With Nvidia RTX 30-series GPU prices finally falling, is it time to build a gaming PC?

Date:
Tue, 10 Aug 2021 12:15:00 +0000

Description:
Theres finally some good news for PC gamers, as prices of Nvidias latest
GPUs, like the RTX 3080, appear to be dropping after months of inflation. But what does this mean for building a new PC?

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Could the GPU nightmare finally be over? Perhaps as theres some encouraging signs that Nvidias RTX 30-series graphics cards, including the excellent RTX 3080 and RTX 3060 , may finally be dropping in price after months of inflation.

The global chip shortage in part caused by the Covid-19 pandemic combined with pent-up demand and a boom in cryptocurrency mining , has caused a
perfect storm that has made new graphics cards extremely hard to get hold of. To make matters worse, when GPUs are in stock, some retailers or resellers
are selling them at inflated prices. These are the best graphics cards How about buying the best gaming laptop you can afford? We also pick the best gaming PCs

This has made upgrading your PC, or building a new one from scratch, a real headache, as well as being more expensive than usual. So, a new report from 3DCenter.org , as spotted by Toms Hardware , which suggests prices for
certain GPUs may be dropping, is certainly good news.

Before we dig in to what this means, there are some caveats. For a start, the report looks at prices in Germany only. However, Germany is one of the
biggest markets for PC components, so a trend there could hint at wider
market implications.

Whats also interesting about the report is that while Nvidia graphics card prices appear to be falling, the prices for AMD graphics cards are actually rising. This has led to some Nvidia GPUs being better value than AMD ones. What a world we live in.

According to the report, back in may Nvidia cards were selling at a whopping 300% above their MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price). However, a month later that inflation had dropped to 191%, and is now at 150%. While still above MSRP, its still a substantial drop. What about AMD?

While these price drops are good news for people wanting an Nvidia graphics card, for AMD fans, it appears to be a different matter, as prices havent dropped quite as much. New AMD RX 6000 series cards were selling at 214% of their MSRP recently, and that has dropped to just 159%.

Of course, the price of AMD cards didnt have as far to fall as Nvidia ones, but with its rivals prices dropping faster, it could leave AMDs GPUs looking like a worse value proposition.

So, whats going on? For a start, while Nvidia has been implementing hash rate limiters to stop its GPUs being so attractive to cryptocurrency miners, which could have a knock-on effect of miners and scalpers mass-buying its GPUs and inflating prices, AMD hasnt followed suit.

Theres also the fact that Nvidias GPUs are vastly outselling AMDs graphics cards with the ultra-high-end RTX 3090 outselling all AMD RX 6000 GPUs according to a recent Steam Hardware Survey.

This would suggest theres less leeway (or desire) for retailers to start dropping the prices of AMD GPUs as quickly. Is now a good time to build or upgrade?

With graphics cards being so scarce, or selling for such high amounts recently, many people have been holding off building or upgrading their PCs. So, does this drop in price suggest nows the time to build your dream rig?

In one way yes. If you find an Nvidia RTX 30-series GPU on sale right now
for a price you can afford, its worth getting. Theres a good chance its being sold for less than it would have been going for a few months ago.

GPU stock still remains low, so if you dont buy one now, it may go out of stock and you may not be able to get hold of one for months, further delaying your build.

However, there are also reasons to wait, if you can. The prices are going in the right direction, but they are still being sold above MSRP. By holding on, you may find prices drop further though theres no guarantee they will.

What this does mean is that PC gamers finally have a bit of flexibility. A
few months ago with inflated prices and low stock, we recommended not upgrading your PC. However, with prices dropping, for some people now is a good time.

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming up later in the year, we may see prices drop a little further. We dont expect any bargains, but we may finally be able to upgrade our PCs without spending obscene amounts. We hope. AMD vs Nvidia : who makes the best GPUs?



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/with-nvidia-rtx-30-series-gpu-prices-finally-fa lling-is-it-time-to-build-a-gaming-pc/


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