A peculiar type of sticker shock has recently hit gamers and other high-end PC graphics card users (crypto miners, video editors): It appears that something is amiss because hardware prices have fallen so swiftly and to such an extreme. Gamers who wanted to upgrade from an older graphics card to a newer-generation board with GPUs like Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD's Radeon RX 6800 XT just couldn't find them a year ago without paying a hefty markup on Ebay or getting lucky when a trickle of supply appeared at stores like Best Buy or Newegg. 

The current has changed. As demand from cryptocurrency miners has slowed and manufacturers try to clear inventory as the anticipation for the next generation of graphics cards grows, supply and prices have leveled off. In fact, we are seeing reductions on several graphics' cards from stores and direct-sale manufacturers like EVGA and MSI, which is unusual. Many people will decide to wait for the newest, most expensive cards, much like those who must have the newest iPhone when it is released. The best time to purchase, however, may be now for casual gamers, when there is still stock and prices are returning to normal or even cheaper. 

So what caused the price drop? 

Back in April, board scalpers would be left holding the bag on extra inventory, according to seasoned analyst Jon Peddie, who closely monitors the graphics sector. That appears to have concluded in major part. However, according to Peddie, the supply and demand cycles of the major companies in the graphics industry—NVIDIA, AMD, and even Intel (which is entering the market for gaming-focused GPUs)—are returning to a predictable regularity. 

Mining, recessions, stock market crashes, wars, pandemics, and everything else the users could think of to just mess up that nice, predictable curve that the forecasters used to make the models, says Peddie, are the factors that led us to the point where graphics cards disappeared from retail channels and got sold at enormous markups on secondary markets. 

Surprisingly, according to Peddie, the shortfall was brought on by cryptocurrency farms and scalpers rather than problems with the supply chain or Covid itself. The graphics sector operates on three- to five-year cycles, so even significant disruptions don't throw long-term planning and orders too far off course. According to him, Covid manufacturing shutdowns "lasted maybe a week or two at most." 

On the demand side, however, we observed a spike in crypto-mining farms that accelerated their operations by employing potent graphics cards, as well as an increase in card demand from both new and experienced gamers trying to upgrade their systems to play more recent games during the pandemic lockdown of 2020. However, there is now a lot more inventory in retail channels, and he claims that a refresh cycle of new products is overdue. Price elasticity is everywhere, according to Peddie.If u need a graphics card this is the moment you were waiting for. 

What to buy? 

Depending on the games you intend to play, you should improve your graphics card. bIf, like me, you still enjoy the games that were played three years back  (such Overwatch, Control, and Apex Legends), you may only require a budget or mid-range card, such as a $200–350 Radeon RX 570 card from AMD or an Nvidia 3060 GPU card from Nvidia. 

An Nvidia 3080 or Radeon 6700 XT could be necessary if you want to take on more demanding new releases or beasts like Cyberpunk 2077 or Hitman 3 with all the eye candy dialled up to the top settings. Ideally, you want something strong, but a top-tier card could be unnecessary. The next level down, in the $500–$700 price range, is more than adequate for the majority of games and you receive a significant savings. Even if a graphics board is future-proofed for the next three to five years, not everyone wants to spend $1,000 or more on one. 

Verify that your system is capable of handling the demands of a more modern graphics card. Always verify that the new card is compatible with the motherboard of your computer and that the power supply is powerful enough to support it. Additionally, check to see if it will fit within your box; some boards are too large to fit inside specific PC cases.