News Desktop Graphics Cards Sales Hit New Multi-Decade Low: Report

[Giroro]

Immensely so, we see it in the desktop product stack already. GT1030 or RX550 being the lowest relatively current GPUs you can still get new. With HD730 and Vega / RDNA based integrated graphics, not much call for anything more.

People complain that the entry level desktop gaming GPUs are too expensive, but that is because if they made cheaper ones, they would then be seen as too weak to justify the costs. That has always been the case. Just more so now.

$90 for a 2GB GT1030, or $90 for the 4GB RX550. People shouldn't be buying GT730 for $60 (Actually is an r7-240 for $35 right now, neat)
Or $95 for a 3200G.
$121 for a 5600G

I agree people shouldn't be buying a GT730 at any price. But that's not because it's an entry level GPU, it's because it's an entry level GPU from 9 years ago. It's hypothetical replacement, the GT 1030, largely never existed when it needed to, and is still based on a 7 year old architecture.

If AMD or Nvidia wanted to put a severely cut down version of their current or last-gen architecture into a 50W-75W GPU for ~$75 (preferably with good video encoders because hobby editing/streaming is huge), it would definitely be a worthwhile upgrade. It wouldn't be great at gaming, but still better than integrated. More importantly, is the added feature of being able to drive multiple 4k monitors, when a lot of motherboards only have 1 video output.
Plus, think about all those processors which have no integrated graphics whatsoever, or older Intel CPUs that still work fine, but have a junk iGPU.

The RX 6400 could have been good card for this market, but it came out at the wrong time, which led it to having the wrong price. Pretty soon it should drop below $100 where it belongs. Intel's A310 is even more promising for this market, if it ever gets real availability.

 

[bit_user]

Immensely so, we see it in the desktop product stack already. GT1030 or RX550 being the lowest relatively current GPUs you can still get new. With HD730 and Vega / RDNA based integrated graphics, not much call for anything more.

People complain that the entry level desktop gaming GPUs are too expensive, but that is because if they made cheaper ones, they would then be seen as too weak to justify the costs. That has always been the case. Just more so now.

$90 for a 2GB GT1030, or $90 for the 4GB RX550. People shouldn't be buying GT730 for $60 (Actually is an r7-240 for $35 right now, neat)
Or $95 for a 3200G.
$121 for a 5600G

I wouldn't buy anything below a RX 6400. However, I think they're a little overpriced at $135.

The main negative about them, as an entry-level card, is the lack of AV1 decode. You can decode in software, of course. Just would be more efficient to use hardware.

 

[Eximo]

I replaced my GT1030 with an A380 just for fun. $140 isn't bad at all for what it can do. I recommend it for lower end systems, even if you can't do Resizable Bar. Though the 8-pin power connector on the ASRock and Intel models kind of sucks, not even necessary since it is a 75W GPU. 6-pin would have been plenty. But the Sparkle and Matrox versions haven't made much of a splash yet. I kind of want the Matrox just for nostalgia and the single slot cool factor.

For a late model AMD or cheap Intel system RX6400 is not a bad deal at all. For older systems with PCIe 3.0, not great. Lack of video encoding is pretty crappy too.

 

[inphecta]

I wonder how much the improvement of integrated graphics has impacted this. Even the "grandparents" rig required some graphics card for many years. Now both AMD and Intel have integrated graphics that will handle mom/pop and office tasks with ease.

The other observation I would make that plays into desiring discrete graphics is the rise of mobile gaming. So many people these days get their fix from their phones they don't need to use a desktop for gaming anymore.

 

[Giroro]

You are getting what you pay for with the 4090.

Change my mind.

That entirely depends on what you're paying for. Extreme gaming frame rates don't magically make games a better use of time, nor do they magically upgrade the monitors of the 97% of the market who are physically incapable of displaying those frames.
Arguably spending that much money on a GPU would actively prevent people from investing in a nicer monitor with better contrast and colors, which would usually have a more noticeable effect on picture quality. A good GPU also will never fix a poorly designed game, nor greedy and cynical monetization practices in the game industry.

So, you get what you pay for if you are in a situation where the highest possible GPU performance will somehow make you more money than a lower performing card. So, like a professional/sponsored overlocker, or you are rendering indie CGI animations.
If the reason you're buying a card for trying to make money through twitch streaming, there is no tangible benefit to wasting that much money on a GPU, as your stream is going to be capped at 1080p60 no matter what. Every game will run at pretty good-looking settings on a $300 GPU, or a $1200 gaming laptop.

