Charles S.

My first console was Sony’s PlayStation 2. My favorite game was without a doubt SSX, Snowboard Supercross, first released October 26, 2000. You could bomb down insane mountain courses, launch off giant ramps, and do awe-inspiring tricks. The tricks would pile up points in order to earn speed boosts and race at even faster speeds. It was awesome! And if you wanted to race your friend, all you had to do was plug in a second controller and race. Competing in races or trying to score the most points via tricks was so much fun! My second favorite game was James Bond 007: Nightfire, it had awesome one system multiplayer! We had one of those sick multitap multiplayer adapters, which allowed you to plug in up to four controllers. Grab three friends, hop on the couch, fire up a match of 8 player Nightfire, turn on the bots and play! You could run 2v2 with two bots per team, or band together and wreck the bots 4v4. Hours of fun, endless headshots and everyone together in one place having fun. And this was not even peak console co-op.

Eventually it evolved to Xbox and Halo, then Xbox One and more Halo. More kills, same co-op, same friends! But alas, all good things must come to an end. Soon less and less games had couch co-op until it got to the point we are at now. Everyone has their own PC at their own place, the games are still high paced and entertaining but the experience is a little different.

Not worse, not better, just different. I’ll send out the “WZ?” text to my friends, get a couple “Let’s go’s!” shoot off a “Booting!” text and hop online. Fire up the PC, turn on discord and launch Call of Duty: Warzone. Resurgence is the name of the game now, it is by far my favorite Battle Royale style game.

This is mainly due to familiarity with the controls, guns, gameplay experience from years of CoD and the fact that it is both free and supports cross console play. Things we could only dream of as kids. Your friend only has a PlayStation, Xbox or PC? Doesn’t matter anymore, everyone can hop right into the same lobby without a hitch. Which is awesome, no more console wars, everyone united in united servers. In-game voice chat not working? Once again there is now a solution in place, every console has discord. Hop on and join a crystal clear call with none of the issues of in-game chat.

Is it the same as having all your buddies over to play some PS2 in 1st grade? No, but it’s pretty darn close. Plus its extremely convenient, especially as people grow and their lives change. Some of them have moved across the country, they are married, they have kids and are full grown adults with adult responsibilities. They can’t just ride their bikes over anymore, y’know? But the ease and convenience with modern PCs/Consoles and Discord help keeps everyone connected. I’m able to hop on CoD with the same friends from school, catch up and get some W’s!

Do I wish I could fire up Halo when a friend comes over and hop online? Yeah, I do. BRING BACK COUCH CO-OP HALO!!! But that isn’t an option anymore, so I guess we’ll be playing Fifa and 2k instead! And in the meantime, there’s still plenty of ways to play online and stay connected with your friends!

Below you will see five of the absolute best 3090 cards available on the market! They all boast top of the line performance, excellent design and cooling. Check out the ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG STRIX White Edition which is a particular fan favorite around here!

Graphics Processor
GPU Name – GA102
GPU Variant – GA102-300-A1
Architecture – Ampere
Foundry – Samsung
Process Size – 8 nm
Transistors- 28,300 million
Die Size – 628 mm²

Graphics Card
Release Date – Sep 1st, 2020
Availability – Sep 24th, 2020
Generation – GeForce 30
Predecessor – GeForce 20
Successor – GeForce 40
Production – Active
Bus Interface- PCIe 4.0 x16

Clock Speeds
Base Clock – 1395 MHz
Boost Clock – 1785 MHz (+5%)
Memory Clock – 1219 MHz, 19.5 Gbps effective

Memory
Memory Size – 24 GB
Memory Type – GDDR6X
Memory Bus – 384 bit
Bandwidth – 936.2 GB/s

Board Design
Slot Width – Triple-slot
Length – 335 mm, 13.2 inches
Width – 140 mm, 5.5 inches
Height – 56 mm, 2.2 inches
TDP – 350 W
Suggested PSU – 750 W
Outputs – 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
Power Connectors – 3x 8-pin
Idle Fan Stop – Yes
Board Number – PG132 SKU 10

