Anyone noticed video card prices are going up ?

[pcslookout]

Same video card I bought a few weeks ago is now $30+ more direct from a retailer.

 

[UsandThem]

GPU and RAM prices have been very volatile for 12+ months now.

If a person needs one and sees it on sale, they had better be ready to pull the trigger at that moment.

 

[Headfoot]

Crypto bubble is driving it, total altcoins network hashrate across the board is up and a lot of that has got to be GPUs

 

[whm1974]

Crypto bubble is driving it, total altcoins network hashrate across the board is up and a lot of that has got to be GPUs

I'm really hoping that the bubble will burst open next year so GPU prices will return to sane levels.

 

[Artorias]

Its pretty insane here in Canada too.

I was looking at buying 1080TI Strix in late November when it was $969, didn't pull the trigger then and now its $1028.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Even a "lowly" GTX1050ti 4GB card, I bought two six or so months ago for $119.99 on sale on ebay from Newegg, and now, they're $160-200. Crazy!

 

[tential]

I just tried to price check Vega, you can't even find the models listed in most cases. NewEgg only lists 1 AIB and 1 water cooled card now.

The demand is off the charts for cards.

Since I can't get a card faster than RX 580 for a reasonable price, I'm thinking of getting an Xbox One. That seems to be the best bang for buck deal gaming fidelity wise at this point.
Might pick a PS4 Pro on a sale if I see it.
The pricing and availability of GPUs, combined with the insane vendor lock monitor choices are just destroying the value proposition of PC Gaming currently.

 

[Guru]

Really do not see the value of virtual money. Even bitcoin which is one of the oldest and most famous is garbage, you can't buy anything with it, though as a share price its quite high value.

But again you can barely use it anywhere, apart from some dark net websites, some vpn's Valve used bitcoin, etc... there is little use for it.

 

[UsandThem]

Really do not see the value of virtual money. Even bitcoin which is one of the oldest and most famous is garbage, you can't buy anything with it, though as a share price its quite high value.

But again you can barely use it anywhere, apart from some dark net websites, some vpn's Valve used bitcoin, etc... there is little use for it.

While I am not a fan of crypto currencies (the bubble will pop at some point), you can use it as payment at more places than you think. For example, Newegg:

https://kb.newegg.com/Article/Index/12/3?id=1359&fromwidget=true&searchid=0&isSearch=true

 

[EXCellR8]

Crypto, as a whole, just needs to go away. Aside from completely screwing the hardware market there's gobs of illegal markets, trade and scams that are funded with digital currencies. And, to top it all off, we have the waste of resources and dedicated processing power that could be used for much more beneficial goals.

Anyway yes, there's never been a worse time to buy a GPU like, ever. Unfortunately, the price of DDR4 is still high and therefore any of the reasonably priced Ryzen and/or C-Lake hardware is basically void because of it.

 

[Shamrock]

I just, like an hour ago, purchased a MSI RX 580 8 GB ($319.99). I couldn't afford, nor wait, on an AIB Vega. I HAD to have one, as my R9 290 doesn't have freesync, and my new monitor has <1ms and 144Hz with freesync. Right now, it's making me nauseous @ 60 hz.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

It was one of the reasons I quit pc gaming. Last card I bought was in June 2016. Sold it because I wanted an upgrade and in the process prices went nuts. I never bought another one. I refused to pay the absurd prices. If I ever game again it will be a Nintendo switch or maybe a regular ps4 or Xbox slim.

 

[Mike64]

Same video card I bought a few weeks ago is now $30+ more direct from a retailer.

I don't know how useful that comparison is as a general statement on "video card prices" overall. Comparing the price of one card, two weeks apart? Is the price you're talking about a new "regular" price? Is it the same seller? Not to mention that two weeks ago was squarely within the biggest "holiday shopping" period of the year in much of the "developed" world...

 

[Artorias]

What I don't understand is how Nvidia or AMD have not created mining specific hardware already, the people who actually want to do graphic related work or gaming are really getting the short end here.

