March saw graphics card prices tumble 25% in EU

Average GPU pricing now sits at 25% above MSRP.

Graphics card prices are at their lowest point in more than a year, according to stats collected by 3DCenter.org. The drop in average MSRPs from the start to the end of March was an impressive 25%, they report. Only a quarter previously, GPUs were typically >80% above MSRPs.

“In fact, this should roughly correspond to the price level at the end of 2020, where most Ampere and RDNA2 graphics cards had to struggle with a similar level of price exaggeration after their respective launches,” 3DCenter says. At that time, these price exaggerations were mainly triggered by excessive demand for limited supply, whereas this year availability is no longer a problem (at least in Central Europe).

These data apply to the EU graphics card market, but the same trends should be observed as an indication of what could happen in most world regions. 3DCenter also tabulates the different AMD and Nvidia SKUs against pricing and availability in retailers across the EU.

Despite low prices, there’s no mad rush to buy

3DCenter says that, despite the recent consistently falling graphics card prices, there has been no noticeable rush of buyers (so far). “It is quite possible that many potential graphics card buyers have already written off the current Ampere/RDNA2 generation and are more likely to be thinking about the upcoming Ada/RDNA3 generation,” they write.

“In view of the performance leap to be expected with this next generation, this is a thoroughly plausible decision,” 3DCenter adds. This also means that the prices of the currently available graphics cards will probably continue to fall.

“However, it is conceivable that there will be a few signs of wear and tear at the price level that has already been reached and that the graphics card prices will not drop quite as quickly as has been observed in the last three months. So one can probably continue to assume summer 2022, by which time the list price level should be almost reached.”

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