Information technology's fourth dimension for our monthly graphics card pricing assay update, yet another one. It'd exist not bad if pricing was normal and we actually didn't take to make these updates, only tracking GPUs is useful in example yous are thinking about jumping the gun... and this month we tin gloat a rather unfortunate anniversary.

Follow up: Stock Update Oct 2022, November 2022, December 2022, January 2022

It was only over a year ago that Nvidia launched the starting time GeForce RTX thirty series graphics cards, the RTX 3080 on September 17 and the RTX 3090 before long afterward. Lots of excitement back so with Nvidia promising to sell these GPUs for $700 and $1,500, respectively.

Supply at launch was low, and from there information technology only got worse with ever increasing demand and other market place factors at play. In the space of 12 months it's been nearly incommunicable to buy i of these otherwise not bad GPUs off the shelf at the MSRP.

And back and then it was shaping up to be such a good fourth dimension to buy a graphics card. We had just sat through 2-3 years of average GPU launches with Nvidia'southward RTX 20 series not delivering on the value front and AMD'southward disability to compete at the high end, then lots of gamers were hoping to jump on a serial of GPUs that finally looked good and worthy of an upgrade. Unfortunately, upgrading proved to be difficult, due to extreme pent-up demand from gamers waiting years for an upgrade, boosted demand due to the rise of gaming throughout the pandemic, supply issues, and then the crypto boom that began in Jan, which crippled the marketplace.

But enough about that, allow's explore how the market is looking today...

Marketplace Update

Most people at this point know why we're still unable to buy GPUs at the MSRP, but I wanted to focus specifically on a couple of things that we've been tracking over the last few months.

The first of those is AMD'south Radeon RX 6600 XT which launched in early August. AMD promised that this would be a $380 GPU -- not the all-time MSRP, but they claimed that plenty of stock would be available at this price level. Information technology was clear presently after launch that this probably wouldn't exist the case for any significant stretch of fourth dimension, but now that we're over a month mail service-release, it'southward become exceptionally clear.

If anything, pricing for the RX 6600 XT has continued to become worse since launch, and information technology only is not possible to buy one at a reasonable price in some regions similar the United States. In Australia, information technology was available at the MSRP for virtually 24 hours, merely days later that price had jumped upward across the MSRP and hasn't returned to decent levels. In fact, right at present you'll accept to fork out the equivalent of ~l% toll inflation for that GPU in most markets. And so at this point it's prophylactic to say that AMD's original promise of good availability at the MSRP has proven non to exist true for any significant menstruum of time.

Why has the price gone upwards? Simply put, the original price was well beneath the current going cost for other GPUs in the market. As shortly as AIBs and distributors get a whiff of need and know they tin can rip off customers, and as presently as AMD stops caring well-nigh making the price look good around the launch window, prices began to rise.

Retailers are once again telling us about all the usual issues with distributors raising prices, forcing bundles so on, just now information technology's being applied more to the 6600 XT than it was before. Retailers also tell us that since launch, miners are paying increasingly more attention to this card and its value proffer, which has reduced supply in the concatenation as cards filter out to miners before they striking retail, raising the price in the process.

Yes, you can blame miners again.

With all of that said, the 6600 XT is still cheaper in several regions than Nvidia's closest competitors, the RTX 3060 and RTX 3060 Ti. Despite unattractive retail pricing, availability is actually quite skillful in many regions, just non in the United states.

At PC Case Gear (Australia), right now they take stock of every unmarried current generation GPU, and for well-nigh variants you can choose from a significant number of AIB models with only a few out of stock. It'southward simply the nasty pricing that means these GPUs are not flying off the shelves. Availability has been decent for months now and getting better depending on where you're located. The longer overpriced models sit on shelves, the more pressure there volition be to reduce prices.

No GPU for You!

While availability might be decent, gamers are not going to be able to buy affordable GPUs at retail any time soon for two reasons. #1: Nvidia aren't making any significant efforts to bring the lower-price RTX 3050 to retail. We might meet AMD release an RX 6600 non-XT, only that'due south unlikely to help much either. While the 3050 has been available in laptops for some fourth dimension now, we haven't heard anything from our contacts to suggest the carte du jour is coming to desktop buyers anytime soon. Reason #two: is the big reason, and that's crypto mining.

