Nvidia and AMD high-end graphics cards were expensive in 2020 (if you find them), but their prices are only rising. And you can thank the government for that.
As of December 31, 2020, GPUs and motherboards are already included in the tariffs the Trump administration set on Chinese imports. These PC components were previously exempt from these tariffs, but these exceptions expired in late 2020 and no extensions were applied. That means prices have risen up 25 percent for high-end GPUs, including Nvidia’s new RTX 3090, 3080, 3070 and 3060 Ti and AMD’s RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT.
The latest GPUs from Nvidia and AMD were almost impossible to buy in 2020 to begin with, as of now COVID-19 affected the manufacturing and supply chains, which allowed even more limited products to be available for purchase. And retailers typically sell out in a matter of seconds every time they resupply, thanks to climbers and cryptocurrency miners who use robots to buy as many graphics cards as possible.
The shopping experience was bad enough because many retailers implemented antibot tactics like waiting lists, more aggressive human verification systems and strict limits on how many GPUs customers can buy. However, these fees will only complicate and cost the processif you are lucky enough to get a letter.
Tariffs don’t just affect GPUs; SSDs, CPUs, power supplies, and other computer components could see price increases between seven and 25 percent, depending on its price. How Tom’s Hardware Notes, the increase in the prices of these will probably not be as serious as the increase in GPUs, but if you are buying or building a new PC or upgrading several pieces of an existing platform, you will certainly notice a difference.
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Our best advice for anyone who wants to build or upgrade their PC is to buy with caution and thoroughness. You can’t avoid price hikes, but you don’t have to buy any climbing Expensive GPUs on eBay or Facebook Marketplace just because they are available.
Resources com VideoCardz.com, GPUBoss, Reddit (r / GPU, r / Graphics cards, r / nvidia, r / amd), The Google Shopping tab, and even Communities of discord can help you compare specifications and prices and find available stock. At some point, the amounts of graphics cards will stabilize (hopefully), and buying a new graphics card from a legitimate retailer at a normal PVP will be easier, even if the GPU costs more than it did at launch.
It is also possible that new GPUs will be released that are cheaper or that reduce the price of current high-end models. In fact, Nvidia has a press conference tomorrow and it is rumored that more GPUs will be announced. At the very least, having more models to choose from could improve your chances of buying the card you want. Until then, make a smart purchase, but be prepared to pay a little more because of the policy; if you can wait until we can see what a Democratic-led government is doing about tariffs, if so maybe it’s worth it.