Nvidia and AMD’s latest GPUs were launched several months ago, and their prices have been much higher than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) since then. Due to a shortage of GPU stocks, finding your preferred graphics card can be quite painful and even if you manage to find one, you will need to pay much higher than the MSRP. This issue has plagued the PC gaming community for months, and Indian PC players have resorted to being on retailer mailing lists for the latest updates on GPU prices.
Why are GPUs so expensive since 2020
Nvidia’s RTX 30 series and AMD’s RX 6000 series were launched during the COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdown. Due to the lockdown in many parts of the world, there were major supply chain issues that affected the newly launched GPUs. Many interested buyers found it impossible to get their hands on these graphics cards as they were almost always out of stock with major retailers. What makes things worse is the rampant scalping in the industry, where scalpers hoard GPUs to sell them at an exorbitant price to desperate buyers.
Adding to the limited stocks and scalping, GPUs have also been an essential asset for cryptocurrency miners. Besides gaming, graphics cards are necessary for mining cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, which increases the demand for GPUs further. Finally, an essential material used in advanced semiconductor manufacturing for PC components, Ajinomoto Build-up Film (ABF) substrate, has been facing a shortage since 2020. This has also contributed to reduced supply and increased prices of graphics cards.
GPU prices are coming closer to MSRP
After several months of limited stocks and high prices, the situation regarding GPUs is getting better in India as well as across the globe. Potential buyers have started noticing a drop in prices of graphics cards in India, potentially coming closer to the MSRP. R/IndianGaming subreddit user u/ArenRaizelus has shared a list of popular GPUs and their current prices, which are significantly lower than what they used to be last year. For instance, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti’s price starts at Rs 66,835 on primeabgb and its MSRP starts at Rs 44,500. While the current price is still not extremely close to the MSRP, it’s much lower than upwards of Rs 90,000 price tag last year.
Will GPU prices in India drop down further?
The prices of Nvidia and AMD graphics cards are expected to reduce further in the coming months. There are several reasons for the GPU price reduction, which are listed below:
Lockdown measures eased across the globe
The COVID-19 related lockdown was a major reason for GPU supply chain issues. As the cases of COVID-19 infection have steadily declined, governments have eased lockdown restrictions in many countries. As a result, supply chain issues are being addressed, leading to better supply compared to last year. Hopefully, the situation regarding COVID-19 won’t get worse in the coming months.
Cryptocurrency mining is losing popularity
The cryptocurrency market recently faced a massive crash, in response to a nationwide ban in China and calls for a similar ban in Russia. Besides the crash, Ethereum is shifting to a Proof-of-Stake model from a Proof-of-Work model, which will eliminate the requirement of GPUs for crypto mining. The new model is expected to be deployed in the first half of 2022. This suggests PC gamers will no longer have to compete with crypto miners to get their hands on a GPU. This could also mean that many crypto miners may sell their used graphics cards at a cheaper price.
ABF substrate shortages are being addressed
According to a report, the supply of ABF substrate material is improving, which could lead to increased GPU shipments in the second half of 2022. Companies like Asrock and TUL are hoping to ship more graphics cards in the coming months as better ABF substrate availability will lead to more efficient chip manufacturing. ABF manufacturers are also increasing production to meet the additional demand created by the pandemic-related lockdown and crypto miners.
GPU prices in India right now
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 (MSRP starting at Rs 22,200)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (MSRP starting at Rs 29,500)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (MSRP starting at Rs 35,900)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 (MSRP starting at Rs 44,500)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (MSRP starting at Rs 53,500)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 (MSRP starting at Rs 62,000)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (MSRP starting at Rs 1,07,000)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 (MSRP starting at Rs 1,33,500)
AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT (MSRP starting at Rs 18,990)
AMD Radeon RX 6600 (MSRP starting at Rs 26,490)
AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (MSRP starting at Rs 28,275)
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (MSRP starting at Rs 38,990)
AMD Radeon RX 6800 (MSRP starting at Rs 45,999)
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (MSRP starting at Rs 64,990)
AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (MSRP starting at Rs 79,990)
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