If all you're buying the card for something frivolous like entertainment. Say the reason you're buying it is to literally waste your time. There's still phone games, game streaming, consoles, an entire midrange gaming laptop.

Game developers are heavily incentivized to make their game be a good experience to as many people as possible. They would lose a lot of money if they targeted their product at an extreme-high-end niche halo product with <0.01% market share. It's not you're missing out on some groundbreaking experience or life-changing story.
But gaming is a such a narrow point of view to take when $1700 is still sooo much money that will be lost from your life, forever. There's an infinite number of ways to spend your time that does not require a purchase of a GPU of any kind. You could buy like 100 movie tickets instead, or a 10 year subscription to Netflix. For less money you can own a bike, or a used car. Learn how to draw. Get a really nice tattoo. There's a lot of small businesses that you could start for around $1700, which I'm sure would eat of plenty of your time. You could even get fit and do some pushups and jumping jacks for free.

 

[Deleted member 2947362]

For one who was sorta ‘burned’ at my last build (during tough ‘mining heydays and ‘bots picking up any then-current cards), that being mid-2021, I am probably typical in being both hesitant to buy any recent GPU offerings or, moreover, hesitant in doing any desktop upgrades (much less new build)! Card I (finally!) got was a PowerColor Red Devil RX6700XT that cost me over a Grand at the time! I was only lucky after a month or two of searching to finally grab one off Amazon for that price to complete a then-new build. That card (and build AM4 Ryzen 7-5800X3D) is working just fine, and suits my only-occasional gaming needs. Good article, Anton…just one old codger’s reaction to its content: I can very easily understand the public’s lack of interest in the recent Nvidia and AMD GPU offerings!

For those who got burned but could just about afford to take the hit with the over inflated price, if they wanted to sell and upgrade it must feel a bit like the GPU equivalent of having a negative mortgage.. cant sell it to upgrade unless I take a MASSIVE lose even more so if they got it on credit, double whammy or what!

 

[bit_user]

For those who got burned but could just about afford to take the hit with the over inflated price, if they wanted to sell and upgrade it must feel a bit like the GPU equivalent of having a negative mortgage.. cant sell it to upgrade unless I take a MASSIVE lose

A GPU is a depreciating asset. The value of a used GPU will nearly always go down. The value of a home will nearly always go up.

If you're underwater in a mortgage and still employed, you have a reasonable expectation of climbing out of it and being able to turn a profit, unless your neighborhood is turning into a slum. Some people actually walked away from homes that were worth less than they owed, but I think that destroys your credit rating - so, you won't be taking out another mortgage any time soon.

If you're above water on a GPU, that's unusual and you should go ahead and sell if you don't need it.

 

[Deleted member 2947362]

A GPU is a depreciating asset. The value of a used GPU will nearly always go down. The value of a home will nearly always go up.

If you're underwater in a mortgage and still employed, you have a reasonable expectation of climbing out of it and being able to turn a profit, unless your neighborhood is turning into a slum. Some people actually walked away from homes that were worth less than they owed, but I think that destroys your credit rating - so, you won't be taking out another mortgage any time soon.

If you're above water on a GPU, that's unusual and you should go ahead and sell if you don't need it.

I was just joking it's just my sense of humour slipping in.

 

[sitehostplus]

And now, for comparison, I ask these questions.

How are CPU sales doing? Motherboards? Memory? Are PSU sales down as well?

 

[Deleted member 2947362]

I guess what could happen if the home user GPU market stagnates both AMD and Nvidia would be better off sticking with the good ol rebranding of current gens to keep costs down and maximised profit out of what they already have.

No point in releasing costly new developed tech if not enough people have the spare money to buy it atm.

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

That entirely depends on what you're paying for. Extreme gaming frame rates don't magically make games a better use of time, nor do they magically upgrade the monitors of the 97% of the market who are physically incapable of displaying those frames.
Arguably spending that much money on a GPU would actively prevent people from investing in a nicer monitor with better contrast and colors, which would usually have a more noticeable effect on picture quality.

Not applicable... already have the nicer monitor. I've been running OLED displays since 2017. Nothing else even comes close in picture quality.

The 4090 purchase has nothing to do with framerate. It has to do with eye candy. 4K looks night and day better than 1080p... and quite honestly I'm surprised more people don't game at that resolution.

Well maybe it does have a little to do with framerate... I mean... the 4090 is really the only card that will cap 60 fps in 4K Ultra.

