The price war between AMD and Nvidia flares up, video cards are getting cheaper!

The GPU nightmare is over, and the price war has begun.

We have great news for PC gamers as graphics card prices continue to drop – AMD graphics cards are dropping in price faster than Nvidia graphics cards.

Just a few days ago there was news that AMD graphics cards were approaching manufacturer’s RRP in some retailers, and now the HardwareUnboxed YouTube channel is posting a report on price cuts being seen at overseas Newegg, one of the largest computer component retailers in the US.

According to HardwareUnboxed (we also checked the prices), the latest AMD graphics cards today are only 5% above the recommended retail price on average. As a rule, this is not good news, but after several years of glut prices for graphics cards due to a shortage of chips and a boom in cryptocurrencies, the news is good.

Prices for some AMD GPUs fell noticeably between April and May: for AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT – by 15%, AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT – by 14%, while AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT became cheaper by 13%.

On average, the price of AMD graphics cards on NewEgg fell by 8% between April and May. Perhaps most reassuringly, the new high-end AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT, released in May with a RRP of $1,100, is selling for that price. The new budget AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT also sells for a suggested retail price of $400 (30000r + VAT).

Along with the decline in prices for older video cards, it can be assumed that the era of video cards at a price one and a half times higher than the recommended one may be coming to an end. At least for AMD graphics cards.

Of course, the echoes of Western pricing come to Russia belatedly, but against the background of the strengthening of the ruble, we can expect a corresponding trend.

What’s up with Nvidia?

If you’re into Nvidia graphics cards, there’s good news here as well, as prices for the Green Team’s products are dropping too. However, as reported by HardwareUnboxed, the price drop for Nvidia cards is less dramatic, with an average drop of 6% from April to May.

The largest drop in Newegg stores for Nvidia video cards was noted by GeForce RTX 3080 10Gb (-15%), Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 12Gb (-12%), Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (-12%), and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 (-10% ).

And while this trend is certainly encouraging, Nvidia graphics cards continue to trade at a premium of 24% of the RRP, which makes them a significantly worse offer compared to AMD graphics cards.

What does all this mean for gamers?

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

All of this is encouraging news for gamers who have had to deal with a real graphics card nightmare in the past few years. What little inventory was available sold at a hefty price tag that most users simply couldn’t afford for their gaming PCs, whether building a new one or buying a pre-built system.

Thus, all these price drops show that the situation is finally stabilizing. Chip production is gaining momentum again, and cryptocurrencies are falling. Bad news for cryptocurrency miners and investors, but it means GPU stocks won’t be swept off store shelves by miners.

We could see a new round of price wars as AMD and Nvidia continue to fight for their customers. AMD is clearly the winner at this point, as most Nvidia graphics cards are still well over the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.

What’s even more encouraging is the sale of new graphics cards such as the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti at RRP, a good sign for the future, especially as Nvidia and AMD are expected to launch next-gen graphics cards later this year. .

It is also interesting to note that according to the report, two graphics cards actually went up in price between April and May: AMD Radeon RX 6600 and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050. the next price war will play out.