Question Has the consumer gaming GPU technology timeline lost it's way? Where are the AFFORDABLE 16GB VRAM cards to choose from?

[VirtualLarry]

Some possible hope for prices to come down.

Right now just seems like a bad time to buy. Lucky me that I've got a couple of 5900X CPU rigs with 64GB of DDR4-3200 in them, that need decent GPUs (at least, one of them does), to become my "main rig" to get back into some slight gaming.

I have a couple of 4K UHD TVs using as monitors over HDMI2.0 @ 60FPS. No real HDR to speak of.

Was thinking about a RX 6800 / 6800 XT, but I still can't stomach paying $600 for one. Maybe $300-350.

WTF prices are still like mining is a thing, is beyond me. RTX 4090 IS profitable to mine with, if you don't mind an ROI of like 10 years.

 

[Tup3x]

Well, there's A770.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, there's A770.

Yeah, I was just looking at the 16GB Limited Edition 770 @ Newegg, $349 or so.

Always kinda keeping Intel in the back of my mind. Too many years of iGPUs that were basically horrible-tier gaming quality keeps me from pulling the trigger. Then again, I did try Skyrim (vanilla) on my Intel iGPU (UHD 530?), and it was actually, surprisingly, playable, even though it didn't look all that great.

 

[Stuka87]

Some possible hope for prices to come down.

Right now just seems like a bad time to buy. Lucky me that I've got a couple of 5900X CPU rigs with 64GB of DDR4-3200 in them, that need decent GPUs (at least, one of them does), to become my "main rig" to get back into some slight gaming.

I have a couple of 4K UHD TVs using as monitors over HDMI2.0 @ 60FPS. No real HDR to speak of.

Was thinking about a RX 6800 / 6800 XT, but I still can't stomach paying $600 for one. Maybe $300-350.

WTF prices are still like mining is a thing, is beyond me. RTX 4090 IS profitable to mine with, if you don't mind an ROI of like 10 years.

Not going to watch the click bate video.

But the MSRP of the 6000 series was set before the mining boom. Their current prices are well below MSRP. And not sure where you are seeing them at $600.

Here is a Sapphire 6800 Pulse for $510

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

Edit: and to the point of that price, if we go way back to the HD 7870 that launched in 2012, it had an MSRP of $350 (reference model) while a PowerColor AIB card was $369. Which is the equivalent to about $480 today. So really not that far off todays prices, especially if you consider how much larger the cooler is and how much more costly the GPU itself is to manufacture.

 

[Hitman928]

Not going to watch the click bate video.

But the MSRP of the 6000 series was set before the mining boom. Their current prices are well below MSRP. And not sure where you are seeing them at $600.

Here is a Sapphire 6800 Pulse for $510

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

Edit: and to the point of that price, if we go way back to the HD 7870 that launched in 2012, it had an MSRP of $350 (reference model) while a PowerColor AIB card was $369. Which is the equivalent to about $480 today. So really not that far off todays prices, especially if you consider how much larger the cooler is and how much more costly the GPU itself is to manufacture.

Your linked card is showing me it's actually $489 right now with the included promo code. Just in case anyone was interested.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

RX 6900 XT, open box, for $629?

 

[NTMBK]

Not going to watch the click bate video.

This.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Running a 6800 i got when they first dipped below 500 in oct/nov last year.
I run 1440p UW so its not quite as demanding as 4k. GPU Pretty much handles everything i throw at it though games like Cyberpunk dont run well with raytracing and rely on FSR for smooth 80ish fps.

Honestly, things still seem overpriced to me, especially at the midrange since AMD and Nvidia are trying to milk everybody for high end prices.

Sooner or later AMD and Nvidia will release new midrange parts, but, likely will try charging an arm or a leg for them

 

[SMOGZINN]

Sooner or later AMD and Nvidia will release new midrange parts, but, likely will try charging an arm or a leg for them

Midrange is not defined by performance; it is defined by price. If they can't manage a $300 card with enough performance to make it worth upgrading from 3000 or even 2000 era cards, then then they are going to lose the midrange market.

