AMD and Nvidia GPU Prices Sadly Keep Rising in Europe

A 3DCenter survey on the state of graphics cards pricing for German and Austrian markets paints a dim picture for Europe. On average, European buyers saw a 17% price increase in graphics cards throughout October, entering November with average prices rising 18% for AMD and 16% for Nvidia graphics cards. They're now being sold, on average, at 201% higher pricing for AMD, and 188% higher for Nvidia compared to MSRP. However, the average values hide some fascinating details about which graphics cards drove the price increase. And while the price increase is currently regional, it could paint an emergence in pricing for other markets as well - including the U.S. 

Price increases for AMD Radeon RX 6800 graphics cards were the biggest offenders in the red camp; their prices rose a staggering 49% above their early October levels until the month's end. On Nvidia's side, the GeForce RTX 3060 rose the most in the same period, with a 30% average price increase. The GeForce RTX 3090 also contributed in a big way, increasing 22% alongside them.

Cards that hit egregious price points included some GeForce RTX 3070 Ti models hitting above € 2,000 for 3x their MSRP, and a GeForce RTX 3090 model was tagged at an astonishing € 4,029 (2.7x its MSRP).

European buyers now find themselves with prices for AMD cards that are almost back to their peak levels set at the beginning of May. The price / performance / technology ratio is constantly changing according to these price fluctuations; AMD's graphics card stack has been reordered with its current 159% increase for the Radeon RX 6800, rendering its position in AMD's launch lineup entirely metaphorical. 

Interestingly, one of the graphics cards that saw the highest price increase from the Nvidia camp was the GeForce RTX 3060, the cheapest in the entire lineup. This puts an increasingly higher financial requirement for a PC gamer to upgrade towards or even enter the space for the latest technologies, which ultimately also helps limit their adoption. And the closest MSRP pricing competitor to the GeForce RTX 3060 is the Radeon RX 6600, whose pricing, as the data shows, stayed flat throughout October. It's also a card currently sitting at +59% above its MSRP, compared to the GeForce RTX 3060's +129%. This is the power of Nvidia's brand recognition: at the beginning of October, prices for a card selling at around 600€ increased due to higher demand, while its closest competitor at around 500€ didn't move an inch.