News Nvidia GPU Prices Dropped 19% in April

[Admin]

A slowing of Nvidia GPU price declines might be evidence that the era of rapid declines is over for the green team and its partners.

Nvidia GPU Prices Dropped 19% in April : Read more

 

[peachpuff]

I'm seeing msrp prices locally, the drought is over... for now.

 

[bigdragon]

I'm seeing msrp prices locally, the drought is over... for now.

Same. There's a variety of cards in stock at MSRP or slightly below. These are the inflated, top-end MSRPs though. When the MSRP is $720 for an RTX 3070 that Nvidia sells for $500, we've still got a problem. AIB MSRPs were artificially pushed up and need to come down. Paying MSRP is a mistake (that's on top of buying outgoing generation cards right before the new ones come out).

 

[Eximo]

Same. There's a variety of cards in stock at MSRP or slightly below. These are the inflated, top-end MSRPs though. When the MSRP is $720 for an RTX 3070 that Nvidia sells for $500, we've still got a problem. AIB MSRPs were artificially pushed up and need to come down. Paying MSRP is a mistake (that's on top of buying outgoing generation cards right before the new ones come out).

We aren't going to see the launch price again. Costs went up for memory, substrates/interposers, and probably every capacitor and resistor on those boards. Shipping costs also went up with fuel costs. And they likely still don't have a surplus of GPUs to play with, so it still makes sense to concentrate on the cards with the higher profit margins.

 

[10tacle]

^^Pretty much this. We are fortunate to have GPUs back in stock at retail price. Yes, I paid $1,299 retail for my EVGA FTW3 Ultra edition 3080 Ti from NewEgg last August on the shuffle lottery purchase win, and I was lucky to get that for my new mostly MSFS build. To put things into perspective last year, I was on both NewEgg and Microcenter's shuffle program for five months last year just to win the option to pay retail for any three of these: the 3070, the 3080, and the 3080 Ti (with any brand preference). It took that long to win just a buying opportunity, and then some hours thinking it over having that GPU in my cart when I really just wanted the 3080 which in the same EVGA FTW3 trim was $400 less.

And make no mistake the shortage was worse for Nvidia GPUs over AMD GPUs because the demand was not there for AMD cards. Case in point? The $1,399 Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB was avialable all last year on NewEgg and other E-tailers except during a short blip mid-summer. I know that too because I helped a buddy build his MSFS rig around the same time for his son and advised him to get the Radeon as it was the only thing in stock at "normal" price. A similar thing is happening with Xbox X vs. Playstation 5 where you can get the XB all day but the PS5 is either not avaialble at retail price (and you have to get on Sony's waiting list) or you pay scalping prices on E-tailers and eBay.

Things were so bad for so long that people needing a new build and wanting an Nvidia GPU were degraded to buying an inferior pre-built PC like from ABS on NewEgg just to get a high end or mid range GPU. I was about at that point. It is said people have short memories, and already I'm seeing comments out there from people still upset at high GPU prices even at retail price. Like Eximo said, that "normal" GPU price ship sailed long, and for a lot of reasons. The most expensive GPU I ever purchased was back in 2012 with the hot 2GB GTX 680 which retailed for $499 but after-market sold from like EVGA for $549 (mine was EVGA's Superclocked SC).

That's about $685 in today's US dollars. Now to put that GPU into performance perspective relative to today, a $650 8GB RTX 3060 that is available is about 5x as powerful. So when I see people saying the GPUs are just insanely more expensive these days, they are not taking into consideration the power increase for each generation over the previous one, even lower vs. higher tiers. Never mind the ever increased video game graphics demand and no increased monitor resolution and/or speed demands.

EDIT: I just checked NewEgg and my GPU is out of stock again when it was available yesterday at $1299. So people are still snapping GPUs up at all tiers.

 

[cryoburner]

3D Center's previous figures showed both Nvidia and AMD GPUs were both ~25% over MSRPs at the end of March. This might have been enough to tempt some Nvidia fans who had sheltered from the storm over the preceding months. On the other side of the equation, the Nvidia GPU supply might have slowed for some reason or other in the last few weeks. Obviously, something is different in Nvidia-world and AMD-land, as after both being 25% over MSRP at the end of March, Nvidia GPUs are now 19% over MSRP, and AMD GPUs are now 12% over MSRP, on average.

