Yesterday one manufacturer let me know that they had hoped to get the GTX 400 series in stock by April 2nd; talking to a few more today though it seems that this is the date NVIDIA will be shipping stock to its partners.

The latest date for retail is April 12th; with that said supply could swing either way as we know that companies are going to want to get the model out there as soon as possible. While the “delayed” retail date is April 12th there doesn’t seem to be any paperwork tied into this date. So what that means is if the cards come in earlier companies will be able to sell them earlier.

At the moment it looks like Europe and the USA could be waiting the longest from purely a logistical stand point; with the cards shipping out of ASIA you’ll see places like Hong Kong and China get soon after that April 2nd date. From there you’ll see places like Australia get stock due to the distance from ASIA not being all that far. Finally stock will arrive on US and Europe soil.

Since most companies tend to talk US; as in US $ and US time frame we figure the April 12th date is the US date for stock to arrive and probably a worst case scenario.

You have to remember as well it’s not just a matter of getting the card and then shipping to its distribution channel; these companies have to pack the cards and prepare the package which also takes time.