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A December 2020 report attributed to Igor’s Lab predicted that Nvidia would show an RTX 3060 around CES 2021 and launch an RTX 3080 Ti after February 17. The products were real, but the forecast was not: Nvidia announced the desktop RTX 3060 on January 12, 2021 and released it on February 25, while the RTX 3080 Ti did not arrive until June 3.
What the December 2020 rumor claimed
Contemporary coverage by Tom’s Hardware described an unconfirmed Igor’s Lab report about a reshuffled Ampere schedule. Nvidia had not confirmed the dates or specifications.
- The RTX 3060 was reportedly moved into the CES 2021 slot that had been associated with the RTX 3080 Ti.
- A 12GB RTX 3060 was said to be possible around CES or early January, with a possible 6GB version later in January.
- The RTX 3080 Ti was reportedly postponed until after the Chinese New Year holiday, meaning after February 17, 2021.
- The leak discussed a possible 20GB GDDR6X RTX 3080 Ti and a CUDA-core count that could match the RTX 3090.
Those were leak details, not an Nvidia roadmap. “After February 17” also described a window, not a guaranteed February release date.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsWhat Nvidia announced in January
Nvidia officially announced the desktop GeForce RTX 3060 on January 12, 2021. Its announcement listed a $329 starting price, 12GB of GDDR6 memory and availability in late February. The announcement is documented in Nvidia’s news release.
#1 Best Overall
- Powered by the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture and DLSS 4
- Powered by GeForce RTX 5060
- Integrated with 8GB GDDR7 128bit memory interface
- PCIe 5.0
- WINDFORCE cooling system
That January event was an announcement, not retail availability. The desktop card was a board-partner product rather than a standard Nvidia Founders Edition model. Laptop RTX 3060 GPUs were a separate product category and should not be confused with this desktop launch.
When the RTX 3060 actually launched
Nvidia said the desktop RTX 3060 became available at 9 a.m. Pacific time on February 25, 2021, through its board partners. The company’s release notice is at GeForce RTX 3060 is out now.
The final desktop launch centered on one 12GB GDDR6 configuration. The rumored 6GB/12GB split did not become the standard desktop RTX 3060 launch described by Nvidia. The $329 figure was a starting price, not a guarantee that partner cards would remain in stock at that amount.
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The RTX 3080 Ti missed the February window
Nvidia did not announce an RTX 3080 Ti in February 2021. It introduced the card on May 31 during its Computex announcements and began availability on June 3. Nvidia’s event page records the schedule at Computex 2021 announcements.
Rank #2
- NVIDIA Ampere Streaming Multiprocessors
- 2nd Generation RT Cores
- 3rd Generation Tensor Cores
- Powered by GeForce RTX 3060
- Integrated with 12GB GDDR6 192-bit memory interface
The launch price was $1,199. Nvidia’s final product used 12GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit interface, according to its RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti announcement. The separate out-now notice confirmed June 3 availability.
Therefore, the rumored 20GB configuration was not the specification of the retail RTX 3080 Ti. The card was delayed by several months rather than cancelled.
Rumored specifications versus final products
| Product | December 2020 report | Nvidia-confirmed result |
|---|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 3060 desktop | Possible 12GB model around CES or early January; possible 6GB model later in January. Timing was unconfirmed. | Announced January 12, 2021; released February 25, 2021. 12GB GDDR6. $329 starting price. |
| GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | Possible release after February 17, 2021; reportedly 20GB GDDR6X and potentially RTX 3090-level CUDA count. | Announced May 31, 2021; released June 3, 2021. 12GB GDDR6X, 384-bit interface. $1,199 starting price. |
Why the schedule may have changed
The report presented the move as part of Nvidia’s evolving Ampere launch schedule. In the wider market, RTX 30-series demand was exceptionally high, supply was constrained, AMD’s Radeon RX 6000 family was competing for performance and price positions, and Nvidia had to place products between the RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 3080, RTX 3090 and competing Radeon cards.
However, Nvidia did not publicly establish one specific cause for the RTX 3080 Ti’s later release. The available record does not prove that Chinese New Year, shortages or AMD competition individually caused the delay; they remain context around an unconfirmed reshuffle.
Rank #3
- Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
- Video Memory: 12GB GDDR6
- Memory Interface: 192-bit
- Output: DisplayPort x 3 (v1.4a) / HDMI 2.1 x 1.Avoid using unofficial software
- Digital maximum resolution: 7680 x 4320
How to read the headline in context
“Rumored to launch” was appropriate for the December 2020 story because neither schedule had official confirmation. In hindsight, “launch” also hides an important distinction:
- RTX 3060: announced January 12, then shipped February 25.
- RTX 3080 Ti: announced May 31, then shipped June 3.
A January reveal was not a January retail release, and a report saying “after February 17” was not proof of a February launch. These historical dates refer to 2021, not current product availability.
Verdict
The rumor got the broad product lineup right: Nvidia was preparing both an RTX 3060 and an RTX 3080 Ti. It missed the practical details that matter to buyers. The RTX 3060 was announced in January but reached stores in late February, and the RTX 3080 Ti launched in June rather than February. Its reported 20GB memory specification also did not match the final 12GB retail card.
The original prices—$329 for the RTX 3060 and $1,199 for the RTX 3080 Ti—are historical launch prices. They should not be treated as current 2026 retail or used-market prices without checking a live listing, warranty status, seller reputation and power requirements.
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