How does this make ANY sense? (GPU prices, even lower-end)

[nitromullet]

I doubt it. We have set a new bar, we never lower the bar once set. This has shown that gamers will buy low end cards for much more then they have been selling for if that is all that is available. My bet is that $399 is now the starting price of low end GPUs.

I don't think this is true across the board. We've shown that *some* people are willing to pay more for a video card during a time of hyped up scarcity. There are others that have sold their card for a profit, and others that are just sitting on the cards they already own. If pricing hasn't settled down by the time these people all actually need new cards, we may see a shift to consoles.

Plus, think of younger gamers. Parents might be convinced to pay an extra $250 when they buy their kid a computer, but most parents I know would balk at $400-500 extra. These are the same parents who are buying their kid an Xbox One S with a subscription to the Xbox Game Pass.

https://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/consoles/xbox-one-s/starter-bundle-500gb

$230 for the console and access to Xbox Live Gold and the Game Pass library for 3 months vs $450 for just a video card, a device that most people don't understand the function of?

I know that console gaming is somewhat distasteful to anyone who has had a the experience of gaming on a powerful gpu with a nice display, but you cannot argue the value proposition of that Xbox One S combo. You can literally buy the thing for $230, and don't need to spend another dime for 3 months.

 

[Guru]

My GTX 1060 6GB could theoretically make 5 euros in 24 hours, now running it 24/7 it can make 2 euros. So yeah, essentially crypto value has declined by more than half. Even if its still profitable in terms of electricity, it would need to work 24/7 for about 150 days to pay for the initial price I paid which was 300 euros. Considering these days its even more expensive, you basically need to run it for a year 24/7 to gain a small profit.

Again I just don't see crypto mining, at least casually can make any reasonable profits. I guess I could make $30 or so minning casually in a month, which is better than nothing, but then I'm shortening the lifespan of the card.

 

[SMOGZINN]

I don't think this is true across the board. We've shown that *some* people are willing to pay more for a video card during a time of hyped up scarcity.

All it has to be is enough to sell the cards they make. Which it appears to be. We can assume that the 1050s are not being sold to miners, so those are almost all being sold to gamers for premium prices, and they are selling out as well. This points to a fairly inelastic market for GPUs. The price of video cards does not seem to greatly effect the demand for them.

Plus, think of younger gamers. Parents might be convinced to pay an extra $250 when they buy their kid a computer, but most parents I know would balk at $400-500 extra. These are the same parents who are buying their kid an Xbox One S with a
subscription to the Xbox Game Pass.

Are you saying 'why won't someone please think of the kids'?

Yes, I get that, and it would probably be smart for them to maintain some cards at the entry point price to keep from gutting their future market, but that is likely to come from OEM systems and not enthusiast market parts. We might see the 1030 and 1050 stick around much longer then anyone expected.

 

[Red Squirrel]

The GPU manufacturers are kinda shooting themselves in the foot by not producing more too. They could be making even more money right now given how high the demand is. They're not really profiting much more from the inflated prices as it's individual consumers and retailers that are jacking them up. And honestly, if I was selling a card I would probably do the same, maybe not do a crazy price gauge like some stores are but I would be selling slightly above MSRP to bring in a small profit. I keep debating on giving up mining to sell my 2 cards, but really I will profit more in long term if I just keep mining, even if it's just 2 cards. The longer I wait the more the cards will be worth too.

GPUs are basically like Toronto or Vancouver real estate right now.

 

[SMOGZINN]

The GPU manufacturers are kinda shooting themselves in the foot by not producing more too

I believe the general consensuses is that they are producing cards about as fast as they can, and that the big limiting factor is DDR5 memory.

 

[Fondue]

I doubt it. We have set a new bar, we never lower the bar once set. This has shown that gamers will buy low end cards for much more then they have been selling for if that is all that is available. My bet is that $399 is now the starting price of low end GPUs.

IDK, didn't the same thing happen when the R9 290 was released? Prices stabilized back down to normal a few months later IIRC.

 

[ultimatebob]

It makes sense that the GeForce 1050ti 4GB model would go for a premium, since you can mine Ether with that one. I'll bet that the 2 GB models are significantly cheaper, though... like by half as much.

 

[MrSquished]

I bought a PS4 pro and just ordered a XIM Apex translator so I can game with a mouse and keyboard mostly so I can join my fiance in gaming, but a secondary benefit is I don't feel any pressure to pay rip off prices for a video card for a while.

My 390X is holding up ok but I did want a 1080 for Far Cry 5 but no way I am paying those prices. I got a PS4 Pro, XIM Apex and a nice set of Sennheiser Game One Headphones for $650, far less than a great video card costs these days. F that, homey don't play that.

 

[TeknoBug]

GPUs are basically like Toronto or Vancouver real estate right now.

funny and triggering at the same time, I live downtown Vancouver and I see the effects of businesses downward spiral because of it.

 

[cbn]

The GPU manufacturers are kinda shooting themselves in the foot by not producing more too.

I believe the general consensuses is that they are producing cards about as fast as they can, and that the big limiting factor is DDR5 memory.

I've read part of this is caused by needing a certain amount of lead time for wafer orders. (Let me see if I can find the link).

EDIT: Here is one link.

While cryptocurrency prices have affected prices, the long ramp-up/ramp-down cycle for beginning-to-end video card production means that the industry can't radically alter volumes inside a single quarter. In other words, GPU manufacturers and their partners have to plan for the quarter in advance, and a typical Q4 plan would involve tapering back on production a bit to match the traditional seasonal demand.