Point being... I stand by my comment. If you are like me and want the 4K eye candy... the 4090 is worth it.

There's an infinite number of ways to spend your time that does not require a purchase of a GPU of any kind. You could buy like 100 movie tickets instead, or a 10 year subscription to Netflix. For less money you can own a bike, or a used car. Learn how to draw. Get a really nice tattoo. There's a lot of small businesses that you could start for around $1700, which I'm sure would eat of plenty of your time. You could even get fit and do some pushups and jumping jacks for free.

Everyone has things they like to spend their money on. I personally think spending $15k on a Disney cruise is a waste when I can spend $3k on a Carnival cruise but yet people still cruise with Disney.

No different than this. You think the 4090 is a ripoff... I don't.

 

[Deleted member 2947362]

Not applicable... already have the nicer monitor. I've been running OLED displays since 2017. Nothing else even comes close in picture quality.

The 4090 purchase has nothing to do with framerate. It has to do with eye candy. 4K looks night and day better than 1080p... and quite honestly I'm surprised more people don't game at that resolution.

Well maybe it does have a little to do with framerate... I mean... the 4090 is really the only card that will cap 60 fps in 4K Ultra.

Point being... I stand by my comment. If you are like me and want the 4K eye candy... the 4090 is worth it.



Everyone has things they like to spend their money on. I personally think spending $15k on a Disney cruise is a waste when I can spend $3k on a Carnival cruise.

No different than this. You think the 4090 is a ripoff... I don't.

If I could afford a 4090 and the rest of the system to power and justify owning a 4090 of cause I would have one, why wouldn't you if computers are your thing and you can afford it nothing wrong with that.

For those who can't afford such systems, who cares if you can't afford one ?
Your enjoying your system aren't you? because jealousy is a bad trait.

 

[bigdragon]

My big takeaway from the article is that AMD and Intel market share is growing while Nvidia is shrinking. Nvidia did not provide a generational improvement over the 30-series outside of their top-tier offering. This appears to be giving AMD and Intel space to grow their desktop GPU business. This is a long-term positive as long as the trend continues.

I think analysts who call out the current situation as an correction of oversupply are incorrect. Desktop GPU prices are so high now that consoles are a more compelling value, and integrated graphics are good enough for heavily played PC exclusives.

Personally, the 30-series launch debacle with bots and crypto pricing cancelled my routine upgrade cycle of every-other generation. It also caused me to shun (and CONTINUE to shun) certain retailers and brands who failed to take steps against bots and people buying multiple GPUs shipped to the same address (calling you out Newegg, BestBuy, and Asus).

 

[Deleted member 2947362]

My big takeaway from the article is that AMD and Intel market share is growing while Nvidia is shrinking. Nvidia did not provide a generational improvement over the 30-series outside of their top-tier offering. This appears to be giving AMD and Intel space to grow their desktop GPU business. This is a long-term positive as long as the trend continues.

I think analysts who call out the current situation as an correction of oversupply are incorrect. Desktop GPU prices are so high now that consoles are a more compelling value, and integrated graphics are good enough for heavily played PC exclusives.

Personally, the 30-series launch debacle with bots and crypto pricing cancelled my routine upgrade cycle of every-other generation. It also caused me to shun (and CONTINUE to shun) certain retailers and brands who failed to take steps against bots and people buying multiple GPUs shipped to the same address (calling you out Newegg, BestBuy, and Asus).

lets be honest all company's couldn't care less who bought the hardware their profits sky rocketed.

In fact they most likely learn a lot from the scalpers .

They most likely learned why are we selling our products so cheap if people will pay those prices lol

In my country they where paying people to stay at home in covid so next thing most people locked down with plenty of money burning a hole in their pockets it was a free for all I bet.

But these industries/company's must of known this would only be a short term spending spree due to the unprecedented circumstances these people had a noice lump of spare cash to spend at the time.

 

[Reginald_Peebottom]

I bought the 1080 Ti for $699 as part of my 7700k build in 2017.

$1500 for the 3090 as part of my 10900k build in 2021. Sold the 1080 Ti for $250.

$1750 for the 4090 as part of my 7950x3D build in 2023. Sold the 3090 for $750.

We'll never see a flagship card for $699 again... and while I am not a Nvidia shareholder I do believe that the 4090 is worth the premium. It's a quantum leap in performance improvement over the 3090 as shown here.

Result

www.3dmark.com

.... and here.

Result

www.3dmark.com

You are getting what you pay for with the 4090.