These are not the official MSRPs announced by Nvidia or AMD, but the price-hiked MSRPs from AIBs looking to get a larger cut of sales targeted at crypto-miners last year. Call me when one can get something like a 3060 Ti for close to $400, or a 3080 for close to $700, their actual MSRPs. The next generation of graphics cards should be launching later this year, so anything much over those prices could end up looking like a rather poor value within a matter of months. It's possible that the new cards might target higher price points from the start, though I expect they will at least offer somewhat more performance-per-dollar than the initial 30-series pricing, even if it's not by a lot.

It seems likely that Intel will aim for competitive prices, as they usually do when entering a new market, and even if they don't initially offer any products competing at the "enthusiast level", if they price their cards well below similar-performing cards from the competition, that should have an effect on the pricing of those other cards. And you can be sure that AMD and Nvidia are concerned about another major player entering the market, and will do what they can to prevent Intel from stealing too much market-share from them.

 

[d0000h]

Now to put that GPU into performance perspective relative to today, a $650 8GB RTX 3060 that is available is about 5x as powerful. So when I see people saying the GPUs are just insanely more expensive these days, they are not taking into consideration the power increase for each generation over the previous one, even lower vs. higher tiers.

Not so sure this is how it works for technology. CPUs today are 100-200x more powerful than yr2000, so what are you suggesting the price of CPUs should be today relative to then? Maybe a more fair comparison along that line is how many years will a card today allow me to play AAA titles at 75% graphics settings. If today's cards will last longer than 2012 cards then perhaps it's fair that they cost more(?)

Percentage cost of GPU vs whole the gaming system seems notably higher today than over the last 20 years.

 

[d0000h]

The next generation of graphics cards should be launching later this year, so anything much over those prices could end up looking like a rather poor value within a matter of months. It's possible that the new cards might target higher price points from the start, though I expect they will at least offer somewhat more performance-per-dollar than the initial 30-series pricing, even if it's not by a lot.

Yeah I'm a little worried the new cards are going to really stretch/increase the MSRPs based on what's happened over the last 2 years. Then the retailers will say "Well we're selling them at MSRP" and we're supposed to be like 'Yeah MSRP awesome'. I'm thinking some of the 3000 series Ti cards might look like a pretty good buy if found at a groovy price. Else will have to wait a fair while before new cards price settle down over 9-12 months.

 

[hannibal]

Maybe we see old gen Nvidia 3000 series and AMD 5000 series at MSRP +25 at the release of the next gen
Just interesting to see again MSRP +200% for the new GPU couple of minutes after the release...
"May the bots be with you!"

 

[thisisaname]

Not so sure this is how it works for technology. CPUs today are 100-200x more powerful than yr2000, so what are you suggesting the price of CPUs should be today relative to then? Maybe a more fair comparison along that line is how many years will a card today allow me to play AAA titles at 75% graphics settings. If today's cards will last longer than 2012 cards then perhaps it's fair that they cost more(?)

Percentage cost of GPU vs whole the gaming system seems notably higher today than over the last 20 years.

Could not agree with you more d0000h, and from my post history something I have been saving for some time.

From what I can see technology tends to get better and the price rise tended to not be coupled with now much better it was than the last generation (may even have got better and cheaper).
I can remember when you could pay £25 for 1MB ram stick no one is paying £8000 for a 8GB stick of ram today. The idea things cost more inline with how much better they are is a relatively new one and one I will be very happy when it stops happening.

 

[bigdragon]

Yeah I'm a little worried the new cards are going to really stretch/increase the MSRPs based on what's happened over the last 2 years. Then the retailers will say "Well we're selling them at MSRP" and we're supposed to be like 'Yeah MSRP awesome'. I'm thinking some of the 3000 series Ti cards might look like a pretty good buy if found at a groovy price. Else will have to wait a fair while before new cards price settle down over 9-12 months.

