There has been word going around that the gaming hardware market is starting to see signs of improvement. However, with Intel's CEO saying the chip shortages could go on until 2024, there may still be a long road ahead before everything is back to normal. That aside, prices for both Nvidia and AMD graphics cards have been coming down, and it looks as though one of team green's more powerful SKUs may have finally come down to their recommended retail value.
That's according to a recent report from Tom's Hardware, which spotted a listing for the Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti on Newegg that's now selling for $1,199.99. The product page shows that it's down from $1,549.99, a drop of $350 USD. For those who maybe can't stretch to the Ti variant, there's also an EVGA 3080 going for $869.99 at the time of writing, which is reduced by $20. Below that, there's also a Gigabyte Eagle 3070 Ti which is selling for $699.99.
In short, it seems pretty evident that graphics cards are continuing to come down in price, and given that these Nvidia cards are now at their MSRPs, according to the report, this will be good news for anyone who's been waiting to purchase a new GPU. Since this generation began towards the latter part of 2020, getting hold of hardware, including current gen consoles, has been a nightmare for many. Unless gamers are prepared to pay way above the odds on sites like eBay, with hiked prices due to the shortages, many have been left in the lurch.
On top of all this, the GPU industry is getting ready to move into the next era, with AMD announcing its RDNA 3 coming at the end of 2022 and Nvidia looking to launch the RTX 40-series by September. Team red seems confident that it will be able to "decimate" its long-standing rival with its upcoming flagship cards. So competition is likely to get fierce, especially once Intel properly enters the arena.
However, with Intel's Arc desktop GPUs not arriving until summer, possibly June, team blue seems to be lagging behind while the other two tech giants are making plans to march forward. There's no telling how long these Nvidia prices will remain at MSRP, but the current trend has shown that the overall cost of purchasing a new graphics card has been coming down. So hopefully this will continue unabated.
Source: Tom's Hardware