Graphics cards are among the most important upgrades if you want to upgrade a gaming PC. However, they could become significantly more expensive soon, if reports are to be believed. Nvidia plans to reduce production.
Where is the information coming from? One of the leading Taiwanese financial media, UDN, claims that Nvidia is significantly reducing the production of its high-end RTX 40 series graphics chips in preparation for the launch of the Blackwell-powered RTX 50 series. The British colleagues from PCGamer.com report on this.
Nvidia’s approach is not unusual. Before the release of a new graphics card, production is reduced so that retailers do not have thousands of old graphics cards in stock.
Graphics card prices are expected to rise significantly, but is an upgrade even worth it?
What does this mean for gamers? The source claims that the prices for the RTX 4070, 4080, and 4090 graphics cards will most likely rise by as much as 50%.
What are the current prices like? The current demand for the RTX 4070 and RTX 4080 is quite high, as not only gamers but also AI companies are interested in the GPUs. As a result, prices have remained very stable, and both graphics cards have only been slightly below the MSRP. The MSRP for the RTX 4070 is 659 euros, while retail prices are around 600 euros (via geizhals.de).
What speaks against buying a graphics card? If Nvidia really reduces its production significantly, this indicates an imminent launch of the next GPU generation. If you are not in a hurry to upgrade your gaming PC, it would be wise to wait until the next generation comes out. Typically, you get 30 to 40% more performance with the next generation, and it’s usually worth waiting for an upgrade.
Additionally, Nvidia regularly relies on the buyer-unfriendly practice of offering certain features only for new products, such as DLSS 3.0 for the RTX 4000 generation. For this reason alone, we would advise you to wait.
When will the new GPUs be released? Experts speculate that this should happen between November 2024 and January 2025. Of course, this doesn’t help you if your graphics card is broken and you urgently need a replacement.
Recommendations for graphics cards: If you are looking for an upgrade for your gaming PC, check out our graphics card ranking. Here, we present all the important graphics cards from AMD, Intel, and Nvidia that are currently worth buying: The best graphics cards for gaming for every budget in 2024