Supply and demand works both ways. The current MSRPs for AIB cards assume that people are making $4 to $8 a day mining -- that's the thing that really pushed those MSRPs through the roof. Worse, artificial scarcity because of scalpers shoved resale prices sky high. Now, you're lucky to be making $2 a day on the same cards and supply is overwhelming the scalpers. Those MSRPs are going to get reacquainted with the console ecosystem if PC gamers continue to hold off on purchasing GPUs. A GPU that's delivering console-like graphics is not worth the ridiculous prices being demanded today.

Prior to the RTX 30-series, GPUs used to sell for below MSRP with multiple games bundled in. It's time we stopped accepting the higher prices and waited for things to correct back down to sane levels. Why spend $900 on a 3070 when you can get a PS5 for $400? Makes zero sense. Prices have a lot further to drop. Increasing yields and removal of tariffs should be counteracting whatever nonsense companies want to groan about with the supply chains that are good enough to not fix for 2 years.

 

[Eximo]

If we are lucky the new cards will have the same rough MSRP as last gen. That coupled with a flood of used mining 30 series cards should drive the mid-range and entry to high end cards down very low.

No way the 'RTX4090' is going to be anything less than $1500, xx80Ti at $1200, and xx80 at $800. But if the 4070 drops at $600 and does around what a 3070Ti or 3080 can do, then the street price for used 3080 is going to be $400-500 if not less. The new cards will be scalped, of course, but shuffles and waiting lists should work better this time around. (Actually just got a notification from EVGA that my 3080 is available, about a year too late.)

Saw some 3070 for $729 just a minute ago on Newegg, Ebay buy it now for $800, just the Amazon listing still sitting at $900+

Definitely a bad buy right now, but they'll keep dropping.

 

[10tacle]

CPUs today are 100-200x more powerful than yr2000, so what are you suggesting the price of CPUs should be today relative to then? Maybe a more fair comparison along that line is how many years will a card today allow me to play AAA titles at 75% graphics settings. ....Percentage cost of GPU vs whole the gaming system seems notably higher today than over the last 20 years.

Again, for gaming specifically, the power of the GPU has become more important as I referenced. Especially at higher resolution monitors. Back in the 1990s moving up from a 600x800 monitor to a 1024x768 one was a big step, and similar again in the early '00s moving up from say a 1280x1024 monitor to the top dog 1600x1200 (all CRT). Games improved and Crysis became the de-facto benchmark for wrecking top end hardware.

CPUs are not in the same category in my opinion at price point rates holding steady because a GPU is really a luxury item specifically targeted for gaming, and is not a necessity with onboard CPU graphics specifically on laptops and non-power business class desktops. The economies of scale for Intel and AMD for a CPU are not even in the same universe as Nvidia and AMD deal with for a GPU chip. And to your point about longevity of GPU, I don't know of a single video card I ever had that could run newer games on my newest latest high resolution flagship monitor (or even on the same old monitor at reduced quality settings) for more than a couple of years at best. That's no new news.

That's just the nature of the beast and the market sets prices. Yes, you are correct that GPU prices have increased in scale over their comparable generation CPUs, but the scale of the CPU vs. GPU scaling as for many years now shifted bias to the GPU in importance. The best example of that is any 4K benchmark comparison of a new CPU showing little difference in FPS between a several-generation older one and the latest (assuming same cores). The same cannot be said of said GPU. Two examples:

AMD's latest Ryzen 7 5800X3D on Far Cry 6 at 4K with a 3090 - https://www.guru3d.com/index.php?ct=articles&action=file&id=79058
Multiple CPUs on ASUS's RTX 3090 Ti TUF Gaming on Far Cry 6 - https://www.guru3d.com/index.php?ct=articles&action=file&id=78819

^^The point being is that if you look at that 4K scaling on FPS and compare pricing for their respective baseline MSRPs, today's GPU prices are not that far out of whack as claimed. Now, if you just want to continue gaming at 60FPS on 1080p forever, then you move to a lower tiered next generation GPU closer to your previous price point purchase which will still offer better performance, with said peformance gap only widening between lower tiers and older higher tiers when skipping generations. Exactly as I gave an example of in my previous post.