Of form, information technology's now clear that GPU pricing is straight linked to mining profitability. It's non related to supply, it's non related to the pandemic, or anything like -- GPUs are beingness priced in line with how much money you tin can make mining on them. That'due south the guide that AIBs and distributors are using when they set pricing, and prices clearly change in step with changes to mining profitability.

Crypto fans will probably rush to the comments to indicate the arraign somewhere else, only pricing hasn't been changing in the face up of gaming demand -- which has remained loftier for a year now. The main reason why you can't buy a GPU at a decent cost is considering it's profitable to mine crypto on them, and miners are willing to pay higher prices indefinitely for essentially a money printer. If mining wasn't profitable on mod GPUs, you'd probably accept a new GPU in your easily right now at the MSRP, considering the tape level of supply this generation upwardly to this bespeak is enough to satisfy the gaming demand.

The Crypto Rollercoaster

So, what's been happening over in the land of mining in the terminal month? Pricing of the almost popular coin for mining, Ethereum, has been relatively apartment month on month, there was a catamenia a couple of weeks ago where prices were upwardly, that cooled off, and for the past few days there'southward been a reject. Merely it's a volatile market every bit usual, and then on the whole information technology'south been flat.

Meanwhile in that period, Ethereum difficulty has risen well-nigh xv%, significant that a decent corporeality of actress mining hardware is in the pool compared to a month ago. This would have been in response to the rising crypto prices over the terminal two months, but it has plateaued slightly in the past week. What this means is that miners have been interested in buying GPUs for mining, contributing to higher prices, though the impact is that when difficulty increases, the rewards for mining decrease. So seeing a ascension in difficulty is both a good and bad sign for gamers.

Overall, this has led to a driblet in mining profitability, correct now it'southward downward virtually 25% calendar month on month, though it does depend on the exact GPU in question. Cards where Ethereum is not the most profitable choice of coin for mining -- such as Nvidia'due south LHR GPUs -- have seen more than severe declines. However, almost of these declines have occurred in the past week subsequently crypto'due south height in price, and because there'due south e'er a lag before this is reflected in GPU pricing, nosotros're simply just starting to run into those effects at present.

GPU Pricing Update

How has this affected GPU pricing on eBay, which nosotros've been tracking monthly for some time now. Here we have Nvidia'south GeForce RTX xxx series looking at completed eBay listings in the past week. Well-nigh mid to high-end GPUs haven't inverse in price much compared to what we observed a calendar month ago. The RTX 3080 Ti has by four% on average, while the RTX 3070 decreased by four%. Then at either stop of the scale we have slightly larger changes with the RTX 3090 increasing past 10%, and the RTX 3060 Ti going down in price by ix%, with this GPU nonetheless seeming to exist in good supply right now.

MSRP eBay Average Price July eBay Average Price August eBay Average Cost September Current Cost Inflation Toll Increment Aug to September
GeForce RTX 3090 $1,500 $ii,599 $2,607 $2,863 91% x%
GeForce RTX 3080 Ti $ane,200 $1,905 $i,815 $ane,880 57% iv%
GeForce RTX 3080 $700 $1,623 $1,643 $1,673 139% 2%
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti $600 $1,085 $1,170 $1,191 99% 2%
GeForce RTX 3070 $500 $1,075 $1,228 $1,180 136% -4%
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti $400 $1,012 $952 $866 117% -ix%
GeForce RTX 3060 $330 $723 $752 $708 114% -6%
Average 107% 0%

At the moment, a majority of Nvidia's line-upward, particularly for their mid-range offerings, are LHR products significant they have been hit harder by contempo reductions to mining profitability. This has been reflected to some extent in pricing, although on the whole Nvidia cards accept been relatively flat. I suspect we'll only see price reductions if the crypto market continues to decline for a few more than weeks every bit it has washed equally of late. It was just a couple of weeks ago that the outlook for miners was much more positive and that helped to proceed GPU prices high.