However, I have been hoping they can do something with harvested chips at various levels in the meantime. (Eg, Polaris 12 with DDR4)

Reason: Even the availability of the GT 1030 has been affected very noticeably at this point. (In fact, right now the cheapest I can find a GT 1030 anywhere is $95....and the lowest price for GT 1030 at Newegg from "all sellers" is currently $107---> https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007709 601301600 ). Hopefully this doesn't get worse.

P.S. One nice thing about Polaris 12 compared to GP108 (ie, GT 1030) is that it supports 3 video outs compared to only 2 video outs.

 

[Peter Watts]

We are not supposed to be mad, but we should embrace "technology" and pay up...

(Sarcasm)

 

[cbn]

Does anyone know if the upcoming Intel Motherboards (with 300 series chipset) will support HDMI 2.0 as standard?

Because if they do I suspect it will finally cause 4K PC Monitors to drop in price.

If that happens It should drive demand upwards for new video cards.

 

[3DVagabond]

My GTX 1060 6GB could theoretically make 5 euros in 24 hours, now running it 24/7 it can make 2 euros. So yeah, essentially crypto value has declined by more than half. Even if its still profitable in terms of electricity, it would need to work 24/7 for about 150 days to pay for the initial price I paid which was 300 euros. Considering these days its even more expensive, you basically need to run it for a year 24/7 to gain a small profit.

Again I just don't see crypto mining, at least casually can make any reasonable profits. I guess I could make $30 or so minning casually in a month, which is better than nothing, but then I'm shortening the lifespan of the card.

Someone should dig up the old mining thread and look at these same kind of comments when bitcoin was worth FA. Think of what those worthless coins are worth today. You have to also consider "inflation" with cryptocurrencies.

 

[Flayed]

I had to buy a new graphics card the other day as my old 760gtx was failing. I wasn't happy about the prices or the timing but ended up settling on an MSI 1050 ti Gaming X for £184. I figure it should have been more like £150 - 160 here in the UK we tend to pay more anyway due to VAT etc. The other options were a 1060 3G card for around £280 or a 6G for £380.

Anyway I'm fairly happy with my card as I can play Far Cry 4 with higher details and also Doom is running alot better. I've overclocked it by 150Mhz Core and 500Mhz Mem and its really quiet compared to my old blower card.

 

[ultimatebob]

Someone should dig up the old mining thread and look at these same kind of comments when bitcoin was worth FA. Think of what those worthless coins are worth today. You have to also consider "inflation" with cryptocurrencies.

I wouldn't count on cryptocurrency prices going much higher, though. Bitcoin is still down roughly half from it's all time high, and it doesn't seem to be in a hurry to recover.

 

[whm1974]

I hope this Tulip Mania dies down this year as these high GPU prices even for low end cards could kill off PC gaming, at least for AAA titles at 4K anyway.

 

[AMD64Blondie]

So glad I bought my Gigabyte GTX1080 last year,before the prices went insane.
(paid $510 shipped for it...)

 

[mohit9206]

As per the current prices of ram and graphics, if my pc dies during the year I'll just buy a used ps4 and play some cool exclusives until pc can be affordable again.

 

[Dribble]

If I had too, I'd buy something like a 770 second hand - it's a rubbish miner so cheap but in games faster then a 1050Ti.

 

[SPBHM]

If I had too, I'd buy something like a 770 second hand - it's a rubbish miner so cheap but in games faster then a 1050Ti.

here is the solution, Nvidia should make 16nm GK104s! OK enough for gaming, not useful for mining!

hardwareunboxed made a video comparing the 680 with the 1050 ti like yesterday, given the similarity between 770 and 680 I think the 770 in many cases will be behind the 1050 ti, but... yes... not too far, used Kepler is definitely something to consider in 2018....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE2AY42v4ts

 

[Dribble]

here is the solution, Nvidia should make 16nm GK104s! OK enough for gaming, not useful for mining!

hardwareunboxed made a video comparing the 680 with the 1050 ti like yesterday, given the similarity between 770 and 680 I think the 770 in many cases will be behind the 1050 ti, but... yes... not too far, used Kepler is definitely something to consider in 2018....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE2AY42v4ts

770 is basically an o/c 680, and it's a bit newer so cards have a year or two's less wear.

 

[cbn]

Even the availability of the GT 1030 has been affected very noticeably at this point. (In fact, right now the cheapest I can find a GT 1030 anywhere is $95....and the lowest price for GT 1030 at Newegg from "all sellers" is currently $107---> https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007709 601301600 ). Hopefully this doesn't get worse.

It looks like GT 1030 is finally come back down in price:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1343619-REG/asus_gt1030_2g_csm_geforce_gt_1030_2gb.html?ap=y&c3api=1876,{creative},{keyword}&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9Li7uYDj2QIVhsVkCh2PyQ6SEAYYASABEgJ_gfD_BwE ($84.99 free shipping. The comment "More on the way" by the retailer is also encouraging.)

Glad to see the improvement.

Hopefully RX 550, RX 560, GTX 1050 and GTX 1050 Ti wlll begin to fall as well.

 

[whm1974]

I just hope that by the time I need to replace my current rig, memory and GPUs prices will be much lower.

 

[cbn]

It looks like Ethereum prices are slowly dropping now:

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

(Click on the 3 month button to see the trend)

 

[mohit9206]

I just hope that by the time I need to replace my current rig, memory and GPUs prices will be much lower.

Its not just that, it's that my pc is a ticking time bomb that could die anytime. If it dies, I'll either be without pc for quite some time or will just have to resort to used parts ddr3 based system.