Yes, some of the best GPUs are horrendously expensive. I know what you must be thinking — what else is new? We’ve all grown used to the state of things, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. Building a PC is now pricier than ever, all because the overpriced GPU accounts for the bulk of the overall cost. But why are we dealing with this right now?
The previous generation of GPUs, while still expensive in its own right, wasn’t plagued by all the problems that the current-gen cards are facing. Here are some reasons as to why GPUs are so expensive right now.
Tariffs played a part
It’s impossible to discuss this topic without mentioning the tariffs — regardless of the current state of the matter.
Throughout this year, tariffs on imports from China and Taiwan have affected the GPU market (as well as many other markets) in a big way. The situation is still highly dynamic, although right now, tariffs are largely in effect. Deadlines continue shifting as the U.S. administration meets with various officials. Most recently, China and the U.S. “agreed to work on extending a deadline for new tariffs on each other,” as per the AP. However, a 10% to 20% tariff on imports from some countries still remains in place, with new trade deals with Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Japan all being in that range.
As the vast majority of GPUs — or at the very least, the chips that they use — are manufactured outside of the U.S., these tariffs, as well as global economic uncertainties, must play a part in GPU prices.
This goes beyond a simple “there’s a tariff, so GPUs have to be pricier” narrative. Uncertainty shook the entire supply chain, and it’s creating a ripple effect that trickles down to the consumer.
Nvidia and AMD prepared well (but not in the way we want)
In the previous generation of graphics cards, meaning Nvidia’s RTX 40-series and AMD’s RDNA 3, we had it pretty good. We just didn’t know it back then.
Coming out of the massive GPU shortage of 2021, graphics cards were never quite priced the same, but at least they were readily available. And even if you didn’t want to shell out the cash on a freshly released GPU, you could always buy a new card from the previous generation at a reasonable price. This was especially true for AMD.
I personally used to recommend buying one of AMD’s RDNA 2 GPUs as a budget alternative to get solid performance. Cards like the RX 6800 XT or the RX 6950 XT dropped in price a lot since launch, and there was a period of time where you could easily snag one of those instead of a newer card and get similar performance for less.
Well, unfortunately, this time around, that is not the case.
Nvidia started sunsetting RTX 40-series GPUs last year. One by one, production slowed down to a halt, keeping the supply of these GPUs tightly constrained. Although there have been fewer rumors about AMD doing the same thing, it’s clear that something’s up, because last-gen cards, while available, are largely overpriced.
It could just be the state of the market as a whole, or it could be AMD keeping better tabs on the supply. One way or another, buying an older GPU is no longer the fix to our current-gen problems.
The lack of competition is a problem
Speaking of problems, the lack of competition is definitely one, and it’s even more noticeable in this generation than in the previous one.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m a huge fan of both AMD and Intel. In fact, the Arc B580 is the one GPU I keep recommending to people this year, and the RX 9070 XT would absolutely be my favorite if it actually sold at MSRP. I’m not biased in favor of Nvidia; if anything, you’ll see me rooting for the underdogs more often than not.
With that said, there’s definitely a lack of serious competition at the high-end, which is part of the reason why Nvidia can get away with an RTX 5090 that starts at $2,000 (and realistically sells for closer to $3,000).
Intel’s aim is the budget GPU market, and while it does create some heat for both AMD and Nvidia in that segment, there’s just not enough supply for the competition to be serious. The Arc B580 continues selling above the MSRP, and it needs to sell at MSRP for its competitors to have to worry.
AMD opted out of the high-end GPU race in this generation, leaving the RTX 5090 uncontested. The RTX 5080 is in a less comfortable position, but the RX 9070 XT can’t hope to beat it. At most, it can kind of keep up when overclocked — which is still great given the price difference, but not enough for enthusiasts who want steady, guaranteed performance.
With AMD’s GPU presence kind of diminished this generation, Nvidia can set the prices, and it does. Then, the market conditions add an extra premium on top of those prices. AMD might be more competitive in the next generation, though, so let’s hope for improved pricing across the board.
Supply and demand, basically
The above are just some of the reasons why GPUs are expensive right now. I’m not a market analyst, but as a PC hardware journalist, these are my observations on the current state of GPUs and PC building at large.
It all comes down to supply and demand, in a way. Various factors play into scarce supply levels. Meanwhile, gamers still need and want GPUs to power up their gaming desktops. Unfortunately, there’s no immediate end in sight.
We’ve gotten through the worst of it. Nearly all graphics cards are available in stores; the pricing remains the problem, though.
I’m often asked when it’ll get better and whether GPUs are worth buying right now. My advice is usually to wait, unless you absolutely have no other choice. There are other, cheaper PC upgrades to invest in right now, and those should be your main focus. Not every part of the PC building industry has been as hard as semiconductors, and more specifically, graphics cards.
There’ll come a day when the situation is less dire, but right now, your best bet is to hunt for deals and wait for the odd MSRP restock at your retailer of choice.
