AMD’s new Radeon RX 9070 cards launched with prices under Nvidia’s offerings for similar performance levels, but finding them wasn’t easy. Despite initial reports indicating more availability than RTX 50-series cards, the $600 and $550 models sold out quickly within hours of their launch.
The reason behind this scarcity lies in the lack of genuine competition. While there are indeed more Radeon 9070 cards available than GeForce RTX 50-series cards, many of these have hefty markups, often exceeding $200 over the suggested retail price. In reality, few cards come with the manufacturer’s suggested prices, making it nearly impossible to find a card at its listed price.
This phenomenon isn’t new and can be attributed to the typical practice of partner manufacturers adding premium features like cooling systems or factory overclocking, which offer minimal performance benefits. These extras result in little to no difference in gaming performance compared to the base model. Consequently, the prices of these “upgraded” cards have increased significantly.
As a result, many PC gamers are unable to find cards at their announced prices due to the high demand and limited supply. Retailers claim that they only apply the initial prices for the first shipments, further exacerbating the issue. The situation has become particularly frustrating after years of rapid inflation and shortages during the COVID pandemic.
Manufacturers have found no incentive not to charge higher prices, as they know every card will sell regardless of price. As a result, XFX’s $849.99 Radeon 9070 XT variant is already sold out, illustrating this trend. When considering budgeting for a new graphics card, it’s wise to add $200 to the announced price to account for the excessive markups and ensure finding a genuine deal becomes more feasible.
Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/2629304/graphics-card-pricing-is-a-lie.html