relaunching public sales can help the company maintain public sales in 2025 and even better sales in 50060. Favors despite rising RAM prices, especially amid rumors that Nvidia will cut production on its 50-series GPUs to account for costs.
If Nvidia revives the 3060, the GPU won't be completely immune to the rising costs of RAM, as it still needs memory affected by the shortage. However, it uses DDR6 instead of the more expensive DDR7 and, notably, uses much less RAM than Nvidia's new series of graphics cards. According to the most recent Steam Hardware Survey, the RTX 3060 8GB is the most popular GPU today, and that's far behind the 8GB 50-series, which can use as much as 32GB of VRAM. Even if the re-released 3060 comes with a higher price tag than it did back in 2021, those lower specs mean it will still be much cheaper to produce than a 50-series or 40-series alternative.
The move will make sense beyond catering to price-conscious consumers. Rising RAM costs also affect companies like Nvidia, with Samsung reportedly charging manufacturers double for DDR5 because it reserves more of its memory production for AI use. Focusing on making lower-spec GPUs could help Nvidia lower its costs to help it weather the storm. Of course, the 3060's return is just a rumor for now, so gamers will have to wait and see how things play out.
- Date of establishment
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April 1, 1993
- Headquarters
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Santa Clara, California, USA
- CEO
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Jensen Huang
- Subsidiaries
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Mellanox Technologies, Cumulus Networks, NVIDIA Advanced Rendering Center
