For those in the tech space looking to get a solid PC upgrade, it has been a very frustrating couple of years as prices have seemingly skyrocketed and availability has hit rock bottom – this shift has happened because of the emerging cryptocurrency sector, and for many it seemed like something that wasn’t going away any time soon. Although gaming favorites have shifted to platforms like mobile as German casinos and many other options are thriving, there has still been a desire to explore all things PC and the exciting new tech that releases. With major changes coming to the crypto space in recent months though, it seems tech enthusiasts will have something to be excited for, especially as high-end graphics cards are finding a drop in price.
(Image from theverge.com)
The first signs of change came all the way back in 2016 and the release of the Nvidia 1000 series, the higher end of the series in the 1070’s and 1080’s were very much in demand but it was around this time where Bitcoin miners found just how effective they could be for that purpose, and supply quickly dropped and prices would rapidly rise with scalpers reselling at a premium – the 2000 series wasn’t much better in 2018 and 2019 and would follow a similar pattern of high costs, low availability, and resellers trying to take advantage of the demand for the newest tech.
Despite indications that it would become a focus to crack down on this practice from the manufacturer, the 3000 series that would be launched by Nvidia in late 2020 throughout 2021 too would be compound by many more issues than just miners and scalpers – the tech shortage that hit throughout the pandemic highlighted the growing problem even further, not only were there supply issues from the very beginning because of these shortages but the scalpers were able to get ahead very early and availability was almost non-existent – those hoping to get their hands on a card would face long waiting lists and frustrating prices.
Signs of change seem to be sweeping in, though, as not only is supply increasing leading to shorter wait times, but recent bans and regulation changes in the crypto space are leading to a reduction in prices being seen particularly through those reselling products as sales on platforms such as eBay have seen prices reduce as much as 12% for some products – whilst this isn’t perfect, and $3,000 for a $1,500 MSRP card is still an absurd price for a GPU from a second hand market, it does show some positive movement for the first time in six years, and an opportunity for those looking to upgrade too.
