GPU pricing is broken again - but the real question is how badly. We're putting hard numbers to this situation. How much have graphics card prices increased since memory prices went through the roof?
Absurd GPU Pricing Update: Q1 2026 Edition
- Thread starter Scorpus
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R00sT3R
Posts: 923 +2,807
Well, as long as Pc Gamers keep behaving like the FOMO driven 1diots they are, then someone will always be there to take advantage of their stupidity...
If playing video games is the most important thing in your life and will convince you to drop absurd amounts of cash on GPUs, RAM and SSDs then you need to take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself what's gone wrong.
If playing video games is the most important thing in your life and will convince you to drop absurd amounts of cash on GPUs, RAM and SSDs then you need to take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself what's gone wrong.
Neatfeatguy
Posts: 2,249 +4,548
Yet, still not a single card worth upgrading from a 3080Ti in that entire list, even when they were at "MSRP".
Even before the price increases, needing to spend $1K or more on a GPU that actually makes a meaningful gain in performance is not money well spent. Not to mention the awful showing of 5XXX series with power cable melting issues (even applies to the couple of 9070XT models that use it), driver issues and the black screen issues.....yeah, you couldn't pay me to use a Blackwell GPU.
With how things are going, this Ampere may very well be the last gaming GPU I ever buy. The next gen of GPU isn't going to see the light of day until late 2027, if we're lucky, from the current rumors going around. With how pricing is jumping I'd venture to guess all models that come out will see a solid 15% increase over what we currently call "MSRP".
Then, with how poor they've done (all sides) with performance gains I'd venture to guess that a RTX xx70 model might outdo my 3080Ti by 15%. Maybe AMD might be a good upgrade direction if they have another xx70XT model and they give a 15-20% gain over the current 9070XT model while keeping a similar price; that could be a decent upgrade.
Even before the price increases, needing to spend $1K or more on a GPU that actually makes a meaningful gain in performance is not money well spent. Not to mention the awful showing of 5XXX series with power cable melting issues (even applies to the couple of 9070XT models that use it), driver issues and the black screen issues.....yeah, you couldn't pay me to use a Blackwell GPU.
With how things are going, this Ampere may very well be the last gaming GPU I ever buy. The next gen of GPU isn't going to see the light of day until late 2027, if we're lucky, from the current rumors going around. With how pricing is jumping I'd venture to guess all models that come out will see a solid 15% increase over what we currently call "MSRP".
Then, with how poor they've done (all sides) with performance gains I'd venture to guess that a RTX xx70 model might outdo my 3080Ti by 15%. Maybe AMD might be a good upgrade direction if they have another xx70XT model and they give a 15-20% gain over the current 9070XT model while keeping a similar price; that could be a decent upgrade.
That's not specific to your situation, upgrading a *high-end* model rarely makes sense within 5 years.
Just enjoy your card.
themastergoose
Posts: 259 +846
I hate the current pricing but to say there's no upgrade from where you are is somewhat incorrect. The 3080 Ti at launch was high end and had a £999 MSRP in the UK. Fast forward to today and the RTX 5080 also has an MSRP of £999 but is on average 52% faster (Source: TechPowerUp). A substantially faster product at the same price point exists so if you needed something faster it's there. Not great value, but not terrible neither at MSRP.
Of course, this assumes MSRP. So on the other hand you have an entirely valid point where scalping and retailer markup push card prices well above MSRP. You then end up in a situation where the 52% extra performance mentioned above costs an extra 52% to buy also, which is bad as your then not improving performance per £, it's just scaling linearly which is what's happening at the moment and why nobody should buy.
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I really have to wonder what world people live in when they say there's no improvement since ampere.
I assume, at best, they have ampere and ada confused in their head. Ada was a major step up in performance, it's Blackwell that stalled out.
Wait a second. Why would undercoating fix a connector that doesn't have widespread issues? The failures are not limited to the 4090, we've seen lower power cards fail too. So how would an under volt fix that?
Str8Shot
Posts: 407 +618
The wh*r*s of politics will tell you inflation is under control because the index is around 3%. Meanwhile groceries, and other necessities, are up 20-40% YoY.
Charging 15-40% higher GPU prices when wages aren’t going up by the same percent is called f***ing the consumer.
Charging 15-40% higher GPU prices when wages aren’t going up by the same percent is called f***ing the consumer.
j4ni1
Posts: 37 +97
There are a lot of good upgrades from 3080Ti. Both 9070XT and 5080 are such.
-9070 XT is faster, more efficient, many designs near silent, has RT and quality upscaling features.
-5080 all of the above with more performance and better frame gen and of course costing more money, but 3080Ti also wasn't cheap or the best cost-performance ratio, so I don't see why its successor should be if you buy one.
Are you unable to read?
