NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti now expected in May, GPU yields very low

If you were marking on your calendar for when you couldn't buy the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti in April 2021 because there's probably going to be 100 available worldwide -- well, strike that out -- the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is reportedly coming in May instead.

According to sources of ITHome: "NVIDIA internally issued a new announcement that the release time of the next-generation RTX30 series model. The RTX 3080Ti 12G has been delayed again, and it is now expected to be released around mid-May".

But then in the last 48 hours or so I've heard from my sources that GPU yields on the new RTX 3080 Ti are very low, with some supply chain issues causing more problems for NVIDIA and its new GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 30 series SUPER releases. NVIDIA had originally planned its GeForce RTX 3080 Ti for late last year, with December 2020 being the plan -- but low GPU yields and ABF substrate shortages are causing major headaches not only for NVIDIA but AMD.

• Read more: NVIDIA 'indefinitely postpones' new GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card
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ABF or ajinomoto built-up film substrates are a very tiny, but integral part of GPUs and GPUs -- but there has been a major shortage of it in the last 6 months. DigiTimes reported a couple of months ago: "The worsening shortages of ABF substrates are expected to become one of the major woes affecting shipments of new CPU and GPU products at chipmakers in 2021".

The sources at the time added that there have been "unsatisfactory 8nm yield rates" at Samsung, where NVIDIA is having its Ampere GPUs made. My industry sources told me in the last 48 hours that there are continued low GPU yield issues, which are having a direct effect on the coming GeForce RTX 3080 Ti or RTX 3080 SUPER, or whatever cards in between.

• Read more: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti teased again: 12GB of GDDR6X, April release