Graphics Card Prices Falling Fast? – Nvidia 3090 at its Cheapest for 9 Months!

Since the start of the year, there have been more than a few positive signs that both graphics card prices and general retail availability has been improving. Now, admittedly, things looked to be in a similar position almost exactly a year ago and, well… Let’s just say that 2021 certainly didn’t pan out to be a good year for PC enthusiasts and especially those looking for a nice GPU upgrade.

Are things starting to return to some kind of normality though? Well, following a report via Videocardz, various sources from a number of different regions around the world seem to be strongly suggesting that GPU prices are not just falling, but they might actually be tanking back down to something resembling their official (or expected in a sane world) MSRPs.

Graphics Cards Are Getting Cheaper?!

Now, before you get too excited, while things have undoubtedly been getting better in the UK and Europe in general, graphics card availability, for both Nvidia and, to a slightly lesser extent AMD, is still pretty bad. The chances of you casually checking a retailer and finding something in the mid to upper-tier available to buy immediately, and for a reasonable price, still remains low.

New research from ‘@3DCenter_org‘, however, has found that in both Germany and Austria, the cost of an Nvidia 3090 has dropped below €2,000 for the first time since August last year. Now, admittedly, the 3090 isn’t exactly a great litmus test. It’s an ultra-high-end GPU designed for, basically, ultra-high-end users. This does, however, have it at only around €200-€300 more than the base cost for AIB partner designs. And remember, this information has been taken directly from retailers. A source who, I don’t think it unfair to say, have certainly not been blameless (as a whole) when it comes to profiteering. – For the sake of balance, some (albeit, not many) retailers have been far more reasonable on the subject.

So, what about something a little more realistic for the average gaming consumer? Well, this probably best highlights why the Nvidia 3090 isn’t an overly fantastic example. You see, people are NOT clammering for an Nvidia 3090. They’re more after things like the 3070 to the 3080. And in this respect, things do sadly seem to be a little more stubborn when it comes to price drops.

Following a post by ‘@HardwareUnboxed‘ it appears that the Nvidia 3080 has just seen a huge price drop in Australia with it basically having a 35% cut off its retail value in just the space of a couple of days!

What Do We Think?

Graphics card prices and general availability may be improving, but it’s hard to ignore a pretty substantial elephant in the room as to why this might be happening with retailers at this precise moment. Put simply, in less than 6 months (give or take) both Nvidia and AMD will be launching their new GeForce RTX 4000 and Radeon RX 7000 series GPUs. – Yes, this is still quite a way off, but I daresay some retailers are probably looking at moving stock on now in preparation for the new series and specifically so to not risk them having last-gen tech on the shelves with newer, and possibly well-stocked, next-gen upgrades shortly being available.

Put simply, I think graphics cards supplies, and prices, might get better simply on the remits that some consumers have completely written off the Nvidia 3000 and Radeon 6000 series. In fact, I daresay that many of them did so possibly over a year ago.

I mean, in a legitimate question to our community now, what are your plans at this precise moment? Are you planning to snag a late current-gen bargain? Or are you now just waiting for the next-gen models to drop? – Let us know in the comments!