AMD’s RX 6000 graphics cards are looking like attractive buys right now, with prices steadily falling, as seen in a new report this month, while Nvidia GPUs refuse to decline.
it’s going by techspot (opens in new tab) GPU Price Update for January 2023 (the site produces these reports monthly), which shows a whole load of data for graphics card sales, including retail pricing (in the US), and additional specifics such as best value boards (in terms of raw ‘cost per frame’, meaning price/performance ratio).
The good news is that for the last-gen products on the shelves, some of AMD’s GPUs have seen some pretty big price drops. In fact, the top five RDNA 2 models have all dropped in price, with the Radeon RX 6800 XT and 6950 XT leading the way with price drops of 14% and 13% over the past month.
The 6900 XT is also down a solid amount, with a 7% decrease compared to December, and slightly more modest declines — but still meaningful given that it’s month-over-month — seen with the RX 6800 and 6750 XT, fell 4% and 3% respectively.
Mid-range offerings like the RX 6650 XT and 6600 XT also fell 4% and 3%, respectively, and the 6500 XT was down 6%, but prices elsewhere were mostly stuck at similar levels. The RX 6600 had a 12% increase, mind.
The story was very different with Nvidia’s last-gen RTX 3000 GPUs, where the only card to really drop in price was the GeForce RTX 3060 which was down a healthy 6% – and to be fair, that’s a lot to see a decent one. It is a useful product. drop.
While the RTX 3070 remained the same price, the other Ampere GPUs were still available at US retailers – a modest 2% increase for the RTX 3070 Ti, but a slightly larger increase of 4% and 5% for the RTX 3050 and RTX 2 Pro Was in the form 3060 Tiwari.
What about the RTX 3080 and 3090 variants? Well, except for the scattered RTX 3080 10GB model, there’s no stock left of these boards (but TechSpot didn’t have a price to compare in this case, as these cards went out of stock over the past few months). .
As for new products, the RTX 4070 Ti hit the market this month, and as TechSpot noted, the latest Lovelace graphics card remained in stock and sold for its MSRP (recommended price), an unusual situation — and one that is somewhat surprising. May indicate weakening of demand. TechSpot clarifies that the RTX 4070 Ti is reportedly selling better than the RTX 4080 – something we’ve seen clear evidence of elsewhere – while also pointing out that this isn’t a particularly great achievement, as it’s not Was (and still isn’t) a particularly popular GPU.
Still, on TechSpot’s price/performance (cost per frame) table based on MSRP pricing, the 4070 Ti sits in second place overall, hot on the heels of the leader: AMD’s RX 7900 XTX. They are ahead of the RTX 3070 in third place and the RX 6800 XT and RX 6800 in fourth and fifth place.
Behind those cards is the RX 7900 XT in sixth place, but you’ll have to go further down the table to find the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 in ninth and tenth, respectively. (Remember, this is based on recommended pricing, not the actual current price tag).
Analysis: Some seriously tempting options from Team Red
Both the RX 6900 XT and 6950 XT graphics cards look great right now, having dropped by a significant amount over the last nine months. Especially the latter which hit its lowest price of $700 (about £570 / AU$1,000) in January, representing more than a third off the MSRP.
The RX 6800 XT also came down heavily, although it was earlier slightly cheaper due to its December price hike. All of these are compelling options for those looking for a powerful graphics card but don’t want to pay more for the new-generation RDNA 3 or Lavalace.
In mid-range territory for AMD’s RX 6000 series, the decline is more modest, as noted, but there are still some really attractive options – like the RX 6650 XT for $275 (about £220 / AU$395). ) At the expense of.
It’s disappointing that Nvidia graphics cards aren’t seeing the same kind of decline, but not exactly surprising. When GPU prices first started falling (back from really inflated levels of double or more of MSRP), it’s been a theme that Nvidia’s products have been more stubbornly resistant to cuts. Although in fairness, this is certainly a partial reflection of their relative popularity.
The bright spot in the news with Team Green is that at least the RTX 3060 and 3060 Ti – the flagship mid-range models – are now Almost at MSRP in the US (they’re just over $10 in both cases). Maybe they’ll drop further, but we’re not counting on it, as Nvidia’s loveless mid-range is nowhere in sight on the horizon. In fact, the RTX 4060 isn’t rumored to launch until mid-2023.
That said, high-end RTX 3000 stock is now sold out, so it probably won’t be long before it clears out excess RTX 3060 inventory; And if so, then maybe the Lovelace successor is due a little sooner than widely expected.