Graphics Features
DirectX – 12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenGL – 4.6
OpenCL – 3.0
Vulkan – 1.3
CUDA – 8.6
Shader Model – 6.6

Render Config
Shading Units – 10496
TMUs – 328
ROPs – 112
SM Count – 82
Tensor Cores – 328
RT Cores – 82
L1 Cache – 128 KB (per SM)
L2 Cache – 6 MB

Theoretical Performance
Pixel Rate – 199.9 GPixel/s
Texture Rate – 585.5 GTexel/s
FP16 (half) performance- 37.47 TFLOPS (1:1)
FP32 (float) performance – 37.47 TFLOPS
FP64 (double) performance – 585.5 GFLOPS (1:64)

Graphics Features
DirectX – 12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenGL – 4.6
OpenCL – 3.0
Vulkan – 1.3
CUDA – 8.6
Shader Model – 6.6

Render Config
Shading Units – 10496
TMUs – 328
ROPs – 112
SM Count – 82
Tensor Cores – 328
RT Cores – 82
L1 Cache – 128 KB (per SM)
L2 Cache – 6 MB

Theoretical Performance
Pixel Rate – 189.8 GPixel/s
Texture Rate – 556.0 GTexel/s
FP16 (half) performance – 35.58 TFLOPS (1:1)
FP32 (float) performance – 35.58 TFLOPS
FP64 (double) performance – 556.0 GFLOPS (1:64)

Graphics Processor
GPU Name – GA102
GPU Variant – GA102-300-A1
Architecture – Ampere
Foundry – Samsung
Process Size – 8 nm
Transistors – 28,300 million
Die Size – 628 mm²

Graphics Card
Release Date – Sep 1st, 2020
Availability – Sep 24th, 2020
Generation – GeForce 30
Predecessor – GeForce 20
Successor – GeForce 40
Production – Active
Bus Interface – PCIe 4.0 x16

Clock Speeds
Base Clock – 1395 MHz
Boost Clock – 1695 MHz
Memory Clock – 1219 MHz, 19.5 Gbps effective

Memory
Memory Size – 24 GB
Memory Type – GDDR6X
Memory Bus – 384 bit
Bandwidth – 936.2 GB/s

Board Design
Slot Width – Triple-slot
Length – 305 mm, 12 inches
Width – 120 mm, 4.7 inches
Height – 57 mm, 2.2 inches
TDP – 350 W
Suggested PSU – 750 W
Outputs – 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
Power Connectors – 2x 8-pin
Board Number – PG132 SKU 10

Graphics Processor
GPU Name – GA102
GPU Variant – GA102-300-A1
Architecture – Ampere
Foundry – Samsung
Process Size – 8 nm
Transistors – 28,300 million
Die Size – 628 mm²

Graphics Card
Release Date – Sep 1st, 2020
Availability – Sep 24th, 2020
Generation – GeForce 30
Predecessor – GeForce 20
Successor – GeForce 40
Production – Active
Bus Interface – PCIe 4.0 x16

Clock Speeds
Base Clock – 1395 MHz
Boost Clock – 1800 MHz (+6%)
Memory Clock – 1219 MHz, 19.5 Gbps effective

Memory
Memory Size – 24 GB
Memory Type – GDDR6X
Memory Bus – 384 bit
Bandwidth – 936.2 GB/s

Board Design
Slot Width – Triple-slot
Length – 300 mm, 11.8 inches
Width – 137 mm, 5.4 inches
TDP – 350 W
Suggested PSU – 750 W
Outputs – 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
Power Connectors – 3x 8-pin
Board Number – PG132 SKU 10

Graphics Features
DirectX – 12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenGL – 4.6
OpenCL – 3.0
Vulkan – 1.3
CUDA – 8.6
Shader Model – 6.6

Render Config
Shading Units – 10496
TMUs – 328
ROPs – 112
SM Count – 82
Tensor Cores – 328
RT Cores – 82
L1 Cache – 128 KB (per SM)
L2 Cache – 6 MB

Theoretical Performance
Pixel Rate – 201.6 GPixel/s
Texture Rate – 590.4 GTexel/s
FP16 (half) performance – 37.79 TFLOPS (1:1)
FP32 (float) performance – 37.79 TFLOPS
FP64 (double) performance – 590.4 GFLOPS (1:64)

