After years of supply shortage, increased demand, and surging costs, PC builders can now rejoice. As a result of the recent crypto crash that has left the market in shambles, graphics cards prices are finally dropping to more affordable levels. Nature is, as they say, healing.
According to a report by Digital Trends, the prices of both AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards are on the decline, with newer cards become notably cheaper. NVIDIA’s RTX 3090Ti, for instance, is now at 16 percent under MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price), while AMD’s RX 6950 XT has fallen four percent below MSRP.
In comparison, NVIDIA’s lower-end GPUs are still suffering from inflation. The RTX 3060 and 3060 Ti are sitting at more than 10 percent higher than their intended prices, but AMD’s equivalent are seemingly unaffected, with the RX6600 and RX 6600 XT falling 20 percent and seven percent below MSRP respectively.
This latest analysis also notes that the price of an AMD graphics card is, on average, eight percent below MSRP, unlike its NVIDIA counterparts, which are around two percent higher than their intended prices each. While these prices will vary between markets, the downward trend certainly marks an overall improvement — and what a massive one it has been.
The pricing for some of NVIDIA’s best GPUs peaked at around 300 percent of MSRP in May 2021, and it was projected earlier this year that it’ll continue to rise throughout 2022. AMD cards were subjected to the soaring cost last year as well, hitting a peak of above 200 percent.
The price drop, as mentioned earlier, can be attributed to the current cryptocurrency crash, but supply chain improvements play a role too. Having grown used to the GPU shortage, this feels like a dream come true, and it comes at an apt time — both AMD and NVIDIA are set to release the next generations of graphics cards later this year, so we might see the prices of the RDNA2 and RTX 3000 line-up continue to drop.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
