Graphics card pricing in the US June 2022

It's looking good for your next gaming rig

Sebastian Kozlowski

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With the crypto markets plummeting the GPU market has been following suit. We’ve seen the prices finally returning to where they should have been in the first place. With plenty of graphics cards now available at MSRP. With even some options coming in below that although not quite all of them just yet.

This does give hope for the upcoming generation of graphics cards. With hope for some more reasonable prices without everyone grasping for a new card. Although the stock may be more of an issue, with fabs at capacity and many delays still occurring in those departments.

Why are GPU prices falling?

One of the main reasons graphics card pricing has been so exaggerated is the low supply and great demand. With supply routes under pressure and in high demand there was a shortage. Especially with manufacturing lower with the shutdowns and restrictions.

Whilst supplies were low there was another reason for high demand than just gamers. The dreaded crypto miners and scalpers. The latter takes advantage and gains profit on the desirable product. Whilst miners wanted to gain money from the booming crypto economy.

However, now that market is seeing its downturn. It was on the growth since the beginning of 2021. With Ethereum peaking at $4,700 and Bitcoin at $66,000. But now the prices have drastically fallen, and Ethereum hovers around $1,000 and Bitcoin at around $20,000.

The market has reached a point where it is no longer profitable for miners to continue the work. Especially with rising electricity costs around the world and the return on investment prolonging with falling prices they are stopping their work.

This means there’s no longer such a demand to buy graphics cards. And in fact, plenty of mining operations are closing down. Selling off the goods to try and get back any sort of investment. So you can hope to find some cheaper cards although in questionable performance states.

Graphics card retail prices

The fall in retail prices is slower than the average. Possibly from them aiming to keep an extra profit margin since electronics tend to have a tight margin. Especially the most popular options you find for higher MSRPs than the rest of the options. With the more popular selections like the RTX 3080 still above the MSRP from nearly two years ago. The same is seen in the RTX 3060 Ti, RX 6800 XT, and RX 6800.

Second-hand pricing

Buying second-hand is a bit more precarious. With the possibility, you won’t get what you bought. However, the pricing is better and you can find supposedly new products to buy. With much bigger dips in price although the more popular options are still higher. With the RTX 3080, 3070, and RX 6800 selling for above their MSRPs.

So as you can see the pricing has been a lot better recently. Even with the life cycle of the generation coming to a close, there are still traces of craziness remaining but they are still falling. Although we are expecting the launch of Intel Arc GPUs in the Summer. As well as the launch of Nvidia Ada and Radeon RDNA 3 cards in the second half of the year. Which should help with current pricing or at least give you some more options to pick from.