It ’s like it ’s 2021 all over again . The prices of thebest graphic cardsare through the roof , and frankly , even theworst GPUswe’ve picture in the last few twelvemonth are expensive . Every undivided bill of fare from the current contemporaries is selling well above the recommended lean monetary value ( MSRP ) , and unfortunately , what fiddling stay on of the premature gens is pricey , too .

If you ’re struggle tobuy a GPUright now , I can relate . I ’ve been through this myself in the last cryptocurrency mining - fueled GPU deficit when my erstwhile GTX 1060 was on its last legs and I was heroic to snag a new board . Here ’s what ’s materialize right now and what you may do to still bribe a graphics scorecard right now .

New report says the MSRP is pretty much dead

Tom ’s Hardware compiled a comprehensivereporton the current state of GPU pricing , covering both this genesis and the late one . The report includes AMD , Intel , and Nvidia , so it give us a unanimous looking at at the current state of things . foresightful story short : It ’s not good .

Across the board , current - gen graphics cards are selling well above their MSRPs . This is rightful even for smaller players and more budget lineup , like theArc B580 . Intel received a portion of extolment for the card upon launching , because its performance per dollar bill was truly excellent — but it ’s a whole unlike story now that the GPU cost $ 396 alternatively of $ 250 .

Of naturally , the situation with Nvidia GPUs is quite dire , as play up in the report . The cheapestRTX 5090that the publishing was able to find price a humongous $ 3,999 , which is literally twice the amount of money we were suppose to have to compensate for it . feel it in stock is another issue .

Even AMD , which intemperately emphasized bid GPUs for the mainstream market ( which , according to AMD , entail Mary Leontyne Price below $ 700 ) , is struggling to cater circuit board at MSRP . The garish RX 9070 XT on Amazon currently costs $ 940 , which is a whopping $ 340 above MSRP .

Tom ’s Hardware also scoured eBay , as that ’s a in force rootage of GPUs these days when retailers extend small more than empty shelves . The 30 - day eBay sales event average for the RTX 5090 sits at a astounding $ 4,222 … so while those GPUs are useable , they cost a fortune .

browse last - gen is not a solution here , at least not often . Only a blue-ribbon few cards are sell near their MSRP . Most cards are selling for more , with GPUs priced at anywhere from 3 % to 111 % above their MSRP ; on average , eBay GPUs cost 24 % more than the recommended inclination toll .

6 ways to get a GPU right now

thing are attend bleak , but not entirely hopeless . If I were to buy a GPU right now , here ’s what I ’d taste to do .

Buy a used GPU

I ’m not normally a big rooter of buy used GPUs , but the trueness is that right now , it ’s a better option than many others .

Obviously , this will not get you a current - gen card , as those are only a couple of month old right now — but you should be able to find plenty of RTX 40 - serial and RX 7000 GPUs for sale on the second - hand market , not to mention even older card .

People who have the funds or the drive to buy a current - gen GPU will seek to sell off their GPUs to make some of that money back first , so you might be able to score a decent deal . see to it local market place or eBay for these , but be measured — there are lots of gouger online .

Try a smaller retailer

monolithic retailers and e - tailers are an obvious pick when you require to corrupt a GPU , but they ’re not the only choice . While waiting for restocks at Best Buy is a licit strategy , those GPUs will be snapped up in no time . Instead , you might be better off jibe a local store and seek to add up to some variety of an understanding .

Smaller retailers will often add a premium on the GPU , but it ’ll still be less than scalper prices . If you hump of a local store , postulate about waiting lists and things like that — being patient might net you a GPU .

Buy directly from the source

Few place guarantee cards at MSRP , but some of them do . Nvidia , for example , will sell its own Founders Edition cards at MSRP , so that ’s a unspoilt pick . In universal , FE cards are reasonably much the only safe bet when it make out to corrupt at MSRP right now . AMD has n’t made its own versions of the RX 9070 XT ( also known as Made By AMD , or MBA ) , so the prices of those GPUs are up to AMD ’s partners . Nvidia ’s own GPUs are locked to MSRP until that ’s officially raised .

Check out eBay

As mentioned above , eBaycanbe a reservoir of GPUs — but they ’re expensive . retail merchant are mostly sold out alfresco of restocks here and there , and those cards afterward end up on eBay ( thanks , scalper ) .

If you ’ve got the money to spare and do n’t mind compensate excess , eBay is probably the fastest choice , but keep in brain that there are a lot of cozenage , too . I ’ve seen things like a $ 6,000 printed exposure of the RTX 5090 being sell , or itemisation where the menu will ship in two to four weeks . Steer clear of those , and if something does n’t take care correct , debar that list .

Shop last-gen, but be careful

Buying last - gen card game is usually a good scheme in situations like this , but not this clip . Both AMD and Nvidia come along to have ceased producing last - gen cards at just the right clip for the market place to part drying up . The Brobdingnagian majority of Nvidia ’s RTX 40 - serial is selling above MSRP , with the RTX 4060 and the RTX 4060 Ti being the only options that are passably tight to it . AMD has a few cards close to MSRP , such as the RX 7600 or the RX 7800 XT .

Buy a pre-built PC

Again , this is n’t my favorite solution , but it works . In times of GPU dearth , system manufacturers ( OEMs ) get some kind of supply of GPUs independently of the eternal sleep of the securities industry . As a outcome , you ’ll find prebuilts with the RTX 5090 or the RX 9070 XT readily useable , even if the prices might be high-pitched .

From that point on , you could either just habituate the GPU and trade the respite of the parts or use the whole PC as is .