What are your thoughts on the present state of the GPU market?
What are your thoughts on the present state of the GPU market?
Seeking an external viewpoint on the situation. The high cost of GPUs appears unjustified given current demand and limited supply. Tariffs are exacerbating the issue, while the economy remains challenging over the past years. It's puzzling how GPUs continue to be in demand at this price point.
1) Artificial Intelligence offers greater profit potential compared to selling gaming GPUs
2) Mobile and console graphics have advanced, making entry-level desktop gaming more accessible
3) High-resolution gaming has gained traction among enthusiasts, prompting larger cards for better performance
4) GPUs serve multiple purposes now. With tools like CUDA and OpenCL, new opportunities arise, and homegrown AI initiatives also contribute to demand.
Frankly, if your sole goal is gaming, you don’t need a $600 GPU plus hardware. A used card or a basic entry-level model works just as well. Today’s entry-level cards match the power of a flagship GPU from 5 to 7 years prior.
Nvidia produces very few consumer cards using its chips to achieve high profit margins in professional and enterprise sectors. If any chips fall short in either market, Nvidia offers a 5000 series card. Monopolies are undesirable, though AMD with the 9070 XT is striving to shift the consumer landscape into a duopoly. All these components are manufactured on TSMC 4N or 4NP wafers, and companies like Nvidia, AMD, Apple, etc., all vie for their availability. I would expect to be paying between 50 to 200 dollars a month for a graphics card over the next decade if Nvidia continues to remain active in gaming. Sorry for the pessimism, but that’s my perspective.
I believe adjustments could occur slightly once all the major projects currently in development or early production begin operating fully. If Intel commits to manufacturing gaming GPUs with their own 18A node, they should be capable of making a significant impact in the gaming sector, potentially even matching AMD's efforts.
Additionally, tariffs targeting China may be reduced, removed, or production could shift to countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, or Thailand, following the pattern observed over recent years.
I believe the current GPU market keeps spinning like a never-ending treadmill, surpassing the expense of a new washing machine.
Presently, even used GPUs are selling at high prices, though it seems like every summer the used ones drop in value.
I often see RTX 2070 models priced between $200 and $250, which is actually four generations behind.
If you were using a GTX 960 or older, the RTX 2070 would have been superior, but you’re still likely to face its decline sooner than later.
For the higher-end RTX 3000 models in used condition, prices match those of the RTX 5000 series at lower to mid price points.
Personally, I’m not ready to make a purchase just yet.
Looking ahead, I’ll need to buy three GPUs soon so I can stay ahead of the trends.
For the budget market, basically worth it to try and score an Intel B580. There is always the RX7600, which hopefully gets supplanted by an RX 9060 in the same price range as the 4060Ti (with similar performance) I am not expecting pricing miracles out of AMD.
I purchased my 2070 Super about two years ago for $200, with half a year of warranty remaining. It’s still working well alongside newer models like the RTX 4060, and it has the same VRAM capacity I’m satisfied with. The RTX 5060 doesn’t seem much better, and the 5xx series isn’t worth it overall. I mainly play Total War games and CS2, so it’s more than sufficient. I’ll wait for the 4070 Ti Super to drop in price before considering an upgrade. The last mid-range GPU that worked was the GTX 1060 6GB, released nearly ten years ago, and it matched the performance of the original GTX 980. Since then, NVIDIA has been raising prices without delivering better value. RTX 3060/4060 can’t even compete with cards from 2-3 generations back...
The RTX 2070 is fine, and the $200 price tag is what you remember from two years back. You're right about that.
The reason GPU prices have risen is mainly due to changes in supply and demand, along with the ongoing increase in inflation.