Nvidia and AMD’s high-end graphics cards were expensive in 2020 (if you could find them), but their prices are only going up. And you can thank the government for that.
As of December 31, 2020, GPUs and motherboards are now included in the tariffs the Trump administration has placed on imports from China. These PC components were previously exempted from these tariffs, but these exceptions expired at the end of 2020 and no extensions were applied. This means that prices have risen by up to 25% for state-of-the-art GPUs – including Nvidia’s new RTX 3090, 3080, 3070 and 3060 Ti and AMD’s RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT.
The latest Nvidia and AMD GPUs were almost impossible to buy in 2020, for starters COVID-19 has affected production and supply chains, leading to more limited products, even available for purchase. And retailers would usually sell out in just a few seconds each time they replenish, thanks to scalpers and cryptocurrency mines that use robots to buy as many graphics cards as possible.
The shopping experience has become so bad that many retailers have implemented anti-bot tactics such as waiting lists, more aggressive human verification systems and strict limits on the number of GPUs customers can purchase. However, these tariffs will make the process more difficult and expensive –if you are lucky enough to enter a book.
Nor do tariffs affect only GPUs; SSDs, processors, power supplies and other PC components could see price increases between seven and 25 percent, depending on their price. As Tom’s hardware notes, the increase in prices for them will probably not be as severe as the increase in GPUs, but if you buy or build a new PC or upgrade several parts from an existing platform, you will definitely notice a difference.
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The best advice for anyone who wants to build or upgrade their computer is to buy wisely and thoroughly. You can’t avoid rising prices, but you don’t have to buy one scalp GPU overrated on eBay or Facebook Marketplace just because they are available.
Resources such as VideoCardz.com, GPUBoss, Reddit (r / GPU, r / GraphicsCards, r / nvidia, r / amd), Google Shopping tab and even Communities of discord can help you compare specifications and prices and find available stock. At some point, graphics card quantities will stabilize (hopefully) and purchasing a new graphics card from a retailer at a recommended price will be easier – even if the GPU costs more than it did at start up.
It is also possible to launch new GPUs that are cheaper or lower the price of current high-end models. In fact, Nvidia has a press conference tomorrow and there are rumors that more GPUs will be announced. At least, if you have several models to choose from, it could increase your chances of buying the card you want. Until then, buy smart, but be prepared to pay a little extra because of the policy; if you can wait until we can see what a Democrat-led government is doing about tariffs, if anything, it might be worth your wallet to do so.