Farewell to the Nvidia RTX 2060, the 2nd most popular gaming GPU
Sleep well, sweet prince
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We’re deeply sad - heartbroken, even - to report that it looks likeNvidiais sunsetting theRTX 2060, long considered one of the best budget graphics cards ever made.
Recent reports seen on Chinese tech websiteMyDriversappear to indicate that Nvidia has stopped supplying its vendors in Asia with RTX 2060 chips (as well as the upgradedRTX 2060 Superand RTX 2060 12GB), as well as requesting that its production and sales partners limit supply of the cards by the end of November.
It might be more than three years old now, but we’re looking rather wistfully at the departure of the 2060 family. Thesegraphics cardswere incredible: sensibly priced with sound performance, introducing many budget games to the magic of Nvidia’s DLSS tech as well as ray-traced graphics.
We weren’t the only ones who appreciated this budget GPU. Even today, the RTX 2060 is the second most popular GPU amongSteamusers, as per the most recentSteam Hardware Survey. The number one spot is held by the GTX 1060, another stellarcheap graphics card.
Why is Nvidia putting the RTX 2060 to sleep now?
It’s difficult to speculate regarding the reasoning behind Nvidia’s decision to end the RTX 2060’s life, but it’s most likely a move to push out the RTX 3000-series stock we know the GPU giant still has knocking about.
The xx60 and xx50 versions of Nvidia GeForce GPUs are typically much more popular than Team Green’s crazy-expensive flagship cards - like the recently launchedRTX 4090. Looking at the survey results, the top ten most-used cards are all xx60 or xx50 budget variants, with the exception of the excellent midrangeRTX 3070in seventh place.
This really shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who hasn’t been living in a deep-sea cavern for the past few years. The cost-of-living crisis is squeezing our wallets, deepening the gulf between the wealthy and poor, and the simple fact is that right now most gamers can’t afford to drop $1,000+ on a GPU.
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TheRTX 4080is proving to be a particularly pertinent example of this. In the UK, where skyrocketing energy bills and food prices are wreaking havoc on the finances of people all across the country, we’ve seendistinctly more stock availabilitythan in the US. The average PC gamer doesn’t have hundreds of pounds to spend, so we’re all left sitting with our trusty RTX 2060s.
A new dawn for budget GPUs - we hope
Nvidia’s planned wind-down of the RTX 2060 will clear the path for (hopefully) less expensive Lovelace GPUs like theRTX 4060and the newly-rumoredRTX 4050. Let’s face it: these are the cards people actually want, provided they’re not so absurdly priced as the currently-available RTX 4000 cards.
It’s mildly depressing to see Nvidia andAMDengaged in an apparent race to the top when it comes to GPU pricing. AMD has long provided solid budget alternatives to Nvidia’s cards, but its recent unveiling of itsnew Radeon GPUsleft us wanting more - or, more accurately, wanting fewer digits on the price tags. The RTX 2060 first launched at a very respectable $329 (£300/AU$599); today, you can pick one up for around $250.
If you’re still rocking an old GPU that desperately needs upgrading, have no fear: the RTX 2060 will likely remain on shelves for months to come while Nvidia shakes its remaining stock out of its shirtsleeves.
In fact, this news means there’s a very good chance that we’ll see some serious discounts on older RTX GPUs thisBlack Friday, so we’d heartily recommend you keep an eye out for the best graphics card deals withour handy guide.
Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to go dig out our old office RTX 2060 and cradle it gently while listening to R.E.M.’s ‘Everybody Hurts’.
Christian is TechRadar’s UK-based Computing Editor. He came to us from Maximum PC magazine, where he fell in love with computer hardware and building PCs. He was a regular fixture amongst our freelance review team before making the jump to TechRadar, and can usually be found drooling over the latest high-end graphics card or gaming laptop before looking at his bank account balance and crying.
Christian is a keen campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and the owner of a charming rescue dog named Lucy, having adopted her after he beat cancer in 2021. She keeps him fit and healthy through a combination of face-licking and long walks, and only occasionally barks at him to demand treats when he’s trying to work from home.
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