There's a low percentage of gpus that fail at the power connector. It's not happening often. What an undervolt does is allow the gpu to run at a similar performance while using less power. Less power coursing through the connector means less heat and less risk.
onebignerd
Posts: 128 +73
The 5000 series were duds, not giving any benefit in upgrading being little more than barebones and jerry-rigged 4000 cards as a new series. IMO
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GodisanAtheist
Posts: 1,198 +2,539
Upgraded my 3yr old 6800xt to a lightly used $600 9070xt a month ago. It's the most I've ever spent on a graphics card ever, but I didn't want to be stuck in the same situation I was in during the mining crunch, where I was trying to hobble along an ancient 980ti well past its expiry date.
Anyone that was paying attention could feel the price increases coming, and I make enough to comfortably afford the new card without feeling like I'm throwing money away on what is ultimately just a pass time.
If there is something good to be said about upscaling and motion smoothing tech, it's that they will allow older cards to remain relevant for much much longer, allowing many to ride out this current price bubble relatively comfortably (unlike the 2020 mining disaster where many folks were still on Pascal/Polaris era or earlier cards that didn't support upscaling outside of FSR2.0 and had no motion smoothing tech).
Anyone that was paying attention could feel the price increases coming, and I make enough to comfortably afford the new card without feeling like I'm throwing money away on what is ultimately just a pass time.
If there is something good to be said about upscaling and motion smoothing tech, it's that they will allow older cards to remain relevant for much much longer, allowing many to ride out this current price bubble relatively comfortably (unlike the 2020 mining disaster where many folks were still on Pascal/Polaris era or earlier cards that didn't support upscaling outside of FSR2.0 and had no motion smoothing tech).
Pastuch
Posts: 166 +199
Framegen and RT are not legitimate features, a tiny fraction of the game market enables them. Raster is king.
The 9070xt is a little faster than his 3080ti in raw raster, does that justify the absolutely outrageous cost, not at all.
If you keep lining up and camping out to buy - they'll keep raising prices.
I've got my 5090. I'll wait till 2036 to buy another machine. Maybe by then they'll do what apple did and force preorders to kill scalping.
I've got my 5090. I'll wait till 2036 to buy another machine. Maybe by then they'll do what apple did and force preorders to kill scalping.
WhiteLeaff
Posts: 1,049 +2,033
WhiteLeaff
Posts: 1,049 +2,033
And it could be about 30% faster without that RT junk.
Neatfeatguy
Posts: 2,249 +4,548
The 3080Ti was outrageously overpriced when it released due to the price gouging that Nvidia was really good at taking advantage of. By the end of it's run when GPUs were falling in price it was priced very reasonably. I got mine for $750 brand new (around $815 after taxes).
Going to a 9070XT for about a 25% performance gain for $700+ a good upgrade, but not for a similar price as what I already paid on my 3080Ti. This is two generations later. As in terms of more efficient, they both pull roughly the same amount of power for gaming; right around that 350W. Even if you're running V-Sync, the 9070XT will only save you about 15-20W over the 3080Ti. So, no, it's not more efficient.
Going from a 3080Ti to a 5080 you get a 50% performance gain, but paying nearly 2x for that performance over what I paid for a 3080Ti is stupid.
ActualViking
Posts: 102 +117
Tariffs nonsense, inflation and the US$ losing value explains why the US prices are up (especially when measured in $). You can thank Donald.
Your comment lacks credibility as all countries have had similar increases. We also know some direct drivers unrelated to tariffs.
brucek
Posts: 2,338 +3,753
You're combining two different ideas there.
On the general theme of, you can enjoy gaming for less / there have often been better deals and there will be again / if you keep paying higher prices they'll keep raising the prices, then sure, I'm all for us collectively being smart and informed shoppers.
On the other idea that somehow video games are less worthy as a hobby or of budget than other people's hobbies, there I'm going to push back. The funny thing is that even if I were to consider these absurd prices, my preferred hobby would still cost a lot less than other popular choices I see in my area/circle such as golf, tennis, boats, exotic travel, redecorating the house every few years, etc etc. Don't even get me started on fashion or bling. No shame in my game.
pnntmp
Posts: 713 +1,280
There's no such thing as "absurd pricing".
I buy stuff voluntarily. Obviously, buying means I accept the price, which means it's not absurd for me. It may seem absurd to others, but that doesn't concern neither the buyer nor the seller, so any such opinions are irrelevant.
Price is where supply meets demand, it's ridiculous to use high/low/absurd etc. to describe it.
I buy stuff voluntarily. Obviously, buying means I accept the price, which means it's not absurd for me. It may seem absurd to others, but that doesn't concern neither the buyer nor the seller, so any such opinions are irrelevant.
Price is where supply meets demand, it's ridiculous to use high/low/absurd etc. to describe it.
amstech
Posts: 2,801 +1,963
Youre just regurgitating propoganda.
Inflation went up 10% under Biden. Its cooled under Trump. The US isnt losing money and current RAM and GPU prices aren't high due to any tariff or foreign policy, the prices have been very high for years. AI is forcing high demand and low supply, directly impacting pricing. Some companies have pulled out of making consumer RAM completely.
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