GPU availability and pricing sees significant improvement in February

[nanoguy]

In brief: Prices for graphics cards are dropping again, mostly due to improving retail inventories and lower demand from cryptocurrency miners. The situation is still far from ideal, but there are enough signs to warrant some cautious optimism for gamers.

Last month, a rise in Ethereum mining difficulty coupled with tumbling cryptocurrency values saw GPU prices trend downward for the first time in months. The decline has continued for the last few weeks, but it’s still too early to celebrate a return to sane pricing for consumer graphics cards.

According to the latest report from German publication 3DCenter, we’re clearly in a better spot than January. At least in Central Europe, Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 30 series are priced, on average, at 57 percent over MSRP, a significant improvement over the 77 percent premium observed last month. Retail pricing for AMD’s Radeon RX 6000 series now sits at an average of 45 percent over MSRP, which is even better.

Mid-range and high-end graphics cards are still ridiculously expensive, with the 10-gigabyte RTX 3080 and the RX 6800 being the worst offenders with price tags of 72 percent and 73 percent over MSRP, respectively. Lower-end models like the RX 6600 XT and RX 6500 XT are more reasonably priced, with the latter model found at 17 percent over MSRP.

The RTX 3080 Ti now looks like great value with a markup of “just” 32 percent over its Nvidia-suggested retail price of €1,199. The same can be said of AMD’s RX 6900 XT, which can be found for around €1,400, or 33 percent more than the ideal price.

It’s important to note that availability has been steadily improving over the past few months, particularly at the low-end. Retailers now hold hundreds of graphics cards in stock, which is in stark contrast to the supply conditions we’ve seen throughout 2021.

Nvidia may be looking to make a cheaper RTX 3050 based on a smaller die and smaller VRAM, which could improve things further. AIB partners like Gigabyte, Asus, MSI, and ASRock are expecting an increase in GPU shipments in the coming months, and industry watchers believe the supply chain is gradually recovering from material and component shortages. The main obstacles right now are GPU mining and scalping, both of which are notoriously difficult to solve.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/93382-gpu-availability-pricing-saw-significant-improvement-february.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

The true fallacy of people who try to claim that "as mining gets greener, it wastes less energy" is ultimately that as mining gets greener (they switch to renewables) the miners will simply build a BIGGER machine and use more CPU, GPU, RAM, etc.

Mining's pronounced decline is correlated directly to the government's ending of quarantines, the refusal to issue more "stimulus" (welfare checks) and the sudden, pronounced decline in individual coins due to the proliferation of coins and index bias (there are over 17,000 cryptos now).

Card availability has improved either because more stores are monitoring sales more closely, or because more gamers find themselves with less disposable income/ credit availability.

The bottom line: scalpers will forever have GPU on their crosshairs because of the profitability margin, regardless they sell to miners or gamers.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

The true fallacy of people who try to claim that "as mining gets greener, it wastes less energy" is ultimately that as mining gets greener (they switch to renewables) the miners will simply build a BIGGER machine and use more CPU, GPU, RAM, etc.

Mining's pronounced decline is correlated directly to the government's ending of quarantines, the refusal to issue more "stimulus" (welfare checks) and the sudden, pronounced decline in individual coins due to the proliferation of coins and index bias (there are over 17,000 cryptos now).

Card availability has improved either because more stores are monitoring sales more closely, or because more gamers find themselves with less disposable income/ credit availability.

The bottom line: scalpers will forever have GPU on their crosshairs because of the profitability margin, regardless they sell to miners or gamers.

Well said. I'd like to add that more countries either banning the use of crypto or taxing it as an asset has put quite a dampner on mining. Having to pay a 46% tax up front for every coin you obtain prevents miners from holding onto thousands of coins until the value skyrockets, putting a wet blanket on the price of crypto overall.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Well said. I'd like to add that more countries either banning the use of crypto or taxing it as an asset has put quite a dampner on mining. Having to pay a 46% tax up front for every coin you obtain prevents miners from holding onto thousands of coins until the value skyrockets, putting a wet blanket on the price of crypto overall.

Taxation of crypto, effectively is a way to tax virtually the entire world - without borders - without limits as this is a worldwide, 24/7 "commodity" that appreciates or depreciates in value and anyone who happens to appreciate in theirs will most certainly be taxed.

