Another day, another graphics card launch, another opportunity to scream into the void about how “MSRP” now apparently stands for “Maybe Sometimes Reasonably Priced.”
Remember the good old days when you could budget for a new GPU based on the price listed on the manufacturer’s website? Ah, the naivety of youth. These days, that number is about as real as the cake from Portal.
The Problem with the “Price”
The RTX 5060 Ti 16Gb model launched with an MSRP of £399. A reasonable price for a low to mid-range GPU, in our price inflated 2025 world. Reasonable. Understandable. Almost believable. But go to any online retailer, and you’ll find listings averaging at £499 (as of this writing). What happened? Did the extra £100 unlock a secret level?
And then there’s the upcoming AMD RX 9060 XT. No UK prices have appeared yet, but the US MSRP is $349 for the 16GB model – (seriously, don’t bother with any 8GB card). According to this PC Gamer article, the first listings for the card price it at $549. What the actual fuck. But don’t worry, it’ll come with an LED strip and an extra fan you absolutely didn’t ask for!
This is not new, of course. We’ve been down this road before. Pandemic-era GPU shortages taught the market how much people were willing to pay, and it seems the industry took that as a green light to never go back to normal.
It’s Not the Pandemic Anymore
Let’s address the pixelated elephant in the room. For a while, yes, global chip shortages, shipping delays, and crypto mining surges all conspired to make GPUs rarer than a bug-free Bethesda game. But those days are largely behind us. Supply chains have stabilised, crypto has calmed down (for now), and you can actually find GPUs in stock.
And yet, the prices stay inflated.
Why? Because we let them. Because we paid the inflated prices. And now, like that one friend who got too comfortable crashing on your couch, the markup won’t leave.
The Third-Party Problem
When AMD or NVIDIA releases a new GPU, they typically only manufacture a small number of “reference” cards. The bulk of units are made by third-party vendors like ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, and Zotac, each slapping their own coolers, RGB, and marketing slogans onto the silicon.
The problem? These vendors aren’t beholden to the MSRP. They get the chip from AMD or NVIDIA, bolt it onto a custom board, add a cooler that looks like it came from a fighter jet, slightly bump the clock speeds and then price it however they want. $200 above MSRP? Sure! But look, it has a slightly better fan and the box glows!
And retailers don’t help. The moment demand ticks up, prices follow. It’s capitalism, baby, and your FPS dreams are the collateral.
Why Does This Only Happen with GPUs?
Other tech products don’t seem to suffer this problem to the same degree. You don’t see motherboards or CPUs launching with a “suggested” price and then instantly being $150 higher across the board. Even game consoles—arguably as hot a commodity as GPUs—tend to stick closer to MSRP.
So what gives with graphics cards?
A few reasons:
- Fragmented production: GPUs are one of the few consumer electronics where the manufacturer (AMD/NVIDIA) largely outsources the actual product.
- Component flexibility: Unlike CPUs or consoles, GPUs come in a huge variety of third-party builds, each with just enough difference to justify a higher price (or so they claim).
- Built-in hype: Gaming culture hypes up new GPUs like the second coming. Pair that with tech influencers showing early benchmarks and performance leaps, and demand goes full feral.
- No real competition: NVIDIA holds the lion’s share of the market, AMD plays catch-up, and Intel’s new efforts are still in their training wheels phase. With limited options, consumers have little choice but to pay up or shut up.
What Can Be Done?
Here’s a wild idea: make more reference cards.
If AMD and NVIDIA actually produced and sold the majority of their own GPUs directly (like how consoles are sold), they could enforce consistent pricing, reduce markup madness, and bring some stability back to the market. They already run their own stores. Why not just… do more of that?
Sure, third-party vendors add variety and sometimes better cooling, but they also add a layer of price volatility that the industry desperately doesn’t need. Reference cards could be a sanity check. A grounding wire. A blessed reprieve for gamers who just want playable frame rates without selling an organ.
But Won’t That Hurt Partners?
Yes, the third-party vendors wouldn’t like it. But at this point, who do we prioritise? The comfort of massive corporations with dragon logos, or the average gamer who just wants to play Cyberpunk 2077 at decent settings without their wallet catching fire?
AMD and NVIDIA could still allow third-party models for premium configurations, but the base reference model should be affordable and widely available—not some limited-edition collector’s item that sells out in minutes.
We’re not asking for miracles. We’re asking for honesty. If a GPU is going to cost $599, then set the MSRP at $599. Don’t say $399 and then let the entire retail chain pile on extra fees like they’re booking you a flight.
The industry got used to inflated prices during the pandemic. But those justifications don’t hold water anymore. Materials are available. Supply chains are stable. And gamers have memories. Long, bitter memories.
It’s time for AMD and NVIDIA to show some backbone. Either enforce MSRP standards or produce more of your own cards to ensure the market has a fair baseline. Because right now, the graphics card industry feels less like a tech sector and more like a back-alley auction where everything has a reserve price and everyone’s bidding with Monopoly money.
Conclusion: Give Us a Break
GPUs are one of the most important components of a gaming PC. They drive innovation in visual fidelity, power AI workflows, and yes, even mine the occasional shady cryptocurrency. But they shouldn’t be priced like luxury yachts.
The GPU market needs a serious course correction. The pandemic isn’t an excuse anymore. Third-party vendors shouldn’t have free reign to gouge. And gamers shouldn’t have to gamble to get fair pricing.
If AMD and NVIDIA want to lead the industry, they need to take ownership of their pricing strategy and offer more direct, affordable options. Until then, we’ll keep shouting into the void—and dreaming of the day when MSRP means what it’s supposed to mean.
Until then, good luck out there. And remember: if your graphics card costs more than your rent, maybe it’s not you that’s the problem. It’s the system.
