The global chip shortage shows no signs of ending anytime soon, which means gaming enthusiasts continue to suffer when securing hardware components. This is readily apparent with the best gaming cards, which have been short on supply and woefully overpriced for well over a year. Unfortunately, things don't appear to be getting any better, according to a report from the Board Channel Forums (via VideoCardz) regarding Radeon RX 6000 GPU in the pipeline from AMD.
As if prices weren't already through the stratosphere, AMD reportedly told its add-in board (AIB) customers that it would raise Radeon RX 6000 GPU prices by roughly 10 percent. Depending on the GPUs that AIBs purchase, that could translate into a $50 to $100 increase in retail prices.
| GPU | Avg eBay Price | MSRP |
|---|---|---|
| Radeon RX 6900 XT | $1,512 | $999 |
| Radeon RX 6800 XT | $1,314 | $649 |
| Radeon RX 6800 | $1,260 | $579 |
| Radeon RX 6700 XT | $859 | $479 |
| Radeon RX 6600 XT | $631 | $379 |
| Radeon RX 6600 | $559 | $329 |
AMD reportedly cited increased foundry costs associated with its chip fab Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for the hike. But we must remember that TSMC passes the increased costs onto AMD, which, in turn, passes the baton to its AIB customers. That means that we, the consumers, will see that increase on the retail side as well. However, it doesn't seem like another $50 to $100 increase in MSRPs will matter much in the grand scheme of things, given how out of whack GPU pricing is now.
Looking at our more recent GPU Price Index, the pricing on third-party marketplace eBay is far outpacing the MSRP for Radeon RX 6000 Series graphics cards. For example, the Radeon RX 6800 and Radeon RX 6800 XT sell for over 2x MSRP at $1,260 and $1,314 respectively. Even the recently introduced entry-level Radon RX 6600, which has an MSRP of $329, currently sells for around $559.
We've reached out to AMD for comment and will update as necessary.
