We saw a few excellent deals on graphics cards for Amazon Prime Day, but it looks like the low-price party is set to continue, at least if you’re in the market for some really expensive GPUs. Nvidia has announced that it’s temporarily reducing the prices of its most expensive GeForce RTX 3000-series cards, by up to $500 in the case of the most expensive model. That’s wonderful news for gamers looking to pick up a new graphics card after years of shortages, but note that these price cuts won’t officially change the MSRP — this is purely “for a limited time.”
According to PC Gamer, the price of the RTX 3090 Ti is dropping from $2000 to $1500, the RTX 3090 is going from $1500 to $1300, and the RTX 3080 Ti will drop slightly from $1200 to $1100. The 12GB variant of the RTX 3080 never got an official MSRP, but it’s been trending around $1000-1200 since the crypto market crashed. For the length of the promotion — however long that might be — the official price will be $800. Expect similar price drops in other regions.
Note that these are the prices for Nvidia’s self-branded cards, often called “Founder’s Editions.” Manufacturers that customize and rebadge the cards, like Asus, EVGA, and Gigabyte, don’t have to follow Nvidia’s pricing suggestions. That said, you’ll probably see equivalent price drops on those custom versions of Nvidia GPUs, as well as equivalent AMD GPUs as the market corrects to compete. Bottom line: Aome of the best deals we saw on high-end cards for Prime Day (and its various flavors at other retailers) might stick around for a while.
Why drop GPU prices now? If I might be allowed to put on my wild speculation hat, which has many a fancy feather in its rhinestone brim, this is merely a semi-official codification of the new normal for the graphics card market. As demand from crypto miners flatlines and the market for scalpers dries up, to say nothing of reduced demand for luxury goods as worldwide inflation remains high, Nvidia has to get rid of some of these pricey cards. That’s especially true if they want to introduce an RTX 4000 series later this year or early in 2023, usually starting with the expensive xx70 and xx80 models.
Regardless of the reason, it’s a good time to be in the market for high-end GPUs. It’s a very welcome change from just a few months ago.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.