Change my mind.

If you think it’s worth the money, then it is.

But it’s more paying for what you get rather than the other way around - you are over paying because it’s a halo product and because there is no competition at that performance point.

And when they release a 4090ti or sales remain stubbornly slow, enough that they feel a price cut is necessary, then you’ll find you didn’t actually get what you paid for. You got what they were prepared to give you at a price they dictated.

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

If I could afford a 4090 and the rest of the system to power and justify owning a 4090 of cause I would have one, why wouldn't you if computers are your thing and you can afford it nothing wrong with that.

For those who can't afford such systems, who cares if you can't afford one ?
Your enjoying your system aren't you? because jealousy is a bad trait.

It definitely is a bad trait. I can’t afford a Lamborghini… but am I jealous of the guy I saw driving one on 405 the other day. Not at all. Awesome ride.

If you think it’s worth the money, then it is.

But it’s more paying for what you get rather than the other way around - you are over paying because it’s a halo product and because there is no competition at that performance point.

And when they release a 4090ti or sales remain stubbornly slow, enough that they feel a price cut is necessary, then you’ll find you didn’t actually get what you paid for. You got what they were prepared to give you at a price they dictated.

I’d be really surprised if they released a 4090 Ti given what a beast card the 4090 is. It’s not necessary.

Still… if it happens would I upgrade? Probably. I’d get enough in selling the 4090 to cover probably 70% of the cost of the Ti… and if it’s a monster performance increase it would make the decision even easier.

 

[thestryker]

You are getting what you pay for with the 4090.

Change my mind.

Tom's GPU Heirarchy 4k:
2080 Ti - 44.9 fps
3090 - 71.0 fps (58.1% faster than 2080 Ti)
4090 - 114.1 fps (60.7% faster than 3090)

2080 Super - 36.7 fps
3080 - 62.4 fps (70% faster than 2080 Super)
4080 - 88.7 fps (42.1% faster than 3080)

3090 13.8% faster than 3080
4090 28.6% faster than 4080

The 4090 is just as big a leap as the 3090 was over the 2080 Ti, but the price barely moved so speaking of halo cards it isn't unreasonable. The 4080 moved up much less than the 3080, but raised the price significantly so it ends up being the worst value of a series full of bad values. So while I disagree that you're really getting what you pay for it's more semantics than anything else because halo cards should have high prices. This one just happens to be priced largely in line with the other 40 series due cards to how bad the pricing on the rest is.

None of this is to say that I don't understand why someone would buy a 4090 or find value in it for them as the performance is truly massive.

note: I probably could have compared the Titan RTX instead of 2080 Ti but I was trying to aim for similar price class hence doing 3090 instead of 3090 Ti just in case there's a 4090 Ti though I don't think there will be.

 

[YSCCC]

Intel continues to solidify positions on the desktop discrete GPU market as sales of graphics cards shrink.

Desktop Graphics Cards Sales Hit New Multi-Decade Low: Report : Read more

When you got the historical bad value and scalper price tag on a market where ppl are no longer locked at home and have a lot more fun to have than gaming and no more stupid crypto demand, it is destined to go to historical low. Moreover it's a downward sprial, as when a generation leap just come out usually ppl would have the eager to upgrade for the sake of better graphics, but if sales goes so poorly, even developers are forced to aim the great graphics at the last gen mid tier cards, with additional eyecandy for the rare few which usually don't go night and day as other generational leap in HW power would suggest, so after say a 2 gen gap and ppl found their 2000 series and 3000 series just look as good in 2k or 1080P ppl will spend on better things

 

[gg83]

Immensely so, we see it in the desktop product stack already. GT1030 or RX550 being the lowest relatively current GPUs you can still get new. With HD730 and Vega / RDNA based integrated graphics, not much call for anything more.

People complain that the entry level desktop gaming GPUs are too expensive, but that is because if they made cheaper ones, they would then be seen as too weak to justify the costs. That has always been the case. Just more so now.

$90 for a 2GB GT1030, or $90 for the 4GB RX550. People shouldn't be buying GT730 for $60 (Actually is an r7-240 for $35 right now, neat)
Or $95 for a 3200G.
$121 for a 5600G

im looking at that new 7000 series amd apu that minisforum has on preorder. not a plug just thats the only place ive seen it. its packing a 780M gpu! thats more than enough right?

