In context: While the prices of modern GPUs are starting to fall, most still cost way above their manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP). But it seems that isn't stopping people from handing over the money. Nvidia has revealed that when it comes to buying new graphics cards, gamers are paying $300 more than what they paid for the models being replaced.
Speaking at an investors' day yesterday (via PCMag), Nvidia SVP Jeff Fisher said, "Looking into the millions of desktop GeForce gamers who we know have upgraded their GPU to a 30-series, they are buying up."
"The GPU is offering more value than ever. Based on our data, they are spending $300 more than they paid for the graphics card they replaced," he added.
A recent report showed that graphics cards in Europe had reached their lowest prices since the start of 2021, and the average selling point of GPUs on eBay fell by another 10% between February and March. That's great news, but our research shows consumers are still paying an average of 50% more than MSRP when buying a new card from Newegg. The most extreme example is the in-demand RTX 3070, which, at $860, is $360 more than its recommended retail price.
Newegg GPU prices (accurate at the time of writing)
| MSRP | Lowest Price March | Price Inflation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 3090 | $1,500 | $2,020 | 35% |
| GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | $1,200 | $1,430 | 19% |
| GeForce RTX 3080 12GB | N/A | $1,250 | N/A |
| GeForce RTX 3080 10GB | $700 | $1,100 | 57% |
| GeForce RTX 3070 Ti | $600 | $850 | 42% |
| GeForce RTX 3070 | $500 | $860 | 72% |
| GeForce RTX 3060 Ti | $400 | $630 | 58% |
| GeForce RTX 3060 | $330 | $530 | 61% |
| GeForce RTX 3050 | $250 | $390 | 56% |
| Average | 50% |
Many people are willing and able to pay over the odds for new cards, but Fisher revealed an interesting statistic: only 29% of the company's gamer base has made the upgrade to RTX, with the rest still using one of its GTX series.
We only have to look at the most recent Steam survey for evidence of Fisher's claim. The GeForce GTX 1060 has been the most popular graphics card among participants since it knocked the GTX 750 off the top spot in December 2017, and the Pascal-based card saw an increase in users last month. Furthermore, there are only two RTX cards in Steam's top ten: the RTX 2060 in fourth and the eighth-place RTX 3060 laptop GPU.
The GPU market will be shaken up even more later this year when Nvidia's RTX 4000 series, codenamed Lovelace, and AMD's RDNA 3 GPUs arrive. In team green's case, CFO Colette Kress has hinted that both the RTX 3000 series and new cards will be produced and sold alongside each other. She also claimed, on two occasions, that availability will improve in the second half of the year, possibly from Q3.
Should Kress' prediction about improved supply prove true, it should result in gamers paying less for their cards, but we're still expecting the RTX 4000 series to be pretty wallet-crushing. There's always the upcoming RTX 3090 Ti for those who can't wait for Lovelace. The long-delayed card is rumored to carry an MSRP of $1,999, though there are claims of some models costing anywhere between $3,800 and $5,000.