A PERFECT STORM: WHY GRAPHICS CARDS COST SO MUCH NOW

IT’S COMPLICATED.

- BRAD CHACOS

It’s a bleak time to be a PC gamer. Nvidia’s new GeForce RTX 30–series and AMD’s new Radeon RX 6000–series graphics cards (go.pcworld.com/nwgf) blaze new performance trails compared to last generation’s disappointing offerings—but most people have no chance of getting their hands on either, especially not at a sane price. New graphics card stock drops disappear in minutes, if not seconds, at online retailers, often at crazily high prices. Many of those cards reappear shortly thereafter on resale sites like Ebay and Craiglist for twice their suggested price, or more.

Here’s a very tangible recent example. AMD’s Radeon RX 6700 XT (go.pcworld. com/67xt) launched at $480 in mid-March. We said that in a sane GPU market, the price was about $100 too high for the performance offered. Sapphire said it would charge $580—an additional $100 premium—for its fantastic, custom-designed Nitro+ variant (go.pcworld.com/ntrp). When the Nitro+ 6700 XT actually hit the streets at Newegg, however, it cost a whopping $730 and still sold out in no time. The card is currently going for over $1,000 on Ebay (go.pcworld. com/ov1t). Most people have had more success claiming a vaccine shot than a new GPU this year, unbelievably enough.

So why do graphics cards cost so much right now? It’s more than just the scalpers and cryptocurrency geeks that everyone likes to blame. Let’s dig into this perfect (s***)storm.

1. DEMAND IS WILD RIGHT NOW