Graphics Card Prices Set to Fall as Ethereum Bubble Bursts - WinBuzzer (2024)
Back last month, we reported on a curious case of huge graphics card price increases. GPU prices soared under a resurgence in cryptocurrency. Customers mining the currency Ethereum led to a supply and demand issue. Manufacturers did not have enough cards on the market, so graphics card prices went high.
There is now evidence of market normalization and prices even starting to come down. GPU prices are still high, but they are moving in the right direction again. Whether this means the mining boom is over, or whether Ethereum traders are waiting for a lull before another onslaught, remains to be seen.
However, it does seem as though falling prices coincide with a general decline in the value of the cryptocurrency.
A Ethereum mining craze severely damaged the GPU market. Not least for gamers and other customers who make graphics card a normally niche product. Ethereum has been growing in popularity and value for years, but it has exploded in 2017.
For example, the price of the currency rose from $10 in January 2017 to a peak of $400 in June. The 4000% increase in value meant more people were mining. GPUs or CPUs can be used to extract (or mine) the currency, but most people prefer the former simply because they perform better. With the price of ‘Ether' increasing, so did the demand for GPUs, causing a market pinch.
Now, Ethereum is on a downward trend towards normalization. There are no signs this is a boom and bust cycle, but merely the currency returning to where it should be. Since the peak $400 value last month, an Ether has slipped in value to around $189 by July 14. Still high yes, 1800% above January in fact, but enough to have an impact on GPU prices.
Reasons for this are many, but laying the finger at over speculation and the increased difficulty of mining Ethereum is a good start. As in the case of Bitcoin, the more Ethereum units are existing already, more computational and thus GPU-power is needed to mine additional ones. In the beginning of July a huge spike in Ethereum mining difficulty took place, accelerating the ongoing price-decline even more.
We are in an odd situation where the GPU market seems to be moving in relation with Ethereum. At the peak last month, Graphics card prices went through the proverbial roof. As we pointed out, it was possible to sell off a previously purchased GPU for more than its original price. Yes, you could make money of graphics cards.
This was obviously fantastic for retailers selling the processors, but less so for normal customers (such as gamers) who wanted to buy them.
Like Ethereum, GPU prices are now declining back towards normalization. They are certainly not there yet, but signs are showing across major online stores that prices are coming down.
Graphic Card Prices Coming Down
Last month, eBay because a place reminiscent of the Gold Rush. Customers were rushing to bid on GPU auction and were paying well over the odds to get old or used cards. While ‘Buy it Now' prices on eBay remain the same, we are seeing some auctioned GPUs go for less than that dizzy peak a month ago. Ebay Germany has seen a huge increase of GPU-auctions in the last days which could be a sign that wanna-be Ethereum-miners have started to jump off.
At the moment, it is market prediction, but there is enough evidence to show that Ethereum's gradual slide back to normalcy will allow GPU prices to fall. Once again, graphics cards will become a niche product.
Three years later, Nvidia's RTX 30-series GPUs remain capable cards, and prices have come down now that the supply chain shortages and cryptocurrency mining are over.
When will GPU prices return to normal? Graphics cards are cheaper now than in 2021, and prices have continued to drop. Although some models are still overpriced, it's safe to say that GPU prices have returned to normal now. Prices may rise again near the end of the year, but it's hard to say for sure right now.
This was necessary because miners often made bulk purchases for GPUs, making it difficult for regular users and small-scale businesses to access them. The scarcity and high demand inflated GPU prices, making them significantly more expensive than their original market value.
The shortage of Nvidia GPU supply is easing, allowing players in the server supply chain, such as cooling solutions provider Sunon, to ramp up shipments starting in the first quarter of 2024 and expect continued quarter-by-quarter growth, according.....
Not to mention there's a worldwide chip shortage going on around that affects most PC components – or was, depending on who you talk to. If you factor in taxes, shipping fees, and rising production costs, it's clear that PCs are getting more expensive by the year. 2024 won't be the year that breaks this trend.
Far from GPUs being expensive today, if we consider the actual performance we're getting for our dollar, we see that we're actually getting a better deal than we have at pretty much any point over the past 25 years. And just to hit the point home, we see an even clearer picture for 1440p.
Additionally, the social distancing measures and other safety protocols implemented in factories further slowed down chip production. All these factors resulted in a severe shortage of chips, with GPUs included. As of 2023, there is still a global shortage of chips.
Overall prices of Polyurethane Resin across the North American market were recorded to have declined by approximately 2% during the opening quarter. Throughout the initial quarter of 2024, the Asian Polyurethane Resin market remained bearish, with prices depreciating by around 8 percent during this period.
Efficiency: Graphics cards are more power-efficient compared to CPUs (Central Processing Units) for mining tasks. They offer a better hash rate (computational power) per watt of electricity consumed.
GPUs have many processing cores that can perform multiple calculations simultaneously, enabling them to handle large amounts of data and perform complex mathematical operations much faster than traditional CPUs. This makes them ideal for the repetitive, compute-intensive work required for cryptocurrency mining.
Unlike ASICs, which are designed specifically for mining specific crypto like Bitcoin, GPUs are more adaptable and can mine different coins. This flexibility has been attractive to most miners who want to mine more than one coin, especially in the early days of altcoins.
✅ You want the best: The RTX 4090 is simply the most powerful GPU you can buy for your gaming PC today. The silicon inside it is monstrously powerful, and along with DLSS3 and Frame Generation it provides a truly next-gen experience. ✅ You want to nail 4K gaming: This is the card that makes 4K gaming buttery smooth.
To summarize, mainstream graphics cards remain functionally viable for an average of 3-5 years before showing their age and requiring an upgrade. Leading factors influencing GPU lifespan include model tier, usage habits, cooling and maintenance.
Best Buy, B&H Photo, Amazon and Newegg are all good retailers to check in on in the US, although you'll want to keep an eye out for inflated prices at the latter two. In the UK, we'd recommend going to Overclockers specifically and signing up to price notifications on the specific graphic card deals your looking for.
Surges in cryptocurrency prices led to a boom in mining activities, increasing the demand for GPUs. Cryptocurrency miners often buy GPUs in bulk, exacerbating the shortage. Moreover, the profitability of mining has made GPUs a hot commodity, leading to inflated prices.
NVIDIA has decided to slip RTX 4070 SUPER into the same MSRP range as its predecessor, while the original version has received an official price reduction.
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