Question are video card prices headed down yet?

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biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
18,193
4,674
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China is already unified.

However, China adding more occupied territories to its cruel and evil empire is unlikely to result in cheaper video cards:

1. The US is required by law to defend Taiwan.
2. It is very likely China will cease exports to people shooting at it.
3. Since the majority of computer board final assembly is done in China, this would result in a massive supply shortage resulting in skyrocketing prices.

War would not result in cheaper computer components in our lifetime.
Hopefully you didn't take my post seriously :)
 
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BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
62,678
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Ever heard of black comedy?

Hell, I don't have a problem with it...I just think it's kind of funny.

That conflict would be mostly off-topic. Worrying about how it affects computer parts/prices would be the only on-topic element of even mentioning that particular problem. Yes I get what you're saying, but wrong thread/wrong forum blah blah blah

Nah, right forum/maybe wrong thread Since this thread is about graphics card prices.

What do you mean by attacked? When China is finally united will get even cheaper video cards. It cannot happen fast enough. :p

Nah, I'm a devout Communist hater. Grew up during the cold war, fought in Vietnam, "kill a commie for your mommy!" Redacted communist China.

No profanity in the tech forums. You've been warned about this before.
admin allisolm
 
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Jul 27, 2020
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People with used graphics cards have the power to tank retail prices. As long as they HODL, we are not seeing lower retail prices. Also, a lot of these miner scum (those with entire farms) are pretty patient vermin. It is possible that we may see a trend towards price increase with the release of RTX 4000, as those cards will get scalped, lots of gamers waiting to upgrade will be dismayed and they will have to pay whatever they can to at least get their hands on something and it will likely be RTX 3000. Those with RTX 3000 in stock will leverage that situation to make some nice bucks. AGAIN!
 

biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
18,193
4,674
136
Nah, I'm a devout Communist hater. Grew up during the cold war, fought in Vietnam, "kill a commie for your mommy!" Redacted communist China.
Hopefully you didn't take my post seriously :)

No profanity is allowed in the tech forums. That includes quoting such. Please don't do that again.
admin allisolm
 
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DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
21,582
10,785
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Nah, right forum

Not even. This is hardware & technology/graphics cards. P&N is thataway --->

Anyway

Shots not fired yet so no need to run out and buy those surplus NV cards just yet.

Also, a lot of these miner scum (those with entire farms) are pretty patient vermin.

It's a calculation as to whether continued mining will yield more profit than the price differential that will emerge in August/September when people will presumably start dumping hardware. Some are already selling early, but not everyone obviously.
 
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cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
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Everything will be fine. The 4070 will be a 12GB banger of a card with a $399 msrp and match a 3090 in performance. The 4080 will be insane with 16GB and a $599 msrp. Good times are back. Or, yeah, they shoot the plane down and we all get conscripted for WW3.
I'm not confident you will realistically see that pricing or that card for a long time.

Though I'm reading the thermals and power consumption will be off the charts which may be a consideration for some.
 
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cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
-This comment brought to you by JayzTwoCents :p
I know you jest but it's really not wrong if you think about it. There are no guarantees of pricing or availability. If you want to buy now and are able to, do it. I was considering this very thing and decided to buy the parts to build a new system from scratch rather than wait and see what happens with the upcoming tech.

If I waited and bought into AM5 there would likely be some new issues with it. Growing pains if you will. I have a 3080ti so I don't feel like I need a new GPU but let's say I was on the fence, there is really no way to know if the 4000 series cards would be available and if they aren't, if the 3000 series cards would actually go up in price because they are the only thing available. Not unlike a couple of years ago with the 3080 launch and how a 2080 was still over a thousand dollars.
 
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Aapje

Golden Member
Mar 21, 2022
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I know you jest but it's really not wrong if you think about it. There are no guarantees of pricing or availability. If you want to buy now and are able to, do it. I was considering this very thing and decided to buy the parts to build a new system from scratch rather than wait and see what happens with the upcoming tech.

The indications are that demand is going down, while production capacity goes up. Add in the reserved TSMC capacity for at least NVidia as well as the potential for a big second hand influx & there is a lot of potential for great pricing and availability. Of course, it is always a gamble, but if you have a passable system and you would be OK with postponing an upgrade, it's perfectly valid to wait and see how the market develops.
 
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DAPUNISHER

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member
Super Moderator
Aug 22, 2001
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Taiwan might get attacked by the ChiComs...we're more interested in how it might affect our compuer parts and prices...
I have to agree. I am less concerned with finding a terminal I can hack to play my holotape of Red Menace, than our descendents saying E Plebnista. :p
 

MoragaBlue

Member
Jul 17, 2022
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I know you jest but it's really not wrong if you think about it. There are no guarantees of pricing or availability. If you want to buy now and are able to, do it. I was considering this very thing and decided to buy the parts to build a new system from scratch rather than wait and see what happens with the upcoming tech.

LOL...He's been getting a lot of flack on here!

