"Average GPU Pricing Quadruples in a Year as Market Hits $12.1 Billion" - Tom's Hardware

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Leeea

Diamond Member
Apr 3, 2020
3,599
5,340
106
it is a 20 minute video, please give a summary.

I know, who has time to watch a 20 minute video? wtf? (not being sarcastic, I am serious)
The whole stick everything in a video for monetization thing on the internet these days is a step backwards.

Rather then embrace that stupidity, I just read the comments on the youtube video. (I immediately clicked pause upon loading it because I refused to watch it)


Apparently it is some conspiracy* theory about shipping containers.

There we go, saved everyone 20 minutes.


*while my summary may not be 100% accurate, I can assure you it is just as close to reality as someone making shit up on youtube
 
Last edited:

maddie

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2010
4,722
4,624
136
Its great video, watch it. Very well explained
It's one person opinion on what is a multi issue problem.

Remember that the ancients had the math to explain why everything revolved around the Earth. Epicycles and such, Phlogiston for how combustion happened, space filled with the Aether, etc.

Having a 'great explanation' doesn't mean accurate.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tlh97 and Leeea
Feb 4, 2009
34,494
15,729
136
I know, who has time to watch a 20 minute video? wtf? (not being sarcastic, I am serious)
The whole stick everything in a video for monetization thing on the internet these days is a step backwards.

Rather then embrace that stupidity, I just read the comments on the youtube video. (I immediately clicked pause upon loading it because I refused to watch it)


Apparently it is some conspiracy* theory about shipping containers.

There we go, saved everyone 20 minutes.


*while my summary may not be 100% accurate, I can assure you it is just as close to reality as someone making shit up on youtube

and this is exactly why I rarely watch YouTube videos regarding news.
No vetting, no professional standards, ethics defendant upon the poster, no accountability.
 

GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
6,715
7,004
136
It is good to see that everyone seems to be coming around to the idea that this problem is not going away any time soon. Had a debate with some people here, in denial, a few months back. One called it a supply chain hiccup! :D

It really has been the perfect storm: Production suffered as China went hard on lockdowns, then their new year holidays exacerbated it. Work and school from home cranked up demand, mining went full ham, and then substrate shortages, and even the shipping containers needed to move product, were in the wrong place because of trade imbalance.

Just in time manufacturing, particularly automotive, failed hard with these conditions. I read Toyota learned their lessons from earthquake related failures, and changed practices. They evidently keep a 4-6 month supply, and were least impacted, at least at first.

On my first cup of coffee, so if I goofed anything? Cunningham's law ;)

-Well said. Highly efficient systems (like worldwide production, manufacturing, and shipping logistics) are also the systems least capable of absorbing drastic unforeseen changes well.

Ideally there should be some strategically placed buffers along the supply chain to cushion variations in either supply or demand, but when the good times roll, those are all inefficiencies sitting on the wrong side of a balance sheet.

Not that there was any sort of realistic buffer that would have alleviated being in the middle of a nearly year and a half long worldwide pandemic (with at least another solid 6 months to go if SEA counties and India are any indication).
 

Mopetar

Diamond Member
Jan 31, 2011
7,797
5,899
136
-Well said. Highly efficient systems (like worldwide production, manufacturing, and shipping logistics) are also the systems least capable of absorbing drastic unforeseen changes well.

Ideally there should be some strategically placed buffers along the supply chain to cushion variations in either supply or demand, but when the good times roll, those are all inefficiencies sitting on the wrong side of a balance sheet.

That's basically why we'll always have this problem. Unless the disruptions are frequent and predictable enough there's no good way to include them in the system. Companies that do have additional expenses that customers are unwilling to pay for at the time and will go out of business.

Maybe it sounds ludicrous to you or just another sign of corporate greed, but how many people here have enough food on hand to survive three months if they were unable to get to the grocery store or it was completely bare of food? I suspect most people wouldn't last three weeks and if you met someone who told you that they had a pantry stocked with enough food to last a year in case of emergency you'd think they were a nutter doomsday prepper. They only appear sane in hindsight when that level of disaster occurs.
 

Tuxon86

Junior Member
Jan 13, 2010
6
9
81
The rise in prices is tied to crypto mining and covid related production blunder for the most part. Both Nvidia and AMD have profited by this. But I fear, in the near future, the gaming industry will be the one suffering the most when they finally realease their next big IP that no one will be able to enjoy as intented in full res and high detail. No one, beside scalper and miners, will be able to afford the required GPU to play their games.

