The GPU market may be back to normal after years of exorbitant price.
There is little doubt that anybody seeking to purchase a GPU between the end of 2020 and the beginning of this year has had a difficult time obtaining stock of the RTX 3080 at MSRP.
Corsair, the producer of PC components and peripherals, feels the wait is almost over, despite the fact that GPU prices have yet to return to their pre-recession levels. It’s possible that graphics cards will be sold for less than their listed MSRP or even at a discount.
GPU cards, the most costly part of any gaming PC, remained at around 150 percent of MSRP during the first quarter of 2014, but “we witnessed gaming PC build activity somewhat higher than pre-pandemic and pre-GPU scarcity levels,” Corsair CEO Andy Paul said, commenting on the company’s financial performance.
A return to MSRP or perhaps a reduction below MSRP, he said, was “likely” in the near future. “With the availability and reasonable pricing of GPU and CPU goods, we foresee a rise in self-built gaming PC activity in the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023.”
Moving in the right direction: GPU pricing
Is it just me, or does “below MSRP” seem like a pipe dream in the face of consistently high pricing and little inventory? In the wake of so many months of scarcity and exorbitant costs, it’s difficult to see players not chomping at the bit for card producers’ throats even if they don’t give any further incentives.
Additionally, it’s in the best interest of PC component manufacturers to hype the “surge of self-built gaming PCs” in their presentations to investors.
However, RTX 3070 stock at MSRP is still a rare, but we’re now looking at a price increase of 20% rather than the double or more that was the norm in late 2020 and into much of 2021, which is a good sign.
Not yet, and as the previous several years have shown us, things may change very quickly indeed, we’re not out of the woods yet. If a new strain of Covid-19 emerged that was more infectious or harmful, supply systems may come to a grinding halt once again.
However, with Intel’s Arc Alchemist series expected to join the desktop GPU race shortly, maybe we’ll soon be in a position where it’s a good time to be a PC maker once again.