AMD might as well just set the MSRP to $700.
Probably, but they'd also need to hike the MSRP of the 6800 and 6800 XT which would theoretically cost less than a GPU with 25%+ fewer resources across the board. That'd just be a PR nightmare.
Based on the reviews, $480 is about what you'd price this if you wanted it to fall almost perfectly in line with other GPUs on the value curve. Normally we'd expect far better value per dollar at the mid-range and below, but there's absolutely no reason to provide that value right now when there's practically nothing on the market. $480 also probably keeps the AIB cards at least a little bit closer to MSRP, because the 3060 MSRP looks ridiculous by comparison when there's no reference model at that price and the vast majority of AIB cards are closer to $500.
Here's the list of 3060 cards available on Newegg:
| Card | Price |
| ASUS Dual | $330 |
| ASUS Dual OC Edition | $479 |
| ASUS ROG Strix | $550 |
| ASUS TUF Gaming | $520 |
| EVGA XC | $390 |
| GIGABYTE EAGLE | $330 |
| GIGABYTE EAGLE OC | $460 |
| GIGABYTE GAMING OC | $480 |
| GIGABYTE Vision OC | $500 |
| MSI Gaming X | $510 |
| MSI Ventus 2X | $330 |
| MSI Ventus 2X OC | $480 |
| MSI Ventus 3X OC | $500 |
| ZOTAC Twin Edge | $400 |
| ZOTAC Twin Edge OC | $520 |
The funniest thing when looking at them in a table like this is that every single manufacturer that has a card that sells at the official MSRP also has an "OC" version of that card which retails for an extra $100 or more. Even with those $330 cards, the average is still $450, but considering there's an OC version of those cards that doesn't appear to use any different parts, I'll give you two guesses as to how many of those $330 cards are being made.
Take out the $330 cards and the average price jumps another $30 which means that AIB cards are almost a 50% premium over MSRP on average. I looked through the TPU reviews since they have a lot of AIB cards, and while not all of them included pricing details, here's what I was able to find:
| Card | Price |
| AMD Reference | $480 |
| ASUS STRIX OC | ? |
| MSI Gaming X | ? |
| PowerColor Red Devil | ? |
| Sapphire Nitro + | $580 |
| XFX Merc 319 | $570 |
The $100 AIB premium is still higher than usual, but it's not quite as outrageous as the markup seen with the 3060. From what I've read of the reviews, the AIB cards do run cooler, quieter, and with better clocks than the reference model, so it isn't as though they aren't providing any additional value. I also suspect that the inclusion of a reference model may limit what the AIBs can get away with, but who knows how long AMD will want to keep producing and selling those.
Of course it hardly matters what the AIB cards have set as an MSRP because I don't expect to see any of these going for less than the $700 you've suggested as a possible MSRP. A quick glance at eBay shows that the 3060 cards which were so egregiously priced by AIBs are being listed for and selling above that price. I think that even $800 may be too optimistic considering this card is generally better than a 3060 Ti and those are going for over $1000 right now.
Facebook
Twitter