 

[ah.clem]

This is a interesting thread. I built my gaming machine just as the Bitcoin farmers were snagging off every GPU that hit the web. I wanted a 3080 but the price was around 2K and man, I wasn't going there. I ran with the internal GPU in my i7 for some time before I was able to get a $200 1050 TI for $250. I guess I got used to the abusive pricing and I was worried about CPU temps. I've been running the 1050 TI for maybe 8 months and I just came across a new RTX 3050 for $200, under the MSRP and less than other 3050s being advertised. I did some research and found that it would double my performance so I put the money down for the card and another 32G kit as I do a lot of photo stacking and rendering and it was slow with just 32G. I play some games with my grandson but I really wanted the better GPU for the photo rendering. I checked the pricing on the 3080 and it is still out of my range. But I waited a long time before purchasing and I will continue to wait before my next GPU upgrade (about all I can do to this box other than add LED fans, which I'm considering. Grandkids can talk you into almost anything.

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

None of this is to say that I don't understand why someone would buy a 4090 or find value in it for them as the performance is truly massive.

note: I probably could have compared the Titan RTX instead of 2080 Ti but I was trying to aim for similar price class hence doing 3090 instead of 3090 Ti just in case there's a 4090 Ti though I don't think there will be.

Good post. I don't think there's going to be a 4090 Ti either. There isn't a need for it as I said upthread.

The performance truly is massive. A 3rd comparison I haven't posted...

Result

www.3dmark.com

It's honestly the biggest reason I upgraded. Do I pay $1750 for a 25-30% performance improvement? Probably not. I'd have most likely kept the 3090 and 10900k. But for 75% improvement I pulled the trigger on the new PC.

Graphics cards sales are down because a) people don't want to dish out the money for the 4090 or b) they don't want to dish out the money for the other 4000 series cards that aren't much of an upgrade over previous gen... if at all.

4090 or bust with the 4000 series.

 

[sitehostplus]

I think analysts who call out the current situation as an correction of oversupply are incorrect. Desktop GPU prices are so high now that consoles are a more compelling value, and integrated graphics are good enough for heavily played PC exclusives.

I wouldn't exactly say that is true. One of the compelling reasons I shelled out money for the 4080 at my recent big upgrade was due to the IGP in the Ryzen 9 7950x3d literally melting down while playing that graphically intensive game 'Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2'.

The AMD IGP is a joke.

 

[InvalidError]

I guess what could happen if the home user GPU market stagnates both AMD and Nvidia would be better off sticking with the good ol rebranding of current gens to keep costs down and maximised profit out of what they already have.

No point in releasing costly new developed tech if not enough people have the spare money to buy it atm.

If you rebrand the same old crap and only yield 10% "marketing-gen-on-marketing-gen" performance improvement with likely worse power efficiency, the GPUs aren't going to sell much better, reviewers will likely give it a good bashing for being a rehash, and all of that re-branding costs money to deploy and support. May as well just lower the price on old models and keep everything else the same.

People are already doing exactly that, recommending previous-gen stuff if all you care about is graphics performance per dollar because current-gen prices make little to no sense across most of the board.

 

[Ogotai]

Between decent consoles, better laptops, and mobile games, there really isn't a good reason for having the cost, complexity, and size of a full-blown desktop these days. A nice large TV with a console attached and Gamepass is pretty much all people need for games

oh ? as i said to some one else with the same thinking. what IF there are no games on the consoles that a person wants to play ? then what ? that 500+ console just becomes a waste of money, and a paper weight. instead of using that 500+ to upgrade an existing comp ( if needed, that they aready have, with games they play ) that money is sitting in a console that isnt used.

so sadly, no, a console may not be the better option for some, and i am one of those. id rather spend the money on a comp upgrade, in this case, a vid card, then a console, as they dont have any games that interest me enough to spend 500+ on one.

 

[TerryLaze]

Desktop Graphics Cards Sales Hit New Multi-Decade Low: Report : Read more

6.3 million is the lowest quarterly sales result of discrete graphics cards in decades, as historical data shows.

Would be nice if you would show us this historical data you are referencing.
You are showing us numbers from 2014 to 2023, I'm not great at math but I'm pretty sure that's at most one single decade.

The other observation I would make that plays into desiring discrete graphics is the rise of mobile gaming. So many people these days get their fix from their phones they don't need to use a desktop for gaming anymore.

No, these people would be playing their gameboys (gba/DS/3ds/psp/vitas/switches) before smartphone gaming became possible.
Also smartphone gamers will still be playing their consoles or PC games when they get home.
People that get by with mobile gaming alone would never have bought a PC in any time, a console maybe.