Why are GPUs so expensive?

[BigBANGtheory]

Okay so we have established why GPUs are so expensive. My question is, why do you all care?

There's a card for every budget, just buy a card and be happy. I'm chuffed to bits with mine and it was only £201. I have so much fun playing games on it.

4K and VR forces you into ripoff GPU territory, there are not options to suit every budget there are only poor value options for no good reason.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

4K and VR forces you into ripoff GPU territory, there are not options to suit every budget there are only poor value options for no good reason.

high frame rate 1440p does the same. for example what gpu would you need to run 165hz 1440p? i was tempted to go back to 1080p because i don't want to drop £800 on a GPU.

i have a 2070 super now which is okay it's handling it well enough but if i was to play a demanding game i know i'm going to be running around half the fps my monitor needs.

 

[Nasher]

VR doesn't really require it. Most VR games run fine on mid range cards.

 

[ANDREW GREEN]

Case for £20?
Motherboard for £60?
Questionable choice of CPU too for gaming. Worth spending less on the SSD to get the 3600.

The 3600 would be bottlenecked by the GPU and it doesn't perform massively over a 2600 in gaming, about 15%-20% better at 1080p and at 1440p 10% better but you'd need a 2080ti to get it performing that much better

Personally I'd rather having a library of games loading instantly but each to their own.

 

[greatash]

high frame rate 1440p does the same. for example what gpu would you need to run 165hz 1440p? i was tempted to go back to 1080p because i don't want to drop £800 on a GPU.

i have a 2070 super now which is okay it's handling it well enough but if i was to play a demanding game i know i'm going to be running around half the fps my monitor needs.

Depends if you absolutely need that 165 frames, most people are happy with 60+ in demanding titles and 100+ in non demanding titles.

Even a 2080Ti wont get you a locked 165fps 1440p in games like Control, RDR2 etc.

 

[bru]

high frame rate 1440p does the same. for example what gpu would you need to run 165hz 1440p? i was tempted to go back to 1080p because i don't want to drop £800 on a GPU.

i have a 2070 super now which is okay it's handling it well enough but if i was to play a demanding game i know i'm going to be running around half the fps my monitor needs.

This is why nearly every game out there has graphics details adjustment features.

People don't need super high end cards, but this quest for FPS at max details has ruined us all. Much to NVidia's and AMD's delight, hence the high prices of GPU's.

 

[BigBANGtheory]

This is why nearly every game out there has graphics details adjustment features.

People don't need super high end cards, but this quest for FPS at max details has ruined us all. Much to NVidia's and AMD's delight, hence the high prices of GPU's.

That’s only true of the 1440p and 1080p type formats where admittedly you do have options and compromises. The last thing a 4K person wants is to replace a slo-mo GPU with a mediocre one particularly with prices as they are for a format thats been with us quite a few years now. Nvidia is basically offering a solution at a huge premium or trying to get you to buy at least 2 GPUs with marginal gains to get you there thus fleecing you over a longer period. Terrible really I’ve tolerated it in the past but the line has well and true lay been crossed this generation imho

 

[CuriousTomCat]

I guess it comes down to the fact you can buy a 4K console for £400 new at launch.

Yet you can't even game at 1440p on a PC unless you spend £1000.

In 1997 I bought a new Playstation for £129.99. An equivelant PC cost many times that.
In 2003 I bought an Xbox for £129.99. My gaming Pc at the time cost about £600.

The cost of a console has always been much lower than a gaming PC.

 

[CuriousTomCat]

4K and VR forces you into ripoff GPU territory, there are not options to suit every budget there are only poor value options for no good reason.

But you're looking at the creme de la creme of gaming. The absolute best. Give me an example where the best of something is cheap?

Even something simple like a biro - Bic charge 9p vs £20 for a Parker. Other things like Jeans - £6 for Asda vs £65 for Ralph Lauren. Those are very extreme price differences.