And another problem is facing AMD and NVidia, which is how to try to correct the market without pissing off those who did pay those inflated price. If they release, let say, the RTX 4080 at MSRP with adequate stock to meet the demand, will those who payed twice or three time as much for an RTX 3080 be happy or will they launch a lawsuit and complain about it?
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 28, 2005
20,839
3,171
126
We may see relief soon. Less demand for mining cards in China.

Biostud beat you to it... lol...


Lets hope all the money they make from this gen will push out better future gens.
Oh wait... no all that money got blown away into LHR attempts which failed.
 

Ajay

Lifer
Jan 8, 2001
15,332
7,792
136
Madness! Eh, looks like I'll just save a few hundred dollars by skipping this generation. Except for the fact that I'm soldiering on with my GTX 1070, which is showing it's age. Some of the new games coming out are going to crush it.
 

maddogmcgee

Senior member
Apr 20, 2015
384
303
136
That's basically why we'll always have this problem. Unless the disruptions are frequent and predictable enough there's no good way to include them in the system. Companies that do have additional expenses that customers are unwilling to pay for at the time and will go out of business.

Maybe it sounds ludicrous to you or just another sign of corporate greed, but how many people here have enough food on hand to survive three months if they were unable to get to the grocery store or it was completely bare of food? I suspect most people wouldn't last three weeks and if you met someone who told you that they had a pantry stocked with enough food to last a year in case of emergency you'd think they were a nutter doomsday prepper. They only appear sane in hindsight when that level of disaster occurs.

Speak for yourself mate. I have been busy prepping for the last ten years. My beer gut alone will provide me with 3 months of energy and the home brew in the garage enough energy to see me into 2022 easily.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Tlh97 and SMU_Pony

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 28, 2005
20,839
3,171
126

Graphenewhen

Junior Member
Oct 13, 2020
15
15
41
What do you mean stuck? I recently sold a Red Devil Vega 56 that could hit past stock 64 performance and it was still a very capable gamer. There was not a single game that did not look and run great after tweaking settings for the best blend of performance and visuals.

It's starting to strain on modern games for 1440p 144hz gaming, but can't complain about it being rock stable at 1.05v - keeps the noise levels nice and low at least (it's a Sapphire Nitro).
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 28, 2005
20,839
3,171
126
Sigh... ok its offically messed up even at the vendor level now...


Amazon USA is selling that card at 439.99
That card was selling for 230 dollars before crypto and even went on sale a few times for 199.99.

That means Zotac has decided to hike the price of same silicon by more then 100%.

This is how messed up PC gamers are right now.
If the vendors are going to team up with scalpers, and hike up the price on entry mid level gpu's, then i see a dark future ahead for PC gamers and AAA titles.

Well its not like there are many Studio's left that want to produce AAA title, and not dump pocket change at an indy only to see how far that raft goes.
 

DAPUNISHER

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member
Super Moderator
Aug 22, 2001
28,270
19,905
146
That means Zotac has decided to hike the price of same silicon by more then 100%.
It is not like Zotac capriciously chose to double prices. They are absorbing higher costs of doing business and passing those cost along. The cost for getting a single shipping container from Asia to here, has gone up massively. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...sts-are-here-to-stay-sparking-price-increases

Then there is the added cost of the tariffs. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/us-...runt-of-trumps-china-tariffs-says-moodys.html

Even substrate shortages are affecting pricing. https://eandt.theiet.org/content/ar...age-could-bottleneck-manufacturing-for-years/
 
Feb 4, 2009
34,494
15,729
136
Yeah I’m not ready to give the manufacturer’s crap yet....
They have a choice, sell the card at retail so a scalper can make a profit or sell the card at current market prices and take the money themselves and at least some of that money goes toward more production.
Amazon & Zotac aren’t in business to sell stuff cheap to eBay scalpers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GodisanAtheist

UsandThem

Elite Member
May 4, 2000
16,068
7,380
146
In most free market settings (and in an simplistic manner to avoid turning the thread back into a P&N debate), price is determined by what the producers are willing to sell the item for, and what buyers are willing to pay for the item.

The problem with video cards especially over the last 18 months or so was what buyers were willing to pay for the video card because of the mining boom, people stuck at home because of Covid, (with production falling as a result), and finally the shortages as a result.

Now it will take some time for the price the producers are willing to accept to decrease as more rational/traditional buyers say "I'm not spending that much on a video card". I'm very much one of those consumers........I can wait as long as it takes.