The graphics card market is apparently in a tight spot. And not only with a view to the new Radeons of the RX-6000 series from AMD or Geforces of the RTX-3000 series from Nvidia.
In the meantime, the bottlenecks have also spread to older models, as a look at dealer websites and comparison portals reveals. The prices for RTX 2000 and RX 5000, for example, have risen sharply in the last few days. What’s behind it? We explain the possible factors.
Last update: December 7th, at 2:15 p.m.
New added: Assessment of our gaming hardware e-commerce manager
By the way, Nvidia expects that it could take months before the production of RTX 3080 and Co. catches up with demand:
more on the subject
Be prepared for long-term delivery problems
Prices for older graphics cards are increasing
Prices increased by over 20 percent: The PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 XT Red Devil, for example, was still available on November 26th for 395 dollars. Loud Geizhals.de In the best case scenario, the custom card is now available for 449 dollars, but with a delivery time of eight to twelve days. According to their own statements, some dealers still have this RX 5700 XT in stock, but the prices here start at 470 dollars and averaged around 500 dollars.
It is the same with models from Nvidia. If you really want to get hold of an RTX 2070 Super, for example, you should hurry, because only a few models are still available at relatively moderate prices. In many cases, such as the MSI Geforce RTX 2070 Super Ventus OC, the rate has risen by over 20 percent in the last week – from 480 dollars to 590 dollars.
This is how it works with the graphics card update
Despite all the resistance, you got hold of a new CPU? But now you don’t know how to best use your new hardware and want to put the rest of the PC components to the test? Or are you planning a new acquisition for 2021 and would like to clarify now what your perfect gaming PC for Geforce and Radeon should look like? At GameStar Plus we explain what you need so that the new graphics card power results in high performance and does not get stuck in the bottleneck:
Why are graphics card prices increasing?
At the moment we can only speculate about the reasons. But it probably depends on several factors:
- Demand due to the jump in performance: The new graphics cards from AMD and Nvidia represent a particularly big leap in performance compared to the previous generation. Many users must have waited for a switch to the Radeon RX 6000 and Geforce RTX 3000.
- Additional demand due to the Christmas business.
- Cryptocurrency miners: The exchange rates for Bitcoin and Ethereum have risen significantly recently, which is why the demand for graphics cards for mining has also increased significantly again.
- Production lags behind demand: The production of new graphics cards usually lags behind the demand for the release. At the same time, the production of older models is often reduced. Production of the RTX 2000 was stopped a few months before the RTX 3000 was launched.
- Delays in the supply chain due to the corona pandemic.
Update from December 7th, at 2:15 p.m .: GameStar E-Commerce Manager for Gaming Hardware Jakob Erckert gave us a look behind the scenes and revealed where he sees the main reasons for the poor availability of graphics cards.
Accordingly, a significant part of the bottlenecks, which in turn lead to high prices, can be attributed to the production losses during the first months of the corona pandemic. At the same time, logistics stalled. In his opinion, the consequences will still be felt in the next few months. In addition, the demand for gaming hardware has increased significantly compared to the previous year.