All things being equal, his guess is as good as mine, yours or anyone else's, really. Though, in my view, I do think the odds favor waiting and prices will have to come down, if only because of reasons based purely on Econ 101 stuff.

Here's how I think of it. If one needs a video card (I'm not a huge fan of letting parts sit idle, unless we're talking stuff like fans, cases, power supplies or stuff like that), one needs a video card period. It's just a matter of choosing one and deciding what level of potential loss to assured obsolescence is acceptable. In my case, the 3080 12 Gb plays everything I want at 4K maxed out video configs; the 4000 series will surely be an improvement, but I can "accept" this obsolescence for the next 2 or 3 years. The price for having it now is about $300 potentially overpaid compared to if I waited several more months, which is very likely to unfold, in my view.

So, $300 or wait to have those other parts I picked up on the Amazon Prime driven sales day just sit there? While only speaking for myself and I appreciate money is always an important consideration, I've wasted $300 on far more frivolous stuff than overpaying for a GPU so that I can 1) enjoy building my PC, 2) play games on max 4K now, and 3) end this ridiculous hunt (there's actually waiting list?!) for a PS5.

In my case, turning the page to the next chapter of actually playing games for $300 is money well spent, and no regrets even knowing I've very likely overpaid for my GPU, not to mention all of the other parts too. And, that's ok because it's how it has always been.
 
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cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
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LOL...He's been getting a lot of flack on here!

All things being equal, his guess is as good as mine, yours or anyone else's, really. Though, in my view, I do think the odds favor waiting and prices will have to come down, if only because of reasons based purely on Econ 101 stuff.

Here's how I think of it. If one needs a video card (I'm not a huge fan of letting parts sit idle, unless we're talking stuff like fans, cases, power supplies or stuff like that), one needs a video card period. It's just a matter of choosing one and deciding what level of potential loss to assured obsolescence is acceptable. In my case, the 3080 12 Gb plays everything I want at 4K maxed out video configs; the 4000 series will surely be an improvement, but I can "accept" this obsolescence for the next 2 or 3 years. The price for having it now is about $300 potentially overpaid compared to if I waited several more months, which is very likely to unfold, in my view.

So, $300 or wait to have those other parts I picked up on the Amazon Prime driven sales day just sit there? While only speaking for myself and I appreciate money is always an important consideration, I've wasted $300 on far more frivolous stuff than overpaying for a GPU so that I can 1) enjoy building my PC, 2) play games on max 4K now, and 3) end this ridiculous hunt (there's actually waiting list?!) for a PS5.

In my case, turning the page to the next chapter of actually playing games for $300 is money well spent, and no regrets even knowing I've very likely overpaid for my GPU, not to mention all of the other parts too. And, that's ok because it's how it has always been.

I agree. I bought my 3080ti a few months back now and paid more than I would have today. Thing is I had no idea what would happen. There was no way to know they would become available etc. I got lots of use out of it already and the 3080 isn't going to suddenly be junk as soon as 4000 series drops either. Not to mention we have lots of conflicting rumors about the launch timeframe. What happens if scalpers buy them all up and you are stuck with buying a 3080 anyway or paying $500 markup over retail for a 4000 series?

On a similar note I bought into AM4 instead of waiting for AM5 because I decided that DDR5 and PCIe 5 weren't that important and the CPU I chose was a huge upgrade already over what I had been using. I won't need to upgrade again for years probably.
 
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OlyAR15

Senior member
Oct 23, 2014
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One other point is that everyone assumes the 4000 series of cards will not be sold out immediately. With all the pent up demand for video cards over the past year, and now people waiting for the next gen cards to be released, do any of you think that you can just pick one up upon release? It will be a feeding frenzy, no doubt worsened by scalpers scooping up the initial stock. So it will be the same situation all over again, at least for a few months until supply increases. Hopefully that won't take a year, but many of you will be waiting even longer than the release date of the new cards. Either that or pay scalper prices.
 
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Aapje

Golden Member
Mar 21, 2022
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One other point is that everyone assumes the 4000 series of cards will not be sold out immediately.

I've seen a lot of people argue that it will, including myself, so I'm pretty sure that your belief about what everyone assumes is wrong.

So it will be the same situation all over again, at least for a few months until supply increases.

But it shouldn't be the same situation, because stock should actually increase over time, while during the 3000 series, stock remained minimal.
 

MoragaBlue

Member
Jul 17, 2022
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Right now, in the Bay Area, one could purchase the 3070 at $499 at Best Buy and pick up in a few days.

