Graphics cards could become even more expensive following GDDR6 price rise

[midian182]

Why it matters: In every area of life, never assume things can't get any worse; they always can. The graphics card market, for example, is in total shambles right now, with availability a nightmare and prices through the roof. But a predicted increase in the price of GDDR6 memory could push those prices even higher.

The depressing news comes from TrendForce, which notes that graphics DRAM prices are expected to rise by 8% to 13% throughout the year. That will almost certainly push up the retail prices of graphics cards already selling way above their MSRP.

Why is this happening? TrendForce writes that there are four main factors behind the price hikes. The first and most obvious one is that the unprecedented demand for graphics cards, a result of the global chip shortage, cryptominers, and scalpers, seems to be getting worse rather than better.

Another factor is Nvidia. Team green is, naturally, one of the largest customers for GDDR6 and GDDR6X firms, seeing as the DRAM is bundled with some of its GPUs, which means suppliers give Nvidia priority over smaller clients when it comes to allocating production capacity. Additionally, contract manufacturers that create the latest consoles for Sony and Microsoft, which use 16Gb GDDR6 memory, are also being prioritized, as is production of server DRAM products.

“As various products each compete over limited DRAM production capacities, graphics DRAM contract prices are expected to undergo an increase going forward. In particular, medium- and small-size OEMs/ODMs may likely face double-digit percentages increases,” states the report.

TrendForce adds that fulfillment rates for some medium- and small-size customers have been around 30%, explaining why spot prices of graphics DRAM products were occasionally up to 200% higher than contract prices. It’s noted that the decline in the value of some cryptocurrencies has caused spot prices of GDDR6 products to fall, but they remain nearly 100% higher than the average contract prices.

One thing that isn’t being heavily impacted is GDDR5, which has seen almost no difference between spot and contract prices due to it primarily being used in older graphics cards such as the GTX 1650/1660.

AMD has said it hopes to increase its GPU supply in Q3, and Nvidia will likely be trying to do the same. With crypto prices trending downward, partly thanks to Elon Musk, we can hold onto the hope that the situation could slightly improve later this year. But with one manufacturing giant warning normality might not return until 2023, now’s certainly not a good time to build a new PC.

Image credit: alexgo.photography

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https://www.techspot.com/news/90007-graphics-cards-could-get-even-more-expensive-following.html

 

[Achaios]

"Stop, stop! The market's already dead!"

Obviously, the makers of GDDR6 beg to differ. They think that ppl (miners) will still buy at w/e price and so they rush to cash in.

The market is clearly doing very well (GPUs sell off instantly) irrespective of the insane prices.

 

[yRaz]

Atleast there aren't any games worth playing right now

 

[winjer]

By the looks of things, I'll be able to upgrade my 2070S in the mid 2030s.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Wow...thank goodness I got both my 3090 FTW3 at MSRP. That $1799 ($1955 with tax) is looking a hell of a lot more affordable with each passing day.

 

[Abaidor]

I don't game.......I don't do 3D Rendering.......I still have a 1080Τι = Problem Solved

In other news, I would have bought a 3080 or 3080 Ti at 800-900 EUR just for the fun of it......anything above that, I don't care.

 

[JamesBlond]

Good, im glad this is happening, let the GPU manufacturers f000k themselves into bankruptcy

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Good, im glad this is happening, let the GPU manufacturers f000k themselves into bankruptcy

Nvidia is currently over $700 per share - up from $630 a week ago - and has an uncoming stock split.

Nvidia's GPU products are selling faster than they can hit the store shelves.

Nvidia's products have unprecedented demand.

The closest competitor, AMD, makes an inferior product at a lower cost, but they too see unprecedented demand and instantaneous sales.

AMD stock is also up from $50 to $89.

Bankruptcy is something I doubt they can imagine.

 

[yRaz]

Good, im glad this is happening, let the GPU manufacturers f000k themselves into bankruptcy

Obviously they're not. If demand is this high at these prices then people are buying them

 

[Kosmoz]

These f*****s will increase GPU prices even more, although they are at 2x and 3x...

This is beyond insanity, how can they justify going for from 300% to 330% or from 200% to 230%, just because memory will cost more?

I mean come on, they are already making exponentially more $$$, is it really a "loss" to sell them at 270% or 170%? Can they not take even a little hit in the already stupidly high prices?

Greed really has not limit... makes me vomit. I think this is the definition of greed insanity.

 

[RudyBob]

It's tough but there are no breadlines to speak of

 

[Cycloid Torus]

I'm looking forward to Intel's solution to the problem.

 

[Cappyo]

I'm looking forward to Intel's solution to the problem.