Graphics Features
DirectX – 12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenGL – 4.6
OpenCL – 3.0
Vulkan – 1.3
CUDA – 8.6
Shader Model – 6.6

Render Config
Shading Units – 10496
TMUs – 328
ROPs – 112
SM Count – 82
Tensor Cores – 328
RT Cores – 82
L1 Cache – 128 KB (per SM)
L2 Cache – 6 MB

Theoretical Performance
Pixel Rate – 193.2 GPixel/s
Texture Rate – 565.8 GTexel/s
FP16 (half) performance – 36.21 TFLOPS (1:1)
FP32 (float) performance – 36.21 TFLOPS
FP64 (double) performance – 565.8 GFLOPS (1:64)

Graphics Processor
GPU Name – GA102
GPU Variant – GA102-300-A1
Architecture – Ampere
Foundry – Samsung
Process Size – 8 nm
Transistors – 28,300 million
Die Size – 628 mm²

Graphics Card
Release Date – Sep 1st, 2020
Availability – Sep 24th, 2020
Generation – GeForce 30
Predecessor – GeForce 20
Successor – GeForce 40
Production – Active
Bus Interface – PCIe 4.0 x16

Clock Speeds
Base Clock – 1395 MHz
Boost Clock – 1725 MHz (+2%)
Memory Clock 1219 MHz, 19.5 Gbps effective

Memory
Memory Size – 24 GB
Memory Type – GDDR6X
Memory Bus – 384 bit
Bandwidth – 936.2 GB/s

Board Design
Slot Width – Dual-slot
Length – 285 mm, 11.2 inches
Width – 111 mm, 4.4 inches
TDP – 350 W
Suggested PSU – 750 W
Outputs – 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
Power Connectors – 2x 8-pin
Board Number – PG132 SKU 10

Graphics Processor
GPU Name – GA102
GPU Variant – GA102-300-A1
Architecture – Ampere
Foundry – Samsung
Process Size – 8 nm
Transistors – 28,300 million
Die Size – 628 mm²

Graphics Card
Release Date – Sep 1st, 2020
Availability – Sep 24th, 2020
Generation – GeForce 30
Predecessor – GeForce 20
Successor – GeForce 40
Production – Active
Bus Interface – PCIe 4.0 x16

Clock Speeds
Base Clock – 1395 MHz
Boost Clock – 1695 MHz
Memory Clock – 1219 MHz, 19.5 Gbps effective

Memory
Memory Size – 24 GB
Memory Type – GDDR6X
Memory Bus – 384 bit
Bandwidth – 936.2 GB/s

Board Design
Slot Width – Triple-slot
Length – 319 mm, 12.6 inches
Width – 140 mm, 5.5 inches
Height – 58 mm, 2.3 inches
TDP – 350 W
Suggested PSU – 750 W
Outputs – 2x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
Power Connectors – 3x 8-pin
Idle Fan Stop – Yes
Board Number – PG132 SKU 10

Graphics Features
DirectX – 12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenGL – 4.6
OpenCL – 3.0
Vulkan – 1.3
CUDA – 8.6
Shader Model – 6.6

Render Config
Shading Units – 10496
TMUs – 328
ROPs – 112
SM Count – 82
Tensor Cores – 328
RT Cores – 82
L1 Cache – 128 KB (per SM)
L2 Cache – 6 MB

Theoretical Performance
Pixel Rate – 189.8 GPixel/s
Texture Rate – 556.0 GTexel/s
FP16 (half) performance – 35.58 TFLOPS (1:1)
FP32 (float) performance – 35.58 TFLOPS
FP64 (double) performance – 556.0 GFLOPS (1:64)

Those are the specifications for all of these cards. They are top of the line and push out performance never seen before. You could not go wrong with any of these cards. If you like the aesthetics and colors you have to go with one of the MSI or the Asus parts. All the design elements they put in with the coloring and RGB is really top of the line and looks amazing! If you are just looking for next level performance in a sleek design the EVGA cards are bangers too! Grab one from us today and get your game on!

