GeForce RTX 3090 Blower GPUs Vanish Into Thin Air

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By Zhiye Liu
last updated

Now you see them, now you don't.

GeForce RTX 3090 Aero 24G
GeForce RTX 3090 Aero 24G (Image credit: MSI)

Update 03/05/2021 9:00pm PT: Galax has confirmed to us that the GeForce RTX 3090 24GB Classic is effectively EOLed. The company has no further comment.

Original Article:

Following a report of Gigabyte canceling its GeForce RTX 3090 Turbo, other graphics card manufacturers have also delisted their GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards with blower designs.

In an age with fancy shrouds and flashy RGB lighting, graphics cards with blower designs are hard to find. But as old as it may be, this kind of cooler still has a place in modern systems, especially those SFF builds where the graphics card's heat needs to be expelled out the back rather than circulating inside a cramped case. But system integrators had found another use for the GeForce RTX 3090 blower models, which could be the main reason this cancellation.

A previous report from China claims that system integrators were incorporating Gigabyte's GeForce RTX 3090 Turbo into their server products. It certainly wasn't good for business, at least from Nvidia's perspective. The chipmaker might not have been too happy finding out that vendors are preferring the GeForce RTX 3090 over some of its more luxurious models, such as the A100 or some other Quadro offering. GeForce and Titan graphics cards aren't designed for servers or data centers, but system integrators have found the GeForce RTX 3090's traits to be too attractive from a price-to-performance standpoint.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Blower GPUs

Swipe to scroll horizontally
VendorModelHeader Cell - Column 2
AsusTurbo GeForce RTX 3090Row 0 - Cell 2
EmtekGeForce RTX 3090 24GB Blower EditionRow 1 - Cell 2
GalaxGeForce RTX 3090 24GB ClassicRow 2 - Cell 2
GigabyteGeForce RTX 3090 24GB TurboRow 3 - Cell 2
MSIGeForce RTX 3090 24GB AeroRow 4 - Cell 2

News outlet VideoCardz has noticed that other manufacturers, including Asus, MSI and Galax have also removed the product pages for their respective GeForce RTX 3090 blower designs. Galax has reportedly confirmed to the publication that it has canceled the GeForce RTX 3090 24GB Classic, and the GeForce RTX 3080 Classic as well. No reasons were given as to why the brand retired a graphics card that has been on the market for only two months.

Asus, on the other hand, has only disbarred the Turbo GeForce RTX 3090. The company is still offering the Turbo GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3070 blower cards, so not all is lost. However, it's still a hit to gamers who want to put together a SFF system with a GeForce RTX 3090 blower design. There might still be some leftover stock of the graphics cards on the market though.

We've reached out to the different vendors to see if they can provide some insight on the cancellations.

Zhiye Liu
Zhiye Liu
RAM Reviewer and News Editor

Zhiye Liu is a Freelance News Writer at Tom’s Hardware US. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

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17 Comments Comment from the forums
  • TechyInAZ
    That is so unfair to system builders, if workstation users find the 3090 is all they need, they shouldn't have to sacrifice extra money to get it in the form factor they want.
    Reply
  • AtrociKitty
    There might still be some leftover stock of the graphics cards on the market though.
    Talk about wishful thinking.
    Reply
  • gfg
    "There might still be some leftover stock of the graphics cards on the market though."
    THERE IS NO STOCK ANYWHERE OF ANY RTX3000 .... AND DO YOU THINK THAT THERE MAY BE? OMG THOMSHARDWARE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Reply
  • TCA_ChinChin
    Yeah, there isn't really stock for any RTX 3000 series card, let alone the blower cards that are rare to begin with.
    Reply
  • bigdragon
    Blower cards exist in the 30-series? I saw them get announced in the past, but I don't recall any of them ever get listed for sale. Obviously, zero in stock ever too.

    State of play: Nvidia and AIB GPU products occasionally get listed for sale, but gamers are more likely to hit the lottery than acquire one. AMD and AIB GPUs get listed at the old scalper prices. The current scalper prices are double what they used to be.

    Terrible time to be a PC gamer. I wonder when Epic, Valve, Blizzard, EA, Activision, Take Two, Ubisoft, and friends are going to start feeling the pinch from their customers not being able to acquire hardware.
    Reply
  • Phaaze88
    bigdragon said:
    I wonder when Epic, Valve, Blizzard, EA, Activision, Take Two, Ubisoft, and friends are going to start feeling the pinch from their customers not being able to acquire hardware.
    They won't, because people will go where it's more convenient.
    CoD Mobile, anyone?
    :vomi:


    Do you guys not have phones?
    Reply
  • MarsISwaiting
    Meh , If it really has a market , some one for sure will make a blower cooler for RTX 3090 and profit from it. It is not that hard to make.
    Reply
  • spongiemaster
    MarsISwaiting said:
    Meh , If it really has a market , some one for sure will make a blower cooler for RTX 3090 and profit from it. It is not that hard to make.
    They're not being discontinued because they are hard to make. Nvidia reportedly doesn't want businesses and researchers using 3090's instead of the much more expensive professional lines. I doubt the professional lines are seeing the same scalping/mining issues the gaming cards are, so probably a smart business move to stop gaming gpu's entering the professional markets.
    Reply
  • Phaaze88
    spongiemaster said:
    They're not being discontinued because they are hard to make. Nvidia reportedly doesn't want businesses and researchers using 3090's instead of the much more expensive professional lines. I doubt the professional lines are seeing the same scalping/mining issues the gaming cards are, so probably a smart business move to stop gaming gpu's entering the professional markets.
    But aren't those folks the ones with the best use case for the 3090/Titan cards - the Poor Man's Quadro, at the cost of certificate and driver support?
    Reply
  • Sparrow556
    Admin said:
    Graphics card manufacturers have reportedly discontinued their GeForce RTX 3090 GPUs with blower designs.

    GeForce RTX 3090 Blower GPUs Vanish Into Thin Air : GarageBand
    That can be good in the right scenario – like a small form-factor PC case, where you can’t afford to have that hot air swirling around internally, or heavyweight multiple-GPU builds – but they aren't as good at keeping the GPU cooler, and the graphics card is noisier with a blower solution.
    Reply