GPU prices are out of control again

Every so often, Central Computers — one of the last remaining dedicated Silicon Valley computer stores — lets subscribers know it’s managed to obtain a small shipment of AMD graphics cards. Today, it informed me that I could now purchase a $600 Radeon RX 9070 XT for $850 — a $250 markup.

It’s not alone. I just checked every major US retailer and street prices on eBay, and I regret to inform you: the great GPU shortage has returned. Many AMD cards are being marked up $100, $200, $250, even $280. The street price of an Nvidia RTX 5080 is now over $1,500, a full $500 higher than MSRP. And an RTX 5090, the most powerful consumer GPU? You can’t even get the $2,000 card for $3,000 today.

Here, I’ve built tables to show you:

You shouldn’t just blame tariffs for these price hikes. In early March, we found retailers were already scalping their supposedly entry-level MSRP models of the new AMD graphics cards. Nor is this likely to just be high demand, given how few cards are changing hands on eBay: only around 1,100 new Nvidia GPUs, and around 266 new AMD GPUs were listed there over the past 30 days.

Here’s a deeper dive on the “MSRP” models of the AMD cards, which were all originally listed at $549 or $599:

I’ve focused this table on Newegg and Micro Center since they carry more models than any other retailer, though I also spotted “MSRP” 9070 XT cards at $800 and $850 at Amazon today, and an $830 card at Best Buy. Otherwise, these are the new sticker prices, not necessarily attainable prices, as most were out of stock.

From December 2020 to July 2022, I periodically tracked the prices of game consoles and GPUs during the covid-19 pandemic, when they were incredibly expensive to obtain. At one point, some GPUs were worth triple their MSRP. I’d love to hear from Verge subscribers in particular: is this a valuable service we should continue in the tariff era? Or do you just want to know when it’s safe to enter the water again?