It's that time of year, when all the tech that you could possibly want for the holidays goes on sale. Check our Black Friday deals and more specifically the Black Friday Graphics Card deals for some of the best options we've found. But if you're shopping around for one of the best graphics cards, it's also worth noting the recent trends in pricing. And that's where we've noticed some disappointing trends.
Our last look at retail October GPU prices indicated nearly everything was still trending down, which is what we would expect in the face of GPU oversupply and next-gen parts launching. The RTX 4090 was incredibly fast and expensive, and it still sold out. RTX 4080 meanwhile was less enticing, given the high price and big performance gap. AMD RX 7900-series cards are coming next month and should hopefully be more competitive. But what about the existing GPUs?
We've got good news and bad news; which would you like first? The bad news, as you've no doubt gleaned from the headline, is that prices on many of Nvidia's GPUs are on the rise — at least at retail, check our eBay GPU prices article for an alternative view of prices. AMD's GPUs meanwhile continue to drop in price, which is more in line with what we expect to see. Here's the full set of data and current retail graphics card prices.
| Graphics Card | Best Retail Price | Monthly Price Change | eBay Oct Avg | Launch MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 4090 | $2,199 | -2.2% | $2,333 | $1,600 |
| GeForce RTX 4080 | $1,477 | — | — | $1,200 |
| GeForce RTX 3090 Ti | $1,449 | 31.7% | $1,105 | $2,000 |
| GeForce RTX 3090 | $1,250 | 33.0% | $812 | $1,500 |
| GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | $1,000 | 25.0% | $755 | $1,200 |
| GeForce RTX 3080 12GB | $846 | 14.3% | $663 | $800 |
| GeForce RTX 3080 | $700 | -3.6% | $562 | $700 |
| GeForce RTX 3070 Ti | $600 | 1.7% | $459 | $600 |
| GeForce RTX 3070 | $510 | 13.3% | $376 | $500 |
| GeForce RTX 3060 Ti | $381 | -4.8% | $320 | $400 |
| GeForce RTX 3060 | $340 | -5.6% | $286 | $330 |
| GeForce RTX 3050 | $265 | -4.7% | $241 | $250 |
| Radeon RX 6950 XT | $830 | 3.8% | $752 | $1,100 |
| Radeon RX 6900 XT | $655 | -2.2% | $623 | $1,000 |
| Radeon RX 6800 XT | $515 | -4.6% | $491 | $650 |
| Radeon RX 6800 | $500 | -2.0% | $399 | $580 |
| Radeon RX 6750 XT | $390 | -13.3% | $430 | $550 |
| Radeon RX 6700 XT | $350 | -10.3% | $313 | $480 |
| Radeon RX 6700 10GB | $330 | -5.7% | $330 | $480 |
| Radeon RX 6650 XT | $250 | -16.7% | $299 | $500 |
| Radeon RX 6600 XT | $290 | 0.0% | $221 | $380 |
| Radeon RX 6600 | $190 | -13.6% | $182 | $330 |
| Radeon RX 6500 XT | $160 | -3.0% | $141 | $200 |
| Radeon RX 6400 | $149 | 6.4% | $138 | $160 |
| GeForce RTX 2060 | $220 | -7.6% | $184 | $350 |
| GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | $230 | 21.1% | $139 | $280 |
| GeForce GTX 1660 Super | $180 | -16.5% | $131 | $230 |
| GeForce GTX 1660 | $170 | -10.5% | $120 | $220 |
| GeForce GTX 1650 Super | $222 | 11.5% | $120 | $160 |
| GeForce GTX 1650 GDDR6 | $160 | 0.0% | $128 | $150 |
| GeForce GTX 1650 | $170 | 2.4% | $126 | $150 |
| GeForce GTX 1630 | $130 | -15.6% | $213 | $150 |
| Intel Arc A770 16GB | $350 | 0.0% | $548 | $350 |
| Intel Arc A770 8GB | $330 | 0.0% | — | $330 |
| Intel Arc A750 | $290 | 0.0% | $395 | $290 |
| Intel Arc A380 | $140 | 0.0% | $200 | $140 |
Look at how much some of those Nvidia cards have jumped in price compared to last month! The RTX 3090 Ti and 3090 have shot up over 30%, 3080 Ti is up 25%, and the 3080 12GB costs nearly 15% more. We'd also exercise a dose of skepticism on the RTX 3080 10GB, as that value is skewed by the upcoming Maxsun RTX 3080 iCraft OC — who? Exactly. Remove that from the equation and the cheapest 3080 10GB card costs $769, 6% more than last month.
RTX 3070 cards are also more expensive, just a 2% increase on the (overpriced IMO) RTX 3070 Ti, and a 13% jump on the RTX 3070. It's not all bad news from Team Green, though, as the RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 3060, and RTX 3050 are all down around 5% compared to last month. There are also a few decent options still hanging around for the RTX 2060, GTX 1660 Super, and GTX 1660 — though the GTX 1650 family of cards are laughably priced by comparison.
AMD prices in contrast mostly continue to drop. The RX 6950 XT went up slightly, by 4% compared to the best price a month ago, but nearly everything else stayed the same or decreased. The RX 6750/6700 XT and the RX 6650 XT and 6600 are all down by 10% or more, and the RX 6800 XT is closing in on $500.
That's really where I think the RX 6800 XT belongs at this point. It's still plenty fast — check our GPU benchmarks hierarchy for details — but it's also two years old and was originally supposed to be a $649 card. Right before the next-gen RX 7900-series arrive (and probably RX 7800-series soon enough), the cards really should be on clearance pricing.
Note that the RX 6800 XT trades blows with the RTX 3080 in conventional gaming scenarios. I wouldn't suggest paying more than $500 for a 3080 either at this point... and yet clearly some people are willing to do so. RX 6750 XT likewise trades blows with the RTX 3070 Ti, but it can now be had for just $390 while the Nvidia card still goes for $600.
Of course, this might all just be retail shenanigans so that we can soon see Black Friday graphics card deals where we'll see things like an RTX 3080 "marked down" from $850 to only $650 — "an all-time low and a 24% discount!" Don't buy into the hype, and keep your wits about you this shopping season, in other words.
We'll do our best to sort out the true deals from among the fields of pretenders. And if you're looking for a great budget option, there's no beating the RX 6600 right now — easily the best value by a long shot.
