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You can get an RTX3060 in a laptop for under £1000,and the laptop RTX3060 GPUs use the full chip unlike desktop versions.You can get RTX3070 laptops for a few £100 more. Prebuilt desktops are bit more pricer,but still its not too hard to get a full gaming system now for less money than buying the overpriced parts from retailers.
Prebuilt systems tend to outsell DIY built systems AFAIK,and AMD/Nvidia/Intel revenue seems generally fine,so I am doubtful about how much of this chip shortage is really a shortage. AMD decided to push a lot of its 7NM production towards consoles,so it is their fault for their shortages, and this includes the fact they got a lot of spare 7NM capacity because of Huawei being booted from TSMC. They knew very well they would have a lack of volume for DIY PC parts,and knew very well they could price parts higher because of it.
Also car companies were hit by poor planning - they reduced orders at fabs last year during the first series of lockdowns since they made the prediction they would sell less vehicles. Now vehicle sales are picking up they have a problem.
Its the same with so many of the "shortages" - companies cut orders because of the pandemic,but when demand actually rose or quickly rebounded,they were left with nothing. Some of the shortages are more UK centric due to the effects of leaving the EU. Yet in so many other industries companies are showing record margins,record revenue and record profits. This is not indicative of shortages. Probably more a case of increased demand due to people being stuck at home.
Yet despite "increased demand" I have managed to get lots of other non-PC things fine and at reasonable prices. The same goes with certain PC parts - I built a new Intel based system reasonably under budget too since Intel is "not hip" now and people overpay for AMD products,hence AMD has decided to join in.
So there isn't really a "shortage" of GPUs but more the case DIY PC builders are getting screwed over by miners and opportunistic price increases by AMD/Nvidia and gamers "having" to pay it. It was exactly the same as the previous two mining booms,DIY PC builders were screwed over but prebuilt systems were much easier to find with the same GPUs.
Its what I have been telling people here for years - DIY PC builders are bottom of the pecking order,and companies are happy to push up prices massively,whilst happily dropping margins and prices for OEMs,console makers,etc. OEMs are clearly not paying £700+ for an RX6700XT or an RTX3060! They are clearly getting far more volume too.
This is why I won't pay through the nose for parts,and stick with my old ones,as they look at gamers and PC enthusiasts as whales,and an ideal high margin market. So best to vote with your pocket and not pay the high prices,even if it means getting a console(they are easier to source at RRP),using an old GPU or doing something else. My only concern is finding replacement GPUs for a hardware failure,but apart from that as long as what I have works,I will keep it for as long as I can. If it means avoiding newer,GPU intensive games then that is what I will do. If it means I eventually have to buy a prebuilt desktop or a laptop,then that is how it will be.
They can only charge what the market will bare. Paying through the nose for PC parts only helps AMD/Intel/Nvidia drop their margins for OEMs,etc for the same parts and makes your wallets much lighter than it needs to be! These companies have just gotten used to PC gamers/PC enthusiasts putting up with massive price increases - people had this weird view the Turing price increases made it failure. No,it was a success as Nvidia had another record year after it. Gamers and PC enthusiasts are happy to pay through the nose which is what financials have shown each year. Hence, street prices will fit what the market is willing to pay because not only are miners paying but so are gamers. The current issues only have added to something that has been happening over the last 5~10 years.
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Originally Posted by snootyjim
