Source: Tom’s hardware
Previously, makers of graphic cards like Nvidia and Asus had announced the increase in its GPU prices due to its serious shortage. This raise occurred in early 2021 partly due to the tariffs placed on certain Chinese products by the Trump administration. However, these tariffs had been done away with for many years but got back into effect towards 2020 end.
Last week, many of these waivers were restored by the Biden administration. As a result, some reports specified how retailers like Nvidia could reduce the prices of graphic cards. Similarly, on Monday, March 28, Asus announced that they would be lowering their prices of GPU as well.
Previously, some retailers gave the estimate of the price drop to be somewhere between April and May. However, Asus confirmed the price drop to come along from April 1 itself. Additionally, they mentioned that the drop will apply to their whole lineup of GeForce RTX 3000-series. This would surely include the 3050, 3060, 3070, 3080 and 3090 series cards.
“Consumers should expect prices to decline up to 25% on different models throughout the springtime,” Asus said in a statement.
Asus, along with other GPU makers had restarted or continued selling older GPU models as well such as RTX 2060 and 1660. This was an attempt to address the continuing shortages of GPU. However, there is no confirmation if these models will also get a drop in their prices. In fact, there is no word either on whether these will go away as newer GPUs are easily available again.
Prices suggested by manufacturers is just one of the factors that draws out the actual price of these graphic cards. However, Asus lessening their MSRPs is a definite positive sign for consumers looking for a GPU at less than $500 but of good quality. GPU prices could further tend to go high in the short term owing to various factors. These include cryptocurrency miners, the continuing global chip shortage, along with supply chain issues, and scalpers. Fortunately, the street prices of GPUs have been visibly going down this year so far. Hence, this steady decline could indicate that the worst of this shortage has passed.
As witnessed earlier, the increase in prices had led to a sudden drop in demand for graphic cards for a short while. However, it soon saw a rise from gamers with more extensive use and better strategies from crypto miners. Even Nvidia released GPUs despites its mining abilities being cut down intentionally.
