The trend for Cryptocurrency has raised the prices of graphics cards across the board. The MSRP for many cards is now double or even triple what it once was. Even older cards are worth more. Take my GTX 970, for example. I purchased it back in 2015 for around $300. In 2018, I can sell this old graphics card for around $300 on eBay, used.
So, what can consumers do to avoid being scammed by such prices? We recently listed our favorite motherboard, GPU, and CPU combos. However, unless you’re lucky, you’ll probably have issues finding cards at MSRP.
NVIDIA recently reached out to online retailers asking them to limit the purchasing of graphics cards to 2 per person. Amazon has recently changed their limit to one. And while they may be able to do this with their stock, we were still able to add plenty of third-party graphics cards to our cart. This limit is a suggestion, and certainly can’t be enforced by NVIDIA.
Other large online retailers like NewEgg don’t post these exorbitant prices; however, continue to allow third-party sellers to do so.
Twitter is full of complaints from everyday consumers simply wanting to upgrade their computers. As loyal customers to AMD and NVIDIA they deserve better.
So, how can you buy a graphics card during this market? There are a couple of options that can get you a decent price. You’ll need to be patient and quick, but we’ve run into several people who’ve been successful in obtaining a graphics card in this manner.
Can You Still Buy a Graphics Card at MSRP?
We’ve checked eBay, our local classifieds, and even in stores. All GPUs seems to be inflated. So, where can you go if you want to purchase one at MSRP?
First, we recommend you go to the GeForce store on Nvidia’s website. There, you can find graphics cards listed at MSRP (see below). These are on a first come, first serve basis. However, you can sign up to be notified for any of these cards. For now, this may be your best option. Another option may be to simply wait out the storm. Graphics cards dedicated to mining should be coming soon as well.
On AMD’s website, this option is not available. Although, we did find a few GPUs with better-than-average prices.
A Terrible But Necessary Alternative
The second option that many gamers have right now is to simply purchase a pre-built system. We’ve noticed that many of these systems cost quite a bit less than what a consumer could get if they pieced it together.
One example is the iBUYPower Gaming Desktop AM901Z. Sold for around $900, it includes a GTX 1060, retailing now for around $500, an i7-7700, 8GB of DDR4 memory, a 1TB hard drive, and includes Windows 10. If you were building this system yourself, you’d likely only be able to get the GPU, CPU, and windows for that same price.
As a PC builder, this option feels like a terrible alternative. However, if it were me that needed a new gaming PC, that’s the direction I’d recommend you go in. Hopefully, this recommendation won’t stay for too long.