Unexpected Restock Of Nvidia 1050 Ti Selling Out Fast

The thought-to-be-discontinued Nvidia 1050 Ti has found an unexpected renaissance in Australia and the United Kingdom. While the 2016 graphics card is in no way cutting edge, it can still maintain decent frame rates in 1080p games. Many speculate the short supply, and high price tags of modern graphics cards inspired the return of the classic card.

YouTube channel Tech YES City asked several Australian retailers and manufacturers why 1050 Ti cards suddenly showed up in stock almost five years after initial production. Tech YES City got a response from Asus, who are again manufacturing their “Asus Phoenix” model 1050 Ti after a multi-year pause and their official “end of life” run of cards happening years before.

Asus told Tech YES City that while the last time they sold the card, the listing was “end of life,” the card was never formally retired. A similar story comes from the United Kingdom retailer Overclockers, which is currently listing a Palit GTX 1050 Ti StormX 4GB for £188.99.

PC Gamer uncovered that on the Overclockers website the Palit 1050 Ti was listed as no longer available in November last year, and that it returned sometime in January 2021 for £149.99. On the website, the card is designated for “UK and Ireland only due to high demand.”

One through-point between the Australian and UK resurgence of the 1050 Ti is the price point. Compared to the ultra-powerful and super-expensive new Nvidia 3000 series of graphics cards, the slightly dated 1050 Ti is impressively affordable. For 1080p resolution games, the 1050 Ti will deliver a satisfactory experience more times than not.

By reopening production on the 1050 Ti, Nvidia and partners may be tapping into a market alienated by the $1000-plus, 4K, VR-ready cards of today. No matter the company’s intention, the result is that gamers looking for a balanced, budget graphics card now have a great option that won’t send you spiraling into debt.