• Asus has launched yet one more value hike for Nvidia and AMD GPUs
• The ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC Version is $1,360.99 greater than MSRP
• The Radeon RX 9070 XT now prices $719.99, $120.99 greater than its retail value

It is no secret that Nvidia’s RTX 5000 sequence GPUs and AMD’s Radeon RX 9070 sequence GPUs have not had the very best launch, with a number of points starting from scalping, low availability, lacking ROPs (on Nvidia’s GPUs), and obscene value hikes for board companion playing cards – and it seems as if the latter is getting worse.

As reported by VideoCardz, Asus has elevated the costs of its RTX 5090 fashions, notably its ROG Astral OC Version, which now retails for a staggering $3,359.99. That is $1,360.99 greater than the RTX 5090’s MSRP – and whereas this is a factory-overclocked GPU (which is often anticipated to be extra pricey), it is yet one more indication of extreme GPU value inflation.

The identical applies to the usual Asus TUF RTX 5090: it is being bought at $2,759.99, $760 greater than the $1,999 MSRP. Contemplating that the TUF model is meant to be Asus’s extra budget-friendly {hardware}, it’s a bit upsetting. Both approach, customers must dig deep to acquire these premium GPUs – and since Nvidia’s Founders Version playing cards are laborious to return by, customers are at present counting on third-party choices.

It is not simply Nvidia’s RTX 5000 sequence both, as Asus has carried out comparable price-hiking measures on AMD’s Radeon RX 9070 sequence GPUs. In case you’re out to buy the TUF Radeon RX 9070 XT OC Version, you may have to cough up $719.99 – that is a $120.99 value hike that arguably destroys the GPU’s primary promoting level of affordability. It is maybe worse for these looking for the RDNA 4 expertise over what Nvidia has to supply, as AMD doesn’t provide a first-party reference card for both RX 9070 mannequin.

So if it wasn’t already clear, the GPU market is going through a big inflation difficulty – Asus has simply highlighted all of it, but once more.

As I’ve mentioned earlier than, that is the worst GPU market I’ve ever seen…

That is simply one other instance of why the GPU market is in dire want of a serious shift. Because of a mixture of excessive demand, scalpers, and customarily low availability, customers are left to succumb to ridiculous asking costs and pay greater than what GPUs are price – or wait a protracted, very long time for costs to plummet.

Based mostly on the present retail and aftermarket pricing of Nvidia’s RTX 4000 sequence GPU lineup, I’d wager that there will probably be little to no main value shifts for RTX 5000 sequence GPUs (particularly for the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080) over the following 12 months. In case you’re making an attempt to purchase an RTX 4000 GPU proper now, you may doubtless nonetheless be paying greater than MSRP.

Pondering of an RTX 3000 sequence GPU or AMD’s Radeon RX 7000 as an alternative? When you could also be fortunate on the Radeon finish, you most likely will not discover many choices for both lineup – not less than, not for new-in-box playing cards that haven’t doubtlessly served time within the crypto mines. Whichever approach you slice it, this form of unimaginable value gouging is not what PC customers need neither is it acceptable in any approach, regardless of whether or not there may be low inventory or not – and now I am simply hoping that it would not worsen.

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