 

[Stuka87]

Midrange is not defined by performance; it is defined by price. If they can't manage a $300 card with enough performance to make it worth upgrading from 3000 or even 2000 era cards, then then they are going to lose the midrange market.

The GPU "tiers" have always been defined by performance, never price. It just so happens that mid performance cards tend to be in the middle on price.

If we go back 20 years, a top end card was $200 dollars. Prices will always fluctuate. But there has always been cards that fill the low, mid, and top tiers. If a mid tier card is $500, then that's what mid tiers cost.

 

[SMOGZINN]

The GPU "tiers" have always been defined by performance, never price. It just so happens that mid performance cards tend to be in the middle on price.

If we go back 20 years, a top end card was $200 dollars. Prices will always fluctuate. But there has always been cards that fill the low, mid, and top tiers. If a mid tier card is $500, then that's what mid tiers cost.

Maybe for enthusiasts, but most people buy based on price, and midrange GPUs aim for volume in the mainstream market. This generation it looks like they are going to price themselves out of the midrange market.

 

[Stuka87]

Maybe for enthusiasts, but most people buy based on price, and midrange GPUs aim for volume in the mainstream market. This generation it looks like they are going to price themselves out of the midrange market.

Yes, people often purchase based on price. But price doesn't dictate the tiers.

Same goes for cars. A compact sedan today cost double what it did 20 years ago. That doesn't mean that its not longer a compact sedan.

 

[Pohemi]

Always kinda keeping Intel in the back of my mind. Too many years of iGPUs that were basically horrible-tier gaming quality keeps me from pulling the trigger.

Welp...iGPUs aren't intended for gaming beyond flash games. Also- for general video and desktop use, the newest Intel iGPUs are quite an improvement over just a gen or two ago. Whether Iris Xe or UHD7xx, they'll do considerably better than the UHD5xx series. They still aren't made for gaming.

If we go back 20 years, a top end card was $200 dollars.

Same goes for cars. A compact sedan today cost double what it did 20 years ago.

You must have a terrible memory. 20 years ago, a "high-end" GPU was certainly NOT $200. In 2004, I paid $600 for an Nvidia 6800 Ultra. This might have been slightly above MSRP at the time because they were initially hard to get your hands on, but they certainly were not anywhere close to $200.

Same with your 2nd example. If a compact car cost $20K twenty years ago, you are under the impression that they cost $40K today? What cars are you basing this exaggeration on?

Don't exaggerate to make a point. It's dishonest and calls into question everything else you say in your post, IMHO.

 

[Stuka87]

You must have a terrible memory. 20 years ago, a "high-end" GPU was certainly NOT $200. In 2004, I paid $600 for an Nvidia 6800 Ultra. This might have been slightly above MSRP at the time because they were initially hard to get your hands on, but they certainly were not anywhere close to $200.

Same with your 2nd example. If a compact car cost $20K twenty years ago, you are under the impression that they cost $40K today? What cars are you basing this exaggeration on?

Don't exaggerate to make a point. It's dishonest and calls into question everything else you say in your post, IMHO.

In my head, 20 years ago was 2000, obviously not the case as its 2023.

In 2003 (actually 20 years ago), I got a Radeon 9800 Pro, and it was $399.

Back in 2000, I got the original Radeon. Which is what I was going off in my head, and I think it was $189? Clearly I should have looked at the price of those cards before posting instead of going on memory.

However, in terms car price increases, here is just one example.

A 2003 Corolla had an MSRP of $13,570 to $14,680 (spread across three trim levels).
A 2023 Corolla has an MSRP of $21,550 to $26,600, and this excludes the GR Corolla, which is $35,900 to $49,900.

Is it exactly double, no. Is it roughly double? Pretty close.

 

[Pohemi]

However, in terms car price increases, here is just one example.

A 2003 Corolla had an MSRP of $13,570 to $14,680 (spread across three trim levels).
A 2023 Corolla has an MSRP of $21,550 to $26,600, and this excludes the GR Corolla, which is $35,900 to $49,900.

