Until recently, it was almost impossible to find a GPU at MSRP. However, there have been signs that this GPU drought may be ending. According to 3DCenter, GPUs are the cheapest they have been since it started tracking their prices in January 2021 (note: 3DCenter focused on prices in Germany and Austria).
Nvidia RTX 3000 and AMD RX 6000 cards are “just” 25% over MSRP. It doesn’t sound great, but this is the lowest level in the last 15 months. And there are encouraging comments from OEMs and retailers.
3DCenter’s price chart for GPUs over the last 15 months (in Germany and Austria)
Asus told PCGamer that it has already started dropping its MSRPs across all SKUs. It may have done this to gain an advantage over other OEMs, and to secure more orders once the card’s average price drops.
That’s not all, TechRadar spoke with a representative of one of the UK’s biggest retailers, Box, who said “By the end of April, beginning of May, we should start to see things return to a more attractive price.”
Things are looking up in the US as well. Imports from China were subject to taxes during the US-China Trade War. However, GPUs received an exemption. That expired at the beginning of 2021 and brought on a 25% tax. The US has reinstituted the exemption up to the end of the year. This should bring down prices.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Founders Edition and OEM versions
As a result of all this, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Founders Edition launched at $2,000. This number would have been higher if the 3090 Ti launched earlier this year as originally planned. Of course, the 3090 Ti will be the last hurray for the 3000 series and the RTX 4000 generation is on the horizon. Cards that are currently on hand will become less appealing to potential buyers as they get older.
Crypto mining has also affected
GPU pricing. To combat this, Nvidia released GPUs whose mining abilities have been intentionally cut down. The Low Has Rate (LHR), cards initially saw low demand, but this soon increased. This is due to both gamers and crypto miners who believe they can bypass the restrictions on hash rates, according to the Box representative.
Even so, GPU prices are expected to keep falling. This spring could be the most favorable time to purchase a new GPU in over two years.
Source 1 (in German) | Source 2 | Source 3 | Source 4 | Source 5