Calloo callay, it's a special day to be a Canadian PC gamer. Especially if you're a Canadian PC gamer who lives within spitting distance of one of the 16 towns and cities with a Best Buy store taking delivery of a shipment of new Nvidia RTX 30-series graphics cards.
There are many reasons to want to live in Canada, and Best Buy has just announced another one. On its blog (via HardwareCanucks) Best Buy says it will today be "offering a limited number of GeForce RTX Series graphics cards in-store only at select Best Buy locations."
It's going to be a question of queuing up at the different Best Buy locations across Canada before they open, obviously adhering to any necessities of social distancing, taking a ticket and buying a new GPU. It's a one card per person / per household deal, and you'll know if you're getting a shiny new Ampere graphics card even before the store opens.
"We’ll have as many tickets as graphics cards available at each store," reads the post, "which means if a customer gets a ticket, they will be guaranteed the opportunity to purchase a graphics card inside the store once the store opens on the day of the sale."
What Best Buy does say is there is no guarantee the card you want will definitely be available at that store. It is still going to be receiving limited quantities of the popular GPUs, and selection will vary depending on the store itself.
The following Best Buy stores have been pegged for the card drop today, so check the store opening times by clicking on the links to see when you'll need to get in line for a card. Any card you can find, by the sounds of it.
- Calgary: Deerfoot Meadows Shopping Centre
- Edmonton: Edmonton South
- Victoria: Uptown
- Kelown: Orchard Park
- Vancouver: Cambie
- Winnipeg: St. James
- Dartmouth: Dartmouth Crossing
- Halifax: Washmill Lake Drive
- Ottawa East: Coventry Road
- Oakville: Winston Park Retail Centre
- North York: Downsview
- Sudbury: Marcus Dr
- Toronto: Bay & Dundas
- Windsor: Walker Road
- Montreal: Marche Central
- Montreal: Centreville
- Regina: Prince of Wales Dr.
It's going to be a scrum no matter what happens, but my advice would have to be that even if you do end up at a Best Buy with a golden ticket in your hand, don't just buy any graphics card you can find. Make sure it's one you actually want, and don't just spend thousands on a GeForce RTX 3090 because it's the only one around.
There doesn't seem to be an equivalent blog on the Best Buy US site unfortunately, so there doesn't seem to be a way to find out about new drops that way Stateside. But if you're in Canada, and miss out this time, it's another place to keep an eye on with Best Buy's Canadian blog.