 

[d0000h]

Again, for gaming specifically, the power of the GPU has become more important as I referenced.

That's just the nature of the beast and the market sets prices. Yes, you are correct that GPU prices have increased in scale over their comparable generation CPUs, but the scale of the CPU vs. GPU scaling as for many years now shifted bias to the GPU in importance.

In your previous post you said "So when I see people saying the GPUs are just insanely more expensive these days, they are not taking into consideration the power increase for each generation over the previous one, even lower vs. higher tiers." My reply was that all tech is more powerful that the previous generation, and not all tech is increasing in price at such a rapid rate. CPU was only one example, but of course it applies to all tech. And as others have pointed out, there are examples of relative price decreases generation over generation, even as the tech improved. Increased performance of tech over generations is not an excuse or reason for increased price above expected levels (inflation, costs, supply etc). I still stand by this.

Your new points talks about "The nature of the beast". GPUs are "more important" to a gaming build than over the last 20 years. Not sure this is particularly true to any large degree for the whole system, relative to CPU ....maybe(?). Still need most all the stuff you needed for the last 20 years. You always needed a good GPU to run the new games, and never needed a top end CPU. And I don't see many people buying $1200 GPUs and using crappy 5400RPM HD, crappy MB, crappy RAM, crappy CPUs, crappy coolers and crappy cases (well I do use cheapo cases).

BUT lets assume it is true.... GPUs are more important (relatively) that other components and hence it's the nature of the beast for the market. So then prices are higher than many feel they should be not because they cost more to make, not because of development costs, but because they are "more important". This means profit margins are higher just because they can be. I'm pretty sure that's what a lot of people are a bit cheesed at.

It's no secret, they are so high right now because:

1. Covid
2. Mining
3. Only 2 vendors
4. Increasing profits. Made possible by 1/2/3

If just one of 1 or 2 or 3 were erased, prices would be notably lower. Name any other component of a CPU which has all of 1 and 2 and 3. NONE, so people are not getting hosed on any other components. Sure prices were (are?) higher for many things due to #1, but most seemed to have settled down. Not sure why some are trying to rationalize or justify it in other fanciful ways.

GPUs started the trend a number of years ago of having a VERY high top end card price relative to the rest of the line up. A card that very few people would ever buy, it never used to be like that especially to that degree. Sure OK, if you want to pay for it go ahead, fund the system. Others could still buy the more reasonably priced cards for 40-50% less $ than that one top card. Then the trickle down pricing started and we were all a little conditioned for it. Then a few years later Covid and mining.

Based on this trend and current environment, what do we think MSRP will be like for 4000 series cards? Probably much higher than people who have been gaming for 25 years would expect. How about 5000 series in the future?

I love GPUs, and I love PC gaming. I also wish GPU prices were more reasonable right now so I could build a mid tier gaming PC for my kid. But they aren't and they won't be until maybe Q3/Q4 of 2023. And really maybe not even then.

 

[dwn2brasstacks]

I snagged an EVGA 3080 12GB from Newegg on the 18th. My jaw dropped when I saw the price of $999. I saw this card going for $1350 retail (out of stock) and $2k scalper price Just a month ago or so. For comparison, the older EVGA 3080 10GB retailed for $850 before the great price hike now has an MSRP of $950.
True, we are getting to the end of the life of this series. Who knows what the future holds, but Bitcoin/Eth is in a slump right now. They will be rebounding sometime, likely after midterm primaries and certainly after Biden is replaced.
Toms seems mystified by availability when crypto is up and keeps acting like crypto is a fad. It's been building for 15 years and gaining momentum throughout time, especially these last 5. It is not going away anytime soon, and when it resurges GPUs will be short again...unless measures are taken. The LHR is getting better at stopping them so this is a good sign. Que lines are also working better, but not perfect, EVGA's being the best that I experienced.
As for the next generation of cards, the supply chain is going to have the biggest impact followed/possibly superceeded by mining demand and then scalper fever. The actual gamer is lower on the list than any of those. I am guessing it will be hard to snag one anytime soon, certainly at MSRP which will likely continue to be inflated for the next year at least.
A lot of material came out all at once on the 18th. GPUs are for sale on EVGA.com and Newegg right now when they have not been in stock all year (minus the newer hugely inflated MSRP units, now "on sale.") I think scalpers have completely dipped out with shrinking profits, and miners are chilling/waiting for the next card, especially with crypto not moving now for months.

