How badly do people want a standalone graphics card even though modern integrated GPUs offer decent performance and media playback capabilities? Apparently a lot, as discrete GPU vendors are resurrecting their ancient entry-level products and returning them to store shelves. 

CFD (via Hermitage Akihabara), a store in Japan, has restarted selling Gigabyte’s Nvidia GeForce GT 1030 (GV-N1030D4-2GL) graphics cards, which were originally launched in 2017 and disappeared from stores in 2019 ~ 2020. A Japanese retailer restarting sales of an outdated product isn’t normally too interesting, but along with CFD, some of Amazon’s partners also restarted selling the GeForce GT 1030 products recently. 

The GV-N1030D4-2GL AIB is a low-profile, single-slot adapter carrying Nvidia’s GP108 GPU (the Pascal architecture, 384 CUDA cores, 14LPP) and 2GB of DDR4 memory with a 64-bit interface. It also has an HDMI 2.0b output for modern 4Kp60 displays and a DVI-D connector for legacy monitors. 

The GT 1030 Low Profile D4 2G card is without any doubt an entry-level product, but it features Gigabyte’s Ultra Durable-badged components that are supposed to be long-lasting, something that is required for small form factor systems that can be used for years for various commercial or office purposes.  

Interestingly, Gigabyte’s Nvidia GeForce GT 1030 even supports an OC mode that increases its base clock from 1151 MHz to 1177 MHz and its boost clock from 1379 MHz to 1417 MHz. 

From a performance point of view, Gigabyte’s GT 1030 Low Profile D4 2G should be significantly behind modern integrated GPUs from AMD and Intel. But it can certainly do the job if someone needs to repair or upgrade a legacy PC or just add another 4Kp60 display output to a modern system. 

Nvidia and its distributors probably have quite a few GP107 and GP10 graphics processors left since the GPU developer never made small entry-level chips based on its Turing architecture. The smallest GPU in the Turing family — the TU117 — has a die size of 200 mm2, which is quite large for low-end AIBs that are supposed to be cheap. By contrast, the GP108 is 70 mm2 or 74 mm2, whereas the GP107 is 132 mm2. That said, expect more entry-level Pascal products to emerge in the coming months.  

CFD sells Gigabyte’s Nvidia GeForce GT 1030 (GV-N1030D4-2GL) graphics card for ¥12,100 including tax ($100 without tax). Some of Amazon’s partners offer this card in the U.S. for around $200. When launched in 2017, a GeForce GT 1030 board cost around $80.