Is it exactly double, no. Is it roughly double? Pretty close.

I'll acknowledge the difference in car prices, 25K is honestly more than I expected for a current Corolla. There was no need to toss the GR example in there though, that's not even the same car. That's like comparing a base Impreza with a WRX-Sti. Of course it'll be twice the price (of the current base model).

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Edit: and to the point of that price, if we go way back to the HD 7870 that launched in 2012, it had an MSRP of $350 (reference model) while a PowerColor AIB card was $369. Which is the equivalent to about $480 today. So really not that far off todays prices, especially if you consider how much larger the cooler is and how much more costly the GPU itself is to manufacture.

Meh the RX 6800 is a two and a half year old card. By the time the HD 7870 was a year and a half old AMD released a refresh of it, the R9 270x, at $199, or $257 in today's money. By two and a half years after the 7870's launch the R9 270x was regularly $160, or $202 in today's dollars. Plus those cards also came with ridiculously good gaming bundles when they were a couple of years old.

 

[Ranulf]

I got a Geforce 1 aka Geforce 256 back in 99-00? It was $300. One of the better deals I've gotten in the last ten years was a 7870 for $150 in Dec. 2013.

 

[Mopetar]

Yes, people often purchase based on price. But price doesn't dictate the tiers.

Same goes for cars. A compact sedan today cost double what it did 20 years ago. That doesn't mean that its not longer a compact sedan.

Inflation accounts for almost all of the 100% increase in your example. People often leave such considerations out of GPU evaluations.

A $200 GPU from ~20 years ago would cost over $350 today and you'd need to buy two of them to run in SLI or Xfire to get anything close to what we consider minimum acceptable performance these days.

But at the end of the day it's consumers that ultimately set the prices. There's a much larger number of PC gamers these days that have good jobs and can afford a $700 card because 20 years ago when they were just getting into it they were young broke kids drilling over the $200 card.

 

[moonbogg]

All I know is $700 for a 70-class means I am definitely out. All the cards look like garbage to me at thee prices. If they can't get prices down, then OK bye. They won't miss me when they got people still panic buying 4090s for 2 grand.

 

[VirtualLarry]

All I know is $700 for a 70-class means I am definitely out.

Yeah, been watching all of the YT's on the RTX 4070 launch price rumors. NOT pretty.

NaaF, NSFW! (F-bombs only)

 

[Shmee]

Yeah for around $700 you might be able to get an RX 7900XT or RTX 3090. I think these may be better buys, and they certainly have more memory.

 

[Golgatha]

Yeah for around $700 you might be able to get an RX 7900XT or RTX 3090. I think these may be better buys, and they certainly have more memory.

I got a Zotac 3090 for $700 recently. Just have to look for deals on eBay or FB marketplace. Using studio drivers on the 3090 for a 4k video editing rig I'm building for my girlfriend, and my younger son benefits from a slight upgrade to his gaming rig (they share this computer).

 

[Hans Gruber]

I am in the same boat. I was set on a 6800xt or the 7700 (RDNA3) when it was released. I have a 3 monitor setup and want 16GB of Vram for that reason alone. I am getting so disgusted by the GPU market with no demand but high prices. If the ARC A770 16GB hits $250. I am in for one as a place holder card.

 

[Saylick]

I got a Zotac 3090 for $700 recently. Just have to look for deals on eBay or FB marketplace. Using studio drivers on the 3090 for a 4k video editing rig I'm building for my girlfriend, and my younger son benefits from a slight upgrade to his gaming rig (they share this computer).

Agreed. If I were in the market to build a new rig today, I would aim for a high refresh 1440p build with a used $700 RTX 3090 that can be found on FB Marketplace or r/hardwareswap. A 5800X3D can be found pretty cheaply these days as well. In total, I think you can get the entire build (sans monitor) for roughly the price of an AIB RTX 4090.

 

[mastertech01]

Affordable to whom? Someone who has 150 to spare? 300? 600? 1200? Seems the industry lost its way with definition of affordable.