Now, I'm not suggesting this is a great deal per se and advocating people rushing out to scoop these things up, but prices shouldn't be viewed in a vacuum and some comparative analysis is prudent, in my view. Assuming (this is a huge assumption) we don't experience another round of meteoric rises in the crypto market, the demographics for these cards would be small by comparison to the last couple of years. So, for gamers, if presented with overpaying via Ebay for a console (PS5 or XBox) vs 3070 at $499 from Best Buy, I'd probably opt for the latter every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

I'm of the opinion that if things remain as they are, prices must go down--we're starting to see that play out in real time. Not that I've conducted any exhaustive studies here but if we subtract the mining market, I'd imagine the demand for these $500+ GPUs to be roughly 1/5th of what they were? I'd wager we're going to see a chain reaction as the new 4000s & AMDs 7000s hit the market where retailers like BBY will start marking down their existing supply. If, say, the 4070 MSRPs at $499? The 3070 will be slashed another 10% - 20%, and the used market should be reduced by at least 30% to remain competitive. Not sure about anyone else but I'd need at least a 10% - 20% discount below new pricing before considering GPUs in the used market.

In my estimation, this is an inevitable cycle that has repeated countless times during my lifetime for electronic components. The only thing that could keep this natural progression is if--and this could very well happen--the crypto markets skyrocket again. Then, all bets are off.
 

jpiniero

Lifer
Oct 1, 2010
14,509
5,159
136
The 4070's MSRP isn't going to be $499 and who knows when it will be released, but not any time soon. There should be plenty of time to get anything other than GA102 supply under control.
 

StinkyPinky

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2002
6,761
777
126
3090's going for what I paid for my 3080 12GB just 6 months ago.

It is what it is. I'm just happy the market is finally starting to settle.
 
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GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
6,715
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Not sure about anyone else but I'd need at least a 10% - 20% discount below new pricing before considering GPUs in the used market.

- 2 year old tech on the cusp of a new generation, used? 40-50% off *current* MSRP (not what they paid for it at the peak) or bust.

Cracks me up when I see a 3060TI on Ebay with a "Buy it now" price of $550 and bids up to $300 with "Reserve Not Met" under it. Those basically never sell at this point.
 
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BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
62,678
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- 2 year old tech on the cusp of a new generation, used? 40-50% off *current* MSRP (not what they paid for it at the peak) or bust.

Cracks me up when I see a 3060TI on Ebay with a "Buy it now" price of $550 and bids up to $300 with "Reserve Not Met" under it. Those basically never sell at this point.

I'm STILL looking for a possible replacement for my 2070 card if I can't find a decent replacement fan. Looking on Craigslist and FB Marketplace, used cards are still selling around MSRP...some a bit below, but most are still considerably more. Often higher than a brand-new card of the same exact make and model.
I chuckle when I see this: "Never overclocked, never mined. Fresh thermal pads and compound."
 
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MoragaBlue

Member
Jul 17, 2022
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- 2 year old tech on the cusp of a new generation, used? 40-50% off *current* MSRP (not what they paid for it at the peak) or bust.

Cracks me up when I see a 3060TI on Ebay with a "Buy it now" price of $550 and bids up to $300 with "Reserve Not Met" under it. Those basically never sell at this point.

Yeah, I meant 10% or 20% reduction from whatever the lowest current new pricing from a retailer irrespective of whatever had been MSRP or whatever price the original buyer had paid. For instance, for the 3060, MSI is currently selling new asking $379. So, before I even consider going to the used the market, it would have to be at least 10% - 20% below that price, otherwise I'd just buy it from MSI, and call it a day. For an expensive GPU, it'd probably have to get near 30% below best current new price from a reputable retailer before it'd pique my interest.

Also, another consideration is credit card protection. Generally, for expensive electronics, I prefer using an Amex for the 90-day accidental protection, which is also another thing one misses out when buying used.
 

MoragaBlue

Member
Jul 17, 2022
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Do you still need to pay the $200 TotalTech fee to get it at that price?

Good question! I just tried adding it to my cart and able to checkout to make the purchase, though it's pick up only without an option for delivery. I'm not a member of TotalTech.

So, it appears that I could buy it.

*Edit*

Just now, noticed that 3060Ti @ $399 and 3070Ti @ $599 just popped on my list of "best-selling." Not sure if it's because I've been adding it to the cart to see if I could purchase, but it's triggering pop-ups for "pre-approved" interest free financing. BBY seems pretty motivated to move these things.

Interestingly enough though, there are no 3080s at MSRP.
 
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BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
62,678
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Do you still need to pay the $200 TotalTech fee to get it at that price?

I looked earlier. Said you need an account to order...didn't go any farther. (10 day wait...no delivery available. I'd have to drive 75 miles to the closest store.)
 
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BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
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Good question! I just tried adding it to my cart and able to checkout to make the purchase, though it's pick up only without an option for delivery. I'm not a member of TotalTech.

So, it appears that I could buy it.

*Edit*

Just now, noticed that 3060Ti @ $399 and 3070Ti @ $599 just popped on my list of "best-selling." Not sure if it's because I've been adding it to the cart to see if I could purchase, but it's triggering pop-ups for "pre-approved" interest free financing. BBY seems pretty motivated to move these things.

Interestingly enough though, there are no 3080s at MSRP.

FWIW, Steve sez the "Ti" models are a rip-off and not worth the price increase.