Like if the silicon shortage doesn't affect them too

 

[terzaerian]

It's tough but there are no breadlines to speak of

So far

 

[duckofdeath]

The sales volumes of cards using high performance memory has most likely dropped the last year. The total sales of dedicated graphics cards have gone up a measly 7% year over year. This includes sales of previously legacy budget cards.

It is high time for governments to stop this price gouging of consumers with all sorts of lies about mining and scalping.

 

[Adi6293]

Wow...thank goodness I got both my 3090 FTW3 at MSRP. That $1799 ($1955 with tax) is looking a hell of a lot more affordable with each passing day.

I got my 3080 for £895 which was already overpaying by about £150 at the time..... So glad I did it though because since December I've clocked hundreds of hours of game time on this gpu so now the price seems like an amazing deal : -)

 

[Xex360]

Every time he gets a chance to post.

Irony this card even at MSRP is at scalpers price.

 

[Nobina]

Well how much can they raise prices before people outright stop buying them? I'm no expert but crypto ain't jumping through the roof anymore, some people will eventually start panic selling, I'm already seeing some, and someone will eventually list a GPU for a price that is still high but reasonable considering the situation and then I might even snag one. I'm in no hurry though, most of the games I'm interested in run perfectly fine on my current setup.

 

[Gezzer]

I was rocking 2 980's in SLI and slowly becoming more and more disenchanted with SLI game support. COD MW was the final straw, perfect surround support, but only with a single GPU, SLI was so broken it didn't even output to my third screen. So I broke down and bought a 2080S.

Was aware that a new gen was coming but was just so tired decided F it and bought it anyway. 6 months later hear that the new cards will be the first generation in a long time to offer more performance for less money. Cue extreme buyers remorse even though my 2080S is a great card.

So as much as I feel for my gaming brothers and sisters getting the short end of the stick all this BS has soothed my butt hurt status a little. I love being a PC gamer, but man... some times...

 

[GLenn63]

I think with a lot of people that was staying home for the past year collecting stimulus checks and above average unemployment benefits is going to be tapering off. A lot of people will have less time on their hands and others will spend their extra money on other forms of entertainment. Of course I could be wrong, I just dropped about 17 Ben Franklins upgrading my cpu, mobo and a total of 3TB'S of 4.0 NVME'S, and would have been more if I didn't already have a RTX 3070, so what do I know.

 

[defaultname365]

10 years ago and today, hardware are relatively more expensive than ever. This is not going to change. Imagine 10-20 years from now. We barely had a gaming GPU that cost over $700 back in the days now it's considered "relatively inexpensive". My point being, this is and has been the trend, so no surprises... if unable to get a GPU standalone, best and easiest way is to get an entire OEM prebuild. Luckily for me, I was using an ancient rig with a 1080 Ti and wanted to upgrade the GPU to a 3080 this year. No way I was going to pay 2-3x MSRP, so I got myself a Dell prebuild with a 3090.

 

[Darth Shiv]

Wow...thank goodness I got both my 3090 FTW3 at MSRP. That $1799 ($1955 with tax) is looking a hell of a lot more affordable with each passing day.

Yep my 3080 was $1500 AUD (~$300 more than expected cost) early year and now listed at stores at $2600 AUD. What the hell?!?

 

[Mjswooosh]

By the looks of things, I'll be able to upgrade my 2070S in the mid 2030s.

I came here to say this.

 

[EdmondRC]

Well, probably the only redeeming point of all this is that if you do have a somewhat modern GPU, you can turn it around to offset the costs of the GPU you are trying to buy. I actually only have about $300 invested in my RTX 3080 because I sold my RX 5700 for more than I paid for it. Of course if this is a new build and you have nothing to sell to offset those costs, the entry costs to PC gaming is higher than its ever been. My current PC as a prebuilt would cost over $3000. But, through the process of selling my old hardware I would say I probably have a total of $1200 invested in it, including the original costs of hardware that I sold, much of which I got 80-90% of the original price for. This time around, upgrading more than paid off.

If you thinking about building a gaming PC right now though, just don't do it. Well, unless your first purchase is a GPU at or close to MSRP. It's just not worth it. Things will return to normal eventually.

 

[Tantor]

The sales volumes of cards using high performance memory has most likely dropped the last year. The total sales of dedicated graphics cards have gone up a measly 7% year over year. This includes sales of previously legacy budget cards.

It is high time for governments to stop this price gouging of consumers with all sorts of lies about mining and scalping.

Yep. Given a modest 7% annual sales increase, there is no rational explanation for these high prices other than corporate price fixing.

Contrary to public opinion, big corporations don't have your best interests at heart. Given the opportunity, they will work together to extract the maximum amount of profit from the public.

Government regulatory agencies should be all over this. But all we hear are crickets.