 

[dakotadp]

I don't know how useful that comparison is as a general statement on "video card prices" overall. Comparing the price of one card, two weeks apart? Is the price you're talking about a new "regular" price? Is it the same seller? Not to mention that two weeks ago was squarely within the biggest "holiday shopping" period of the year in much of the "developed" world...

For another example, I purchase an XFX RX 580 at BestBuy on 12/15 for $299.99 and today, the exact same card at BestBuy is now $429.99. That is a substantial mark up.

(I haven't posted in a very long time, rather outdated signature. Don't remember what year that was.

 

[brandonmatic]

I just, like an hour ago, purchased a MSI RX 580 8 GB ($319.99). I couldn't afford, nor wait, on an AIB Vega. I HAD to have one, as my R9 290 doesn't have freesync, and my new monitor has <1ms and 144Hz with freesync. Right now, it's making me nauseous @ 60 hz.

The R9 290 has freesync.

 

[Mike64]

For another example, I purchase an XFX RX 580 at BestBuy on 12/15 for $299.99 and today, the exact same card at BestBuy is now $429.99. That is a substantial mark up.

Is it really a mark up though, as in an increase of "list price" (or even "regular selling price" for those things that rarely sell at MSRP), or is it simply "no longer on sale"?

This isn't 1997 after all. It seems to me that what with everyone having to compete with each other, not to mention with the 20-ton Internet-gorilla called Amazon and its never-ceasing, auto-adjusting, jumping bean pricing, you really can't judge overall "price increases" by week to week changes of "discounted" prices. You either have to look at broader, longer-term trends, or at least compare MSRPs of recently released products against the MSRP of similar, but older, models from the same class of manufacturers...

I mean, when it comes to memory prices, sure, except for the occasional deep discount "deal", you just can't find memory sticks or SSDs as cheap as they were 2 years ago. Anywhere, from any retailer. But can you say that about "video cards" overall, or are you just looking at short term changes in the prices of a couple of specific cards?

 

[JimKiler]

Don't forget if you buy a AMD card you can still get a free copy of Quake Champions, a supposed $40 value although my ebay sale for $3.75 has yet to be fulfilled.

 

[SPBHM]

It was one of the reasons I quit pc gaming. Last card I bought was in June 2016. Sold it because I wanted an upgrade and in the process prices went nuts. I never bought another one. I refused to pay the absurd prices. If I ever game again it will be a Nintendo switch or maybe a regular ps4 or Xbox slim.

that's... odd, even the gtx 1050 Ti is a significant step above these consoles, the switch is a lot worse than even the GT 1030, try doom on the switch, is really awful, gt 1030 is a massive improvement on that game.

only reason I see to go consoles is if you really want one the exclusives, like mario, or want a portable gaming machine... I think the switch is a nice thing to have, but not a viable PC replacement, more of a complement.


but yes, VGA prices have been bad since late 2016 I think.
you can find a good deal here and there, but the high prices, Pascal lasting for a while and the lack of answer from AMD is a shame.

 

[UsandThem]

My new RX 580 which I have only had installed for 3 weeks has developed a ticking noise in one of the fans. I can actually exchange it at Newegg since they extended their holiday return policy until the end of January, but they are out of stock of my card, and pretty much most RX 580 cards. The few they have remaining are over $100 more than I paid for mine. Even the GTX 1060 cards are significantly more expensive than they were the last few weeks.

I guess I can always RMA with MSI, but I have to pay for shipping to them (Shoprunner pays for shipping to Newegg), but they probably don't have many units available for replacement, so I could be without the card for a while.

Dang crypto currency bubble needs to pop, like yesterday.

 

[Charlie22911]

Who are any of you or I to judge how people use the cards they have purchased? Don’t get mad at crypto, be upset with the manufacturers for not meeting demand. Just look at DDR4 and NAND shortages, you think crypto is causing that too?
No, there is a bigger issue at play here and has been for a while now.