AMD's Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs are not in good supply, and in that location haven't been many sales of cards similar the RX 6800 XT, and especially the RX 6800 in the past week. Nonetheless, the RX 6700 XT continues to be available, and its toll has risen 11% month on month, close to the level of June pricing. With that said, prices are nevertheless 25% lower than the acme for this card in March, and there has been no change in pricing for the RX 6600 XT which is still a $640 GPU on the scalper market on average.

MSRP eBay Average Price July eBay Average Price August eBay Average Price September Electric current Price Inflation Price Increment Aug to September
Radeon 6900 XT $1,000 $i,460 $i,622 $1,569 57% -3%
Radeon 6800 XT $650 $1,282 $1,268 $one,411 117% 11%
Radeon 6800 $580 $i,087 $1,127 $1,309 126% 16%
Radeon 6700 XT $480 $733 $793 $881 83% eleven%
Radeon RX 6600 XT $380 $633 $639 68% i%
Average xc% vii%

Based on the volumes we're seeing on eBay, and at retail, it seems that AMD are heavily prioritizing their mid-range GPUs at the expense of high-end products. But without whatsoever limitations on mining performance, AMD cards are more susceptible to changes in mining profitability, and that's hurt them this month.

This has affected cost per frame value for buyers looking at a GPU for gaming. In August and in prior months, the RX 6700 XT (and also the 6600 XT) accept been the outright leaders in value. However with some Nvidia GPUs seeing price drops, while AMD cards have risen in price, toll per frame is a lot closer in September than information technology has been. Right at present, the RX 6700 XT is only 6% cheaper per frame than the RTX 3060 Ti, compared to 23% cheaper in August.

When you factor in the additional features that Nvidia GPUs offering such every bit DLSS and superior ray tracing performance, it's no longer the case where AMD has an overall lead in value. With this cost per frame, I'd personally exist choosing the RTX 3060 Ti over the RX 6700 XT, while the RTX 3070 Ti is as well non looking too bad up against the RX 6800 and 6800 XT. It'south only Nvidia's higher end cards that are poor value compared to the rest of the marketplace, but of course we generally still don't recommend paying inflated prices (unless you tin can make coin playing games :).

Used GPU Pricing

On the used market, prices for Nvidia RTX 20 series are upwards slightly calendar month on calendar month, with most cards in the mid-single digits for increases. The exception is the RTX 2080 Ti, which is priced far as well close to the level of a make new RTX 3070 Ti. That sort of pricing is ridiculous when for $50 more you lot tin can become amend operation and a brand new production, but of course, mining.

MSRP eBay Average Price July eBay Average Cost August eBay Average Price September Current Cost Aggrandizement Cost Increment Aug to September
GeForce RTX 2080 Ti $one,000 $952 $i,043 $1,158 xvi% eleven%
GeForce RTX 2080 Super $700 $788 $802 $804 fifteen% 0%
GeForce RTX 2080 $700 $686 $703 $736 5% 5%
GeForce RTX 2070 Super $500 $638 $667 $720 44% 8%
GeForce RTX 2070 $500 $603 $614 $650 thirty% 6%
GeForce RTX 2060 Super $400 $613 $615 $662 65% 8%
GeForce RTX 2060 $350 $476 $482 $514 47% 7%
Average 32% 6%

Then we accept the GTX 16 series which are even so popular in the sub-$500 market. Currently these GPUs are disgustingly overpriced on the used market and products similar the 1660 Ti and 1660 Super have gone up quite a flake. You're faced with spending around double these bill of fare's MSRP, and that's unlikely to get better soon with Nvidia's reluctance to release an RTX 3050.

MSRP eBay Average Toll July eBay Average Price Baronial eBay Average Price September Current Toll Inflation Price Increment Aug to September
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti $280 $428 $426 $491 75% 15%
GeForce GTX 1660 Super $230 $425 $452 $494 115% 9%
GeForce GTX 1660 $220 $359 $371 $378 72% 2%
GeForce GTX 1650 Super $160 $291 $283 $302 89% 7%
GeForce GTX 1650 $150 $248 $247 $262 74% half dozen%
Average 85% 8%

GPUs from Nvidia's GeForce 10 serial have risen in price past 5% on boilerplate, with some crazy asking prices for cards like the GTX 1080 Ti. On the whole, x series cards are selling used for simply slightly beneath their launch price four-5 years ago, or above that launch price in the instance of the GTX 1060 6GB. The 1080 Ti is also poor value compared to brand new RX 6600 XTs for gaming, although the 1080 Ti is much better for mining, so as always that explains a lot of the discrepancy.