The price difference between low and high end GPUs is lower than a lot of other products.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

In 1997 I bought a new Playstation for £129.99. An equivelant PC cost many times that.
In 2003 I bought an Xbox for £129.99. My gaming Pc at the time cost about £600.

The cost of a console has always been much lower than a gaming PC.

I don't know what planet you have come from but welcome.

On earth the PlayStation launched at over double that price in the UK same for xbox too.

 

[CuriousTomCat]

I don't know what planet you have come from but welcome.

On earth the PlayStation launched at over double that price in the UK same for xbox too.

Yes I know. I didn't say I bought the PlayStation at launch in 1994. I said I bought it in 1997 when the price was £129.99.

Even at launch, the PlayStation was super cheap compared to a gaming PC. A gaming PC in 1994 would have cost over £1000. Console gaming has always been cheaper than PC gaming.

These days, consoles launch at £400 and a gaming PC starts at around £700 (mine was less). They're getting more and more similarly priced.

 

[TNA]

Yes I know. I didn't say I bought the PlayStation at launch in 1994. I said I bought it in 1997 when the price was £129.99.

Even at launch, the PlayStation was super cheap compared to a gaming PC. A gaming PC in 1994 would have cost over £1000. Console gaming has always been cheaper than PC gaming.

These days, consoles launch at £400 and a gaming PC starts at around £700 (mine was less). They're getting more and more similarly priced.

On the planet he came from the PlayStation launched in 1997 maybe?

 

[b00merang69]

I paid £2000+ in 2001 so a high end gaming PC is the 90's would have been more than £1000 (basically a luxury) and I agree a PC used to cost more (not today as you can build a good one for fair money) but the PC games were traditionally cheaper so you saved in the long run as console games were a total rip of back then so much I am pretty sure the Gov looked into it same as the White Goods in Electrical Retailers stores we paid high prices for.

 

[silvagti]

The Playstation launched in 1995 here in the UK for £300. Taking inflation into account that's probably over £600 if it were out today.

Still cheaper than a decent GPU though

 

[markoboyo11]

I bought a 6800gt for £380 when it came out 14ish years ago and it wasnt the top gpu.

I bought the 1070 for £380 at release and it was the same level from top gpu.

It's just the 2000 nvidia series that have gone crazy, discounting them gpu prices are similar or less with inflation.

 

[alec]

Questionable choice of CPU too for gaming. Worth spending less on the SSD to get the 3600.

Topic wasn't about best gaming pc, its about equivalent to console. And 2600 is miles better than Bulldozer/Jaguar/downclocked mess consoles have. Yes 3600 is better still, but 2600 will not hold you back at 60 fps
As for SSD, this is the single most important piece of hardware to make your computer feel fast and snappy.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Yes I know. I didn't say I bought the PlayStation at launch in 1994. I said I bought it in 1997 when the price was £129.99.

Even at launch, the PlayStation was super cheap compared to a gaming PC. A gaming PC in 1994 would have cost over £1000. Console gaming has always been cheaper than PC gaming.

These days, consoles launch at £400 and a gaming PC starts at around £700 (mine was less). They're getting more and more similarly priced.

Well if you aren't going to use launch prices on consoles then I don't see the point tbh.

As in i could buy a wii today for £10.

Yes console gaming has always been cheaper. However they can do 4K today. Whereas try doing 4K on a £700 gaming pc.

 

[bru]

Well if you aren't going to use launch prices on consoles then I don't see the point tbh.

As in i could buy a wii today for £10.

Yes console gaming has always been cheaper. However they can do 4K today. Whereas try doing 4K on a £700 gaming pc.

OCUK spectre with an AMD 2600 and a 1660 super.
Perfectly capable of plating at 4k with non max details.

Cost £690.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

OCUK spectre with an AMD 2600 and a 1660 super.
Perfectly capable of plating at 4k with non max details.

Cost £690.

do you even game at 4K on PC?

 

[markoboyo11]

do you even game at 4K on PC?

I do and would imagine that pc could with console settings and console fps.