Half-Life is one of the best games of all time. It is a first-person shooter developed by Valve and published by Sierra Studios for Windows in 1998. The game went on to be a massive hit and lead to the creation of the Half-life series. Half-life is centered around Gordon Freeman, a scientist trying to escape the Black Mesa Research Facility after it is invaded by aliens. You progress through the game, fighting enemies with unique weapons and solving complex puzzles.

The most revolutionary part of the game is the player’s ability to explore the world. Most shooters at the time were simple shooting galleries with no real world feel to them. Valve founder Gabe Newell made this a point of emphasis and worked tirelessly to create an immersive experience instead of a more simple game. He also brought in well known writer Marc Laidlaw to assist in the story writing, adding a more compelling narrative than most games developed in that time.

World of Warcraft or WoW, is the most popular MMORPG of all time. At its Zenith in 2017 it peaked with over forty-six million monthly active users. Still hosting almost thirty million players per month right now, WoW is a massive success. Released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment, this game is set in the world of Azeroth, a preexisting location from the Warcraft fantasy universe.

In World of Warcraft players create their own unique character, to explore a massive world full of scenic landscape, terrifying monsters, never ending quests, and other players. WoW brings its players together to complete difficult quests and raid difficult dungeons. It also allows players to fight one another in its player versus player combat. All of this is done while leveling your character up to unlock new magical skills and better items in pursuit of an extremely powerful max leveled character.

Rome: Total War is a real time strategy game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Activision for Windows in 2004. The game is set in ancient Rome from 270 BC to 14 AD, stretching from the rise of the Republican period and delving into the early decades of the Imperial period. When playing you control a Roman family vying for success and control of the area. The gameplay itself is a mix of tactical battles and turn-based strategy. Players work their hardest to manage the economy, government, complex diplomacy and an ever expanding military while working to complete a series of objectives across Europe and Africa.

Let’s start with the bad news: the greatest GPU shortage of the century is continuing to stretch on. The shortage is so bad that in August of this year,  Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said “we will see a supply-constrained environment for the vast majority of next year is my guess at the moment.” Demand is still out-pacing supply, but recently a slight increase of GPU availability has cropped up as GPU’s have been appearing in stores across the US slightly more frequently than at any other point since the RTX 3000 series was announced.

AMD cards, similarly, are becoming more and more available – see our extensive collection of RX 6000 series parts for evidence. Additionally, searching across retailers you can see many more RX 6000 parts available near MSRP than at any point in recent memory. However, the selection is still thin. As is, if you are breaking into PC gaming today you will either need to be prepared to wait for a graphics card you want, or just take the best one available. In this case, you are more likely to find an AMD part but if you wait, you may be able to snag a RTX 3080 near retail in the coming months.

Why does it seem impossible to get a GPU at retail right now? The simple answer: Demand is insane and production has been delayed due to the global pandemic. Since September 2020 when the RTX 3000 series was released, very few have actually been sold and shipped. Additionally, with bots ordering up the limited stock to scalp, the supply is even more constrained and prices skyrocketed. Unfortunately, this has continued to be the case since. Even the new consoles are almost impossible to find at retailers and often must be bought by a third party. Another important factor is the limited chip supply due to confusion at the onset of the pandemic. Many of the chips used for GPU’s are also mass produced for automakers, who feared a pandemic induced decline in purchases so they cut their orders, however auto sales saw almost no slump. This also happened with PC manufacturers who expected a more curbed demand in the tightening economic conditions of the pandemic. Instead they were hit with a huge spike in demand as people started to buy PC equipment to work from home. This massive spike in demand dried up the limited supply of chips and left us where we are now, desperately scrambling to catch up. Unfortunately GPU producers cannot just flip a switch and fix their supply chain, which is severely lacking in several components(like VRAM). So until they are able to get back on track with production and an accurate demand model we are stuck in limbo.

Now for the good news! We are seeing more and more of these parts available from our distributors. We have received more RTX 3000 series parts lately and are hoping to get even more soon. We even have a healthy stock of RX 6000 series parts available right now! Hopefully supply will slowly ease up and we will see if Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was right in predicting such a limited supply. We hope not!