 

[d0000h]

I snagged an EVGA 3080 12GB from Newegg on the 18th. My jaw dropped when I saw the price of $999. I saw this card going for $1350 retail (out of stock) and $2k scalper price Just a month ago or so. For comparison, the older EVGA 3080 10GB retailed for $850 before the great price hike now has an MSRP of $950.

Congrats! .....and condolences to the wife and kids. Have you started Elden Ring yet?

How do you feel about $999 for the card (mid tier option from the top line models)? Not compared to MSRP, not compared to previous street price but just $999 relative to all the other GPUs you've ever bought over the years.

Fyi I got my 3080 10GB in Nov 2020 for $1050Cdn ($850 US). Yes it was a "good price" relatively, but it was a tough pill to swallow even at that time. Guess I'm just cheap, but I've always bought good GPUs and never had this lump in the throat feeling before. Anyway, loving the card especially after undervolting for fan noise. Loving the DLSS. Loving the Elden Ring.

Viva La PC Gaming!

Cards I've owned:
2020: RTX 3080
2014: GTX 970
2010: GTX 470
2007: 8800GTS
2002: GF4TI 4400-VTD
1998: Creative Riva TNT 16 AGP

 

[penguinslovebananas]

AIB MSRPs were artificially pushed up and need to come down.

Like others this is my real concern, these AIB makers got used to taking a bigger piece of the pie on every card and they could really set the stage for the future. I find it remarkably admirable and surprising that Nvidia and AMD stuck to their release MSRP. Sure people would have bitched but we all know the cards would have sold. I feel the real asshole, aside from the scalpers, in this whole situation, and one that could have the biggest impact is eBay. Dispite the fact that they have rules in their handbook against supply constrained profiteering, and punished sellers for crazy prices on masks, alcohol, etc., for some reason this did not apply to gpus and other tech, I guess their ethics are monetary based. They have set a poor precedence and it’s my thought they have set the stage for the government to get involved. The FTC and politions in general will only put up with consumer aggravation from scalpers and since they can’t go after the individuals they will go after the enabler. I don’t feel this is really the right way to go about things, but I wouldn’t complain either. I think eBay would be doing themselves a great service now that things have somewhat calmed down to ensure this cannot happen again because it will and it won’t be relegated to tech, its already happening in the high-end / collector sneaker market. With the proliferation of bots and ability to make a buck on anything with limited investment, which says something about the real issues in our society, the wealth gap and a severe lack of respect for our neighbor, this going to continue.

 

[namad7]

Same. There's a variety of cards in stock at MSRP or slightly below. These are the inflated, top-end MSRPs though. When the MSRP is $720 for an RTX 3070 that Nvidia sells for $500, we've still got a problem. AIB MSRPs were artificially pushed up and need to come down. Paying MSRP is a mistake (that's on top of buying outgoing generation cards right before the new ones come out).

I agree I don't see what makes these numbers msrp's AT ALL whatsoever. On the day the 3rd party 3070 cards were first given prices they ran 550$-620$ an msrp of 720$ is above the original msrp a gouge by the company msi/evga/etc whoever.

Usually the beefier redesign from 3rd parties runs between 50-100$ surcharge or 20% surcharge whichever is higher.


This gap is even wider for the 3080s.

On the other hand it's entirely possible that in the fall nvidia will bake this 100-200$ surcharge into their own founder's edition msrp's, although if they do, it'll likely be to make room to sell more 30-series cards while marking up the 40-series to avoid competing with themselves on pricepoint. If nvidia does raise it's price brackets then the article's definition of "msrp" might turn out to be prescient rather than foolish.