I try not to enter tinfoil hat territory, however I can’t help but think that this is a play at setting the price floor higher for better profit margin.

EDIT:
To help reinforce my point compare the price history of video cards to RAM:

GPU price history:
https://pcpartpicker.com/trends/price/video-card/

Memory price history:
https://pcpartpicker.com/trends/price/memory/

 

[UsandThem]

Who are any of you or I to judge how people use the cards they have purchased? Don’t get mad at crypto, be upset with the manufacturers for not meeting demand. Just look at DDR4 and NAND shortages, you think crypto is causing that too?
No, there is a bigger issue at play here and has been for a while now.

I try not to enter tinfoil hat territory, however I can’t help but think that this is a play at setting the price floor higher for better profit margin.

Um, I'm a person with an opinion, just like you are with yours. If you don't think the crypto run-up has nothing to do with the availability and pricing of video cards, we will just have to agree to disagree.

Just over the past two months as some people began dumping their crypto rigs in the for sale forum as the mining difficulty rose and the price stalled, GPUs almost made it to MSRP. And then the crypto currency started climbing again, and suddenly most retailers are now sold out of the mid-range cards, and what is left is way over MSRP. It's not at one retailer, it's at all of them.

I never said (or anybody here that I can tell) RAM pricing was affected by crypto mining. It's a combination of of many things, and maybe in a few years they will find some collusion as well, who knows?

Here is a price chart of an EVGA card that is popular with both miners and gamers:

And another one that I bought for $230 (without MasterPass discount code) in late November from Newegg during a "Shell Shocker" sale:

When have mid-range cards sold for that much over MSRP simply due to gamer demand?

 

[Charlie22911]

What 3rd party do those charts track? Looks like scalper pricing to me, 3rd party pricing is never very reliable. I haven’t had an issue getting GPUs at or close to MSRP simply by waiting for them to come in stock and picking them up from Newegg directly (not 3rd party).

I have never denied that miners play a role, just that their role in pricing and shortages are not as big as people claim.

The most likely culprit is the inability of fabs to keep up with demand for DRAM and NAND. Everyone from console makers to big-box PC brands are experiencing shortages, it’s not just GPUs. It is widely accepted that smartphones are the larger culprit for these shortages, and when you have big players like Apple chewing up supply and fab time other markets suffer.

 

[UsandThem]

What 3rd party do those charts track? Looks like scalper pricing to me, 3rd party pricing is never very reliable. I haven’t had an issue getting GPUs at or close to MSRP simply by waiting for them to come in stock and picking them up from Newegg directly (not 3rd party).

I have never denied that miners play a role, just that their role in pricing and shortages are not as big as people claim.

The most likely culprit is the inability of fabs to keep up with demand for DRAM and NAND. Everyone from console makers to big-box PC brands are experiencing shortages, it’s not just GPUs. It is widely accepted that smartphones are the larger culprit for these shortages, and when you have big players like Apple chewing up supply and fab time other markets suffer.

Of course it will show scalper pricing in that. But if you look at when Bitcoin jumped in price beginning in May, you see the pricing of the video card follow. Scalpers really only affect the pricing of mass produced items like new consoles and components for around the first 6 months. After that, supply catches up with demand (unless it is a limited production item like the NES Classic).

https://www.coindesk.com/price/

The crypto currency boom has had more effect than any other issue, including higher RAM prices. I've been buying video cards since the mid 90's (including previous RAM price hikes), and I have never seen this type of thing before all the various coins became profitable.

Like I said, we just have to agree to disagree on this one.

 

[shortylickens]

I bought a GTX 980 some time ago for a reasonable price and its served me well for some time. I'm beyond the point of needing the best gear all the time. It plays new stuff fairly well. Doom looks awesome and gets high frame rates. No complaints here.
My advice is buy based on the performance you want and a price you're willing to pay, then make that sucker last as long as possible.
MILK IT TILL ITS BOOBS OFF!