NVIDIA doesn’t deny that it cannot supply enough graphics cards to its assemblers due to the overwhelming demand they receive, but they say a large part of this problem is due to Samsung not sending them. enough chips to work. The company admits there are limits beyond supplying chips, so the shortage issue is actually more complicated than it initially appeared.
The NVIDIA GPU shortage is more complicated than it looks
“We have our own supply restrictions and those of third parties, and these go beyond what we see in terms of wafers and silicon.”Colette Kress, CFO of NVIDIA, said at Credit Suisse’s annual technology conference. “We continued to work on our supply during the quarter, however we believe that demand will likely exceed supply in the fourth quarter for games in general.”
NVIDIA’s chief financial officer did not disclose what other components are in short supply, or the nature of those limitations. PC makers have previously complained about the complex logistics inherent in this and have even warned that they will have to compete for air cargo space with pharmaceutical companies in the coming months (for the COVID vaccine, more than anything) .
For NVIDIA, “games in general” are graphics cards for desktop PCs, GPUs for laptops and SoCs for game consoles like Nintendo Switch or its own Shield console. On the desktop side, it is evident that there are not enough GeForce RTX 3060 Ti / 3070/3080/3090 graphics cards on the market, and since there is no GeForce RTX 30 Series for laptops, these don’t have to be packed in the same bag, yes. It is true that the delivery times of gaming laptops with NVIDIA GPUs are getting longer.
Samsung is partly to blame, but not all
Obtaining additional 8nm wafers from Samsung Foundry is tricky because semiconductor manufacturing capacity is usually booked well in advance and it is not clear whether the contract manufacturer has sufficient spare capacity. to increase production and meet NVIDIA demands overnight. In other words, if NVIDIA has contracted, say, 10,000 wafers per month, Samsung has probably adapted its production to that for months and is no longer able to provide 12,000.
Overall, the company remains optimistic about this shortage of chips and believes its ability to resolve supply issues will pull them out of the quagmire they find themselves in. While the restrictions on the availability of RTX 30 Series graphics are still present and will continue for a while (remember the forecast was at least until March of next year), they could reveal more information. on your situation before the end of your fiscal quarter which ends at the end of January.
“We hope that it will probably take a few months for us to reach the demand, but at the moment it is really difficult for us to be able to quantify it ”- Kress said. “We therefore remain focused on trying to continue to market our graphics cards for this important holiday season. Every day things get a little better, but before the end of the quarter we will be able to provide more information.
