It is likely that soon GPUs will be available at their RRPs (recommended retail prices), and we will be able to finally declare this torrid GPU crisis over.
Although the GPU crisis is far from over as of writing, more than a few signs are promising. The price level in the Australian market is good indication trends are indeed improving.
With price drops over 25% on some of its RTX 30-series cards, Asus has waded into the Australian market with some super aggressive price cuts.
Consider the RTX 3080 10GB as an example. Asus has dropped its prices so aggressively that premium cards such as the RTX 3080 TUF and Strix are now cheaper than traditionally budget GPU third-party brands such as the Galax.
Asus isn’t alone in this move either.
There has also been a reduction in the price of the current Asus RTX 3070 Ti and 3060 Ti models. However, AMD cards appear to be untouched by these cuts, at least for now. With Asus’ premium cards now among the most affordable RTX cards, it’s only a matter of time before other vendors follow Asus’ lead. It will be almost impossible for vendors to shift cards at a 20% or higher margin than a premium card like the Asus Strix.
Global GPU sales will soon follow suit
GPU prices in the wider global market have dropped, but not as much as the Asus Australia market drops.
AMD cards are currently priced at 35% over RRP, while GPUs from Nvidia are currently priced at 41% over RRP. Considering the rate of price decreases over the last few weeks, these latest figures are clearly already outdated though.
The secondary market, including wannabe reseller prices, is always fascinating to observe as well. The price of overall GPUs has dropped by 9% in just the first half of March according to Tom’s Hardware.
We’re about due for some good news for gamers after a dismal couple of years.
The situation is improving worldwide and many cards that were consistently unavailable a few months ago are now readily available. We’re optimistic that the downward price trend will continue and that there won’t be any more overinflated reseller prices.
Why are the prices dropping?
There are several factors contributing to the decrease in prices. GPU mining demand is declining, production of cards is slowly ramping up, and wary gamers likely are holding off from buying in hopes of scoring a bargain later on. Despite the positive outlook, we still face choppy waters, including recently enacted Chinese Covid shutdowns, the conflict in Ukraine, and higher oil prices resulting in increased shipping costs.
Ethereum mining is also having a tremendous impact. In a falling Ethereum price environment, it becomes more difficult for miners to recover their GPU investments, which causes fewer purchases. Additionally, GPU mining is slowly moving away from proof of work and towards proof of stake.
In short, GPU mining will soon hopefully become irrelevant, similar to what happened with Bitcoin. But perhaps another reliable coin will arise before then so take this prediction with a grain of salt for now.
There is no doubt that the current news around GPU prices is cause for celebration and you might be seeing more and more reason to make that upgrade you’ve been putting off.