I also see these cryptos as a way for the government to hide the true cost of inflation as the printed money they hand out in stimulus checks gets gambled away.

I don't trust crypto. Obviously it's not anonymous - government's able to track down thieves and scammers as they recently proved. Obviously it is correlated to the stock market. Obviously it's no store of value. Obviously it's no hedge against inflation.

The only people who disagree are part of a highly organized and peer regulating group that labels any negativity expressed as "FOMO".

 

[bviktor]

The true fallacy of people who try to claim that "as mining gets greener, it wastes less energy" is ultimately that as mining gets greener (they switch to renewables) the miners will simply build a BIGGER machine and use more CPU, GPU, RAM, etc.

Mining's pronounced decline is correlated directly to the government's ending of quarantines, the refusal to issue more "stimulus" (welfare checks) and the sudden, pronounced decline in individual coins due to the proliferation of coins and index bias (there are over 17,000 cryptos now).

Card availability has improved either because more stores are monitoring sales more closely, or because more gamers find themselves with less disposable income/ credit availability.

The bottom line: scalpers will forever have GPU on their crosshairs because of the profitability margin, regardless they sell to miners or gamers.

And who said mining gets greener? Besides you, that is. Don't make up nonsensical statements just to prove them wrong. It won't make you look any smarter. Quite the contrary, actually.

 

[Austinturner]

I don’t see how “scalping” will continue to be an obstacle. Now that prices are falling and availability is improving anyone buying them to resell would likely be selling at a loss, that should kill off scalping very quickly!

 

[QuantumPhysics]

And who said mining gets greener? Besides you, that is. Don't make up nonsensical statements just to prove them wrong. It won't make you look any smarter. Quite the contrary, actually.

Ummmm duhhhh...the people claiming mining is greener because of the use of geothermal energy and renewables...duhhhhrrr

 

[QuantumPhysics]

I don’t see how “scalping” will continue to be an obstacle. Now that prices are falling and availability is improving anyone buying them to resell would likely be selling at a loss, that should kill off scalping very quickly!

Scalpers Know there's a profitability motive. Even if they slow down on scalping the 3000 series...they'll be right back for the 4000.

 

[Austinturner]

Scalpers Know there's a profitability motive. Even if they slow down on scalping the 3000 series...they'll be right back for the 4000.

I mean now with current products, who knows what the situation will be with a future release. Scalpers buying now should start losing money and wouldn’t keep it up for long.

 

[Athlonite]

Blah Blah Blah GPU's getting cheaper er OK well they're not getting cheaper here that's for bloody real when a RX6700XT cost ($1495NZD) more than what I paid for an RX6800 (non XT) ($1295) prices aren't getting cheaper they're going up. and before you blame miners we don't have a big mining community here in NZ the cost per KWh is to expensive unless you're a rich mofo

 

[Gastec]

Taxation of crypto, effectively is a way to tax virtually the entire world - without borders - without limits as this is a worldwide, 24/7 "commodity" that appreciates or depreciates in value and anyone who happens to appreciate in theirs will most certainly be taxed.

I also see these cryptos as a way for the government to hide the true cost of inflation as the printed money they hand out in stimulus checks gets gambled away.

I don't trust crypto. Obviously it's not anonymous - government's able to track down thieves and scammers as they recently proved. Obviously it is correlated to the stock market. Obviously it's no store of value. Obviously it's no hedge against inflation.

The only people who disagree are part of a highly organized and peer regulating group that labels any negativity expressed as "FOMO".

Are you the same person who was only recently bragging about his expensive video cards,other computer components and automobiles? Or was that your younger brother, cousin or son posting as QuantumPhysics?

 

[Gastec]

Ummmm duhhhh...the people claiming mining is greener because of the use of geothermal energy and renewables...duhhhhrrr

In certain European countries the energy companies and distribution companies have artificially raised the prices for energy (electricity and natural gases) anywhere between 200% and 1000% and they keep rising them. Even if we are "greener" than ever before, way greener than China and the rest of Asia. The politicians of a certain European country have "liberalized" the energy market in such a profitable way for the energy companies that all the renewable, cheap energy, that is produced locally automagically gets exported and bough for something like 10€/MWh by the wise guys, and sold back to the consumers for 100-150€/MWh or more.