MSRP eBay Average Price July eBay Average Price August eBay Average Toll September Current Cost Inflation Cost Increase Aug to September
GeForce GTX 1080 Ti $700 $550 $616 $676 -three% 10%
GeForce GTX 1080 $600 $395 $441 $459 -24% 4%
GeForce GTX 1070 Ti $450 $398 $406 $451 0% 11%
GeForce GTX 1070 $380 $337 $361 $373 -ii% 3%
GeForce GTX 1060 6GB $250 $273 $286 $309 24% 8%
GeForce GTX 1060 3GB $200 $189 $223 $214 7% -4%
Average 0% 5%

It's no surprise to see that in a month where crypto mining was highly profitable and getting more profitable for a significant clamper, that AMD'due south RX 5000 series jumped in cost by a substantial amount. The RX 5700 XT remains an excellent bill of fare for mining, about at the level of the RTX 3070 without LHR limits, and better than the RTX 2080 according to Whattomine.

MSRP eBay Average Price July eBay Average Price August eBay Average Price September Electric current Cost Aggrandizement Cost Increase Aug to September
Radeon 5700 XT $400 $762 $800 $865 116% 8%
Radeon 5700 $350 $719 $730 $829 137% xiv%
Radeon 5600 XT $280 $541 $558 $620 121% 11%
Radeon 5500 XT 8GB $200 $363 $344 $404 102% 17%
Boilerplate 119% 13%

Similar effects with AMD's older GPUs such equally Vega 56 and 64, both those GPUs are also practiced for mining and are sought-after in that market place, so near gamers should probably sell their Vega card to a miner and movement up to a higher performing production. Cards like Vega 56 fetching over $700 these days is pretty wild, and fifty-fifty cards similar the RX 580 8GB are not proficient value given their much higher price than the GTX 1060 6GB.

Non a Slap-up Outlook

That does information technology for this month's GPU pricing update. On the whole, prices for graphics cards rose month on month for September, but only slightly, with nearly cards recording a price hike in the mid single-digit range. Plainly, we'd similar to see prices get the other way, so from that perspective it's disappointing, still the crypto market has been going strong until recently, so seeing merely a small rise in pricing isn't besides bad.

We still don't recommend gamers to pay inflated prices for graphics cards, though we're at a point where cards like the RTX 3080 are now a year old, so naturally some people will be desperate to upgrade and will have been waiting for a year or more. If yous do fall into that category, GPUs like the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 3060 and RTX 3070 Ti are on the better end of the value scale and Nvidia's LHR program has been effective at reducing prices on what would otherwise be strong performers for mining.

Value has tightened upwardly recently betwixt AMD and Nvidia due to this, which makes cards like the 6700 XT harder to recommend at electric current scalper prices. Even so while the 6600 XT has risen in price and continues to ascension, it's also worth considering.

The main cistron that's going to see graphics bill of fare prices drib is a drop in mining profitability. That'south been happening across the past week, only will need several more weeks earlier that's reflected in the GPU market, and of course, profitability might ascension next week, who knows. Supply and availability is less of a concern, given GPUs are readily bachelor on store shelves in almost regions and have been for some time. It's by and large downward to pricing now, which is dictated by mining profitability at this betoken.

Nosotros're also coming up to the holiday menses, then it'll exist interesting to encounter how pricing goes during that time and how availability is afflicted. You'd think that would increment demand, but a lot of people are still waiting for affordable GPUs from the previous vacation menstruation, so it's hard to say. We'll be keeping an middle out and letting you lot know in these updates throughout the rest of 2022.

Shopping Shortcuts:
  • GeForce RTX 3060 Ti on Amazon
  • GeForce RTX 3070 Ti on Amazon
  • Radeon RX 6600 XT on Amazon
  • GeForce RTX 3080 on Amazon
  • Radeon RX 6800 XT on Amazon
  • AMD Ryzen 5 5600X on Amazon
  • AMD Ryzen 7 5800X on Amazon
  • AMD Ryzen 9 5950X on Amazon