EVGA and Zotac Raise GeForce RTX 30-Series Ampere GPU Pricing

EVGA GeForce RTX 3090
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

If the shortages didn't already ruin the graphics card market, the new tariffs certainly will. Asus was the first manufacturer to manifest the increase in graphics card pricing, and according to a recent report fom The Verge, EVGA and Zotac have also raised the pricing for their corresponding GeForce RTX 30-series (Ampere) products.

Nowadays, you can call it a blessing if you're one of the lucky ones to find a GeForce RTX 30-series graphics card in stock, much less at its MSRP. On top of that, the Trump administration has imposed a 25% tax on graphics cards that are manufactured in China, so the nightmare only gets worse. It's reasonable to assume that the bigger vendors have higher possibilities of absorbing the tariff so it won't reflect as much on the pricing. However, smaller manufacturers might not have the same leeway.

EVGA, for one, has already given its customers the heads-up on the brand's website. The new pricing went into effect as of January 11, but EVGA will respect the original pricing for customers who are on its Notify Queue system or Step-Up Queue until April 16.

Due to ongoing events, EVGA has made price adjustments on the GeForce RTX 30 Series products. This change was necessary due to several factors and will be effective January 11, 2021. EVGA has worked to reduce and minimize these costs as much as possible. For those who are currently in the EVGA.com Notify Queue system or Step-Up Queue, EVGA will honor the original MSRP pricing through April 16th, 2021 if your purchase position is processed before this date.

EVGA GeForce RTX 30-Series Pricing

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Graphics CardNov. 20, 2020 PricingCurrent PricingPricing Difference
EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra Gaming$1,799.99$1,869.993.9%
EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 XC3 Black Gaming$1,529.99$1,599.994.6%
EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 FTW3 Ultra Gaming$809.99$879.998.6%
EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 Black Gaming$729.99$799.999.6%
EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 Ultra Gaming$609.99$679.9911.5%
EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 XC3 Black Gaming$529.99$599.9913.2%

We've compared EVGA's most and least expensive models from its GeForce RTX 3090, RTX 3080 and RTX 3070 lineups, excluding the more specialized SKUs, such as the hybrid, watercooled or K|NGP|N models. EVGA has delivered on its promise to minimize the impact of the tariffs as the difference in pricing looks bearable, at least on the higher end cards.

The GeForce RTX 3090 and RTX 3080 showed increases up to 4.6% and 9.6%, respectively. In EVGA's case, the GeForce RTX 3070 suffered the most from the tariffs. The pricing for the GeForce RTX 3070 has gone up as much as 13.2%. We could see similar, or perhaps even larger, price increases on the RTX 3060 Ti and upcoming RTX 3060 cards.

Zotac GeForce RTX 30-Series Pricing

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Graphics CardDec. 18, 2020 PricingCurrent PricingPricing Difference
Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3090 Trinity$1,549.99$1,899.9922.6%
Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 AMP Holo$799.99$899.9912.5%
Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity OC$769.99$869.9913.0%
Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity$749.99$839.9912.0%
Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Twin Edge OC White Edition$579.99$699.9920.7%
Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Twin Edge OC$559.99$639.9914.3%
Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Twin Edge$539.99$619.9914.8%
Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Twin Edge OC$469.99$549.9917.0%
Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Twin Edge$439.99$529.9920.5%

Unlike EVGA, the tariffs appear to have a greater impact on Zotac. The brand's GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards revealed a price spike of up to 22.6%. As for the GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3070, the graphics cards now cost up to 13% and 20.7% more, respectively. Even the recently announced GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is selling for up to 20.5% more in comparison to just one month ago.

It should be pointed out that graphics cards aren't alone in this. The tariffs also affect motherboards as well. A previous report from a Chinese publication claimed that some of Intel's budget-oriented chipsets are in shortage. If we factor in the tariffs, we could see motherboard pricing soaring very soon.

All of this comes off as more salt on the wounds of already limited GPU supplies and elevated prices, and we'll likely see price increases on graphics cards using AMD GPUs as well. Nvidia's own Founders Edition cards haven't had official price increases yet. The RTX 3070 Founders Edition box still bears a "made in China" label, however, so we could see price changes there as well in the coming days.

Zhiye Liu
RAM Reviewer and News Editor

Zhiye Liu is a Freelance News Writer at Tom’s Hardware US. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

  • Phaaze88
    Well it was expected eventually after Asus took the first step.
    3060s at ~500USD and up, here we come...
    Reply
  • Gurg
    Manufacturers have had almost three years to move their production to Republic of China Taiwan, the US or another favored country from the ChiComs. Tariffs started going on ChiComs in March of 2018.
    Reply
  • Phaaze88
    @Gurg
    They're not budging because it's still the most cost effective where they are, right?
    /sigh
    Money.
    Reply
  • Math Geek
    how hard could it be to move a multi-billion dollar plant, retrain a workforce, redesign all the shipping to and from the new plant and so on and so on??

    sorry gurg but it's pretty silly to expect them to do that, when all they have to do is pass the tariff to the customer. no skin off their back.

    i don't blame them for passing that cost along. never expected anything other than that to happen really. would you eat 25% tax, which is likely a good bit of the profit margin??
    Reply
  • bigdragon
    I noticed Asus jacked up their prices last week, and then other manufacturers like Zotac and EVGA followed this week. The new prices are too high. I like PC gaming, but consoles just make more financial sense at this point. A 3060 costs more than a new XBox now -- and that's on top of being harder to actually find in stock!
    Reply
  • Bastard2k
    now i feel even better about a 1000$ card that crashes constantly in browsers unless you crank it up to 90W at idle.
    Reply
  • Endymio
    Why the lying headline? The manufacturers themselves are blaming a large number of factors for this increase, not simply tariffs, and their own words (as well as simple common sense) indicates that the primary factor is supply-chain and logistic disruptions due to Covid-19.
    Reply
  • Quantum Man
    Funny.. in all my years I have never seen blame put on the shoulders of a person so many times. And we've had some crappy men in office. Seems you can only believe what the televison provides (BS). Guess it's time to be done with this venue well. I'll be informing my customers at my computer store. Been a good run tomshardware, but your expressed ignorance is beyond the pale.
    Reply
  • Math Geek
    how is the title lying?

    it says they raised prices and they did. so how is that lying??

    the article shows prices before and what they are now. how is that wrong?

    the article states "On top of that, the Trump administration has imposed a 25% tax on graphics cards that are manufactured in China, so the nightmare only gets worse" how is that wrong?

    it does not state the only reason prices are going up, but that on top of everything else going on, the new tarriffs are an issue with prices. whine if you want, but there is nothing untrue in the article.

    you may not like the truth, but it's still the truth :)
    Reply
  • Endymio
    Math Geek said:
    how is the title lying?
    The headline: "New tariffs force graphics card vendors to increase pricing."

    Tariffs are only one factor, not the primary factor, and even cards and other computer hardware not manufactured in China (and thus not subject to tariffs) are seeing price increases.

    When you can explain how Chinese tariffs are responsible for price increases on products not made in China, you can call the headline honest. Not until then.
    Reply