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The string of good news for gamers in need of a new gaming PC continues as graphics card prices continue to fall. The latest GPU prices report shows big drops for both AMD and Nvidia graphics cards.
This is the first time that some of the best next-gen graphics cards can be found not just at MSRP, but below, marking a shift in the market we haven’t seen in a long time.
Most of us are so used to the GPU shortage that news like this certainly feels like a dream come true – graphics card prices continue to fall. According to 3DCenter, which regularly publishes reports on GPU prices in Germany, both AMD and Nvidia GPUs are steadily falling in price. This month’s report marks a first since the release of the latest AMD Radeon RX and Nvidia GeForce GPUs as the cards come close or even below their intended MSRPs.
The latest analysis shows that the average price of an AMD graphics card has fallen 8% below the MSRP. Nvidia is not quite that far yet, but the prices have also fallen significantly. Currently, the average Nvidia GPU is about 2% more expensive than the MSRP. However, there are many differences across the board, and some of the cheaper GPUs are still seeing the worst price inflation, while the higher-end models are close to MSRP.
Nvidia’s budget RTX 3060 and RTX 3060 Ti are now 11% and 17% more expensive than their intended prices. Interestingly, this doesn’t appear to result in similar inflation for AMD, as Team Red’s comparable GPUs (RX 6600 and RX 6600 XT) are significantly below MSRP — 20% and 7%, respectively.
A look at high-end graphics cards tells a slightly different story. Nvidia’s top GPU, the RTX 3090 Ti, is now 16% off MSRP, followed by the RTX 3090 at 8% off, and the RTX 3080 Ti at 13%. At AMD, the top two cards, the RX 6950 XT and RX 6900 XT, are 4% and 16% off MSRP, respectively. However, the RX 6800 XT remains strong at 6% above RRP. It’s worth noting that these cards were all cheaper initially, as the RX 6950 XT has an MSRP of $1,099 compared to the $1,499 Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 and $1,999 RTX 3090 Ti.
It’s not just graphics card prices that are improving – so is DDR5 and DDR4 DRAM. According to TrendForce, a Taiwanese research firm, DRAM prices should fall by up to 8% due to inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These factors contribute to lower demand and therefore a drop in prices.
While 3DCenter only reports on the European market, the downward trend indicates a global price drop. Prices can vary between markets, and exchange rates also play a role, but in general things are certainly improving – and what a massive improvement it was.
Prices for some of Nvidia’s best GPUs peaked at around 300% of MSRP in May 2021. AMD graphics cards have always kept prices a little more conservative, but even then April and May 2021 saw prices hit as much as 216% after falling from the very top, prices evened out slightly, with both manufacturers up 150-180% of the price for months MSRP varied. Prices have only started to normalize in the last few months.
What contributed to such a large price drop? Finally, going over 300% off the RRP is certainly a massive difference. There are a few factors that contribute to this. For one, the cryptocurrency market is currently in shambles, and that makes GPUs a lot less desirable for crypto mining. We’re also finally seeing the results of various supply chain improvements that both Nvidia and AMD have been making over the past few years to counter the increased demand for graphics cards. Not long ago it was almost impossible to find a GPU in stock, but now you can reasonably find all types of GPUs for sale. Greater supply combined with less demand both add up to a significant price drop.
Both AMD and Nvidia will soon release the next generations of graphics cards. With AMD’s RDNA 3 and Nvidia’s RTX 4000 due out this year, we may continue to see RDNA 2 and RTX 3000 prices drop.
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