What just happened? More sad news for those who nostalgically look back on the days when graphics card prices and availability weren’t the stuff of nightmares: prices in China are now on the increase as a result of reduced GPU shipments, a trend we’re also witnessing in other countries.
Yes, graphics cards prices are starting to rise again after spending several months moving closer to their MSRP. According MyDrivers (via TechPowerUp), the increases within China stem from reduced GPU shipments. The problem is particularly bad with Nvidia’s RTX 3060, which has seen its supply fall 50 percent and is not expected to improve for several weeks.
MyDrivers has tracked the price of cards from several AIB partners, including Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI. Some increases aren’t too significant—the Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti jumped by just $12—but others are more extreme: the Asus RTX 3070 Ti is reportedly up by $92. That marks a 15% increase over its $599 MSRP, not that you’d find it for that price anywhere. MyDrivers also reports that Nvidia has felt the supply issues more than AMD.
Last week brought more depressing news from 3DCenter. The German site’s regular report, which examines average selling prices of Ampere/RDNA 2 cards at retailers in the country, found products from both Nvidia and AMD had risen in price throughout August. In the case of team green, this came after almost three months of declines. 3DCenter notes that availability is also worsening.
| MSRP | eBay Average Price June | eBay Average Price July | eBay Average Price August | Current Price Inflation | Price Increase July to August | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 3090 | $1,500 | $2,962 | $2,599 | $2,607 | 74% | 0% |
| GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | $1,200 | $2,187 | $1,905 | $1,815 | 51% | -5% |
| GeForce RTX 3080 | $700 | $1,948 | $1,623 | $1,643 | 135% | 1% |
| GeForce RTX 3070 Ti | $600 | $1,323 | $1,085 | $1,170 | 95% | 8% |
| GeForce RTX 3070 | $500 | $1,261 | $1,075 | $1,228 | 146% | 14% |
| GeForce RTX 3060 Ti | $400 | $1,255 | $1,012 | $952 | 138% | -6% |
| GeForce RTX 3060 | $330 | $830 | $723 | $752 | 128% | 4% |
| Average | 109% | 2% |
It’s a similar story in the second-hand market. Our own GPU availability and pricing update for August reveals card prices (on eBay) rising by a few percentage points.
Interestingly, it seems people are still buying Ampere cards, presumably from resellers, as the latest Steam hardware survey shows all but the RTX 3090 experiencing a user share increase during August.