Crashing GPU Prices: The Best Time to Build a PC?

[≈Vanuckle 2,136]

With the 40xx series of graphics cards from NVIDIA being released with anticipated drop of later in the summer / early autumn, and the crypto crash causing miners to sell their cards, we have seen the price of GPU's fall from unreasonable rates (2x MSRP) to much more acceptable rates. 3060s, 3070s, 3080s, and 3090s are selling for close to, if not right at MSRP, with some analysts suggesting these could be going on sale below MSRP in the next month.

 

I have also seen at my local shop that CPUs, sticks of RAM, 1080p/1440p monitors, and keyboards on for great deals. There was certainly many folks holding off buying or building new PC's over the last two years due to the insanely high price of components, but with the recent price crash, it seems a lot more attainable for folks wanting this current gen right before the upgrade.

 

However, the new 4060s, 4070s, 4080s, 4090s etc are slated to have an incredible jump in performance, and as a result of crypto prices staying low, this could offer a great opportunity to get into the next gen of tech (DDR5 RAM, upgraded CPUs, upgraded GPU's) at a more reasonable price than before -- making 4k gaming a real possibility for those with the interest in that. 

 

With the fall of GPU prices, do you think this is a good time to buy a new graphics card? Or will you be waiting to see the specs and price points of the new 40xx series from NVIDIA?

[Jim Jim 76]

probably

[John 264]

I’d love a 3080/90 and to switch one if not both monitors to 1440p.. but these prices still seem pretty high. I’m interested on what the 40xx series will be like and the price tags so I may hold off a little while longer 

[Mitch 1,116]

If you can get a 30 series now then grab one. They will be more than enough for the typical user/gamer for at least the next 3-5 years.

 

The 40 series are going to be even higher in price and you'll most likely need a new mobo due to the rumored specs for the cards, and possibly a new PSU (if you don't have an 800W+ already).

 

 

So if you can get your hands on a 30 series right now or soon while the prices are reasonable, then do it.

[S3lvah 291]

If you want to play it safe & need a GPU asap, now ain't a bad time.

 

If you're already on a decent GPU, I'd wait for the next gen release, which is predicted to lower prices for the current gen, so whichever gen you end up buying it'll be worth it. You could easily be waiting until next year tho, unless getting a top model (which are released first) and being able to beat out bots and scalpers to the first batches.

 

I'm looking at getting a 7- or 8-tier card from either manufacturer. Nvidia will probably excel at ray tracing, encoding, driver stability, and super-sampling, while AMD is looking to close the gap on those while leading in rasterization (basic GPU work) and power efficiency.

Edited July 4, 2022 by S3lvah

[Vanzant 1,383]

I'm too boomer 

[S3lvah 291]

Also worth noting that, while the new cards will improve on performance, they (especially Nvidia's) will also draw significantly more power. Don't expect to grab a high-tier 40 card without upgrading to a beefier power supply. It's not enough to just meet the cumulative TDP of your components; you need some overhead to account for transients (naturally occurring spikes in power draw) and other anomalies if you don't want your system to shut down at random. And with more watts comes more waste heat, meaning you'll want to look for a card with a robust cooling solution, and put it in a well-cooled case.

Edited July 4, 2022 by S3lvah

[Sus 136]

Here’s the problem, other PC components started to crash in price a while ago, except for one thing — graphics cards. Those were still sought after by crypto enthusiasts, driving up prices and also resulting in scalpers on the market. Now those are also starting to come down in price… and completely freefall, in some cases. ASUS dropped the price of some of its RTX 3000 cards by as much as 25% at the start of this month, and other card manufacturers are seeing their prices fall too on various price trackers online.

[Sus 136]

As gamers finally come out to scoop up some of these deals, there are others waiting for the RTX 4000 series. The RTX 4000 series is expected to drop sometime around September, meaning that between now and then, the RTX 3000 series is the best you can get. However, if you wait to see what the RTX 4000 series brings, that in itself can pose an issue. If it’s too costly or doesn’t bring the improvements that we may expect from NVIDIA, then it’s likely that a ton of gamers are going to be looking back at the RTX 3000 series. The new graphics cards could possibly have their own supply issues in the early months, which could further push back your opportunity to finally get your hands on a graphics card at a reasonable rate. You’d be staring at the cycle repeating itself, and never actually get around to making a purchase

[Sus 136]

Because of this, if your goal is to get a good gaming PC that lasts for a long time, then it might be worth splashing out cash right about now on a graphics card. Graphics cards are quickly falling back towards their MSRPs, and CPUs and other components have been there for quite a while now. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that RAM was no longer $150 for a stick of 16GB, as was the case (or worse) during the RAMageddon of 2017.

[Adam_ 1,040]

1 hour ago, Jim Jim said:

probably

 

[Nanne30 324]

what is this language i am reading?  

[Gravety Bomb 73]

I play Runescape bro, I still got my 1080 from years ago lmao.

[£Sir Severed 594]

I have my eyes on a specific 3080 model and am ready to pull the trigger immediately depending on the inevitable announcement of the 4000 series from Nvidia. Ideally I'd like a 4000 card but depending on the price/specs/system reqs I may hold off on those. Not really in a rush to switch to DDR5 this early in the product cycle, to buy a new motherboard, or an expensive new PSU that will probably have supply issues if they do enforce the new standard being rumored. Now is definitely a good time to start thinking about upgrading.

[Kevin 207]

Time to upgrade the pc just for osrs heck yes