At what point do you say GPU's are too expensive and refuse to buy?

[BigBANGtheory]

For me its less about the price its more about 'so what am I getting for that' and 'what other cost pressures do I have'

Someone saving for a house purchase or trying to grow their income will have a very different view to say someone who has a higher level of wealth. Does someone buy a 42" LCD TV from a supermarket or a 65" Gen4 Oled with Dolby Atmos it basically comes down to personal choices, wealth and circumstances.

The frustrating fact is where there is limited choice or a monopoly then prices start to run amok... commodities > consumer goods > luxury brand tax > priced out of reach for most consumers. Your best option tbh is to remove the want or need, imagine the Steam game library filtered so you only see titles that are 4yrs old... a used 3080 has you well covered at a fraction of the price of a 5080

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Prices are massively inflated, but only because consumers enable it. People also continue to talk about these cards in the context of MSRP, but the majority will end up buying AIB cards, which is the more realistic reference price.

It's just another company taking advantage of consumers with poor money management. The fact that scalpers are still in business just blows my mind - mental that people will give their money to someone who's intentionally exploiting you.

People excuse make for "inflation" when the net recipient of most of that extra money is the top 1% to 2% of people. Many tech companies are at record margins and profits but still are firing people. Infinite margin growth in a finite market.

No amount of profit will ever be enough. It's not sustainable.

The average person needs to think of their own margins instead of simping for their favourite companies.

These people gained as much wealth as the bottom 98% to 99% of the population during the Pandemic according to Oxfam.

At some point when the era of cheap credit, through quantitative easing runs out, most of these companies are going to have a real problem.

 

[Semple]

If people buy what they are selling for then it's them that are the problem.

This really, same applies to a lot of stuff. Frankly as I've gotten older I'm finding less time to game on my PC, and now with a baby daughter I'm lucky if I get 30 minutes a week! I don't think I could even justify £500 on a card that will see barely any use.

 

[Minimalistic23]

Spent £650 on a 3080FE 4 years ago and thought that was extortion. However, I have decided on £1000 for a 5080 is going to be my limit. If I can get a 5070Ti before a 5080 I’d probably settle for that. We also have a PS5 Pro at home which I find perfectly acceptable on a 77” TV.

 

[ljt]

The most I've ever spent is £650 for my 3080fe.

So that's going to be roughly around what i am looking at, max possibly £750.

However I won't spend that much unless it gives me at least a 50% performance increase in both raster and RT.

Don't really care how long it takes for that to materialise or what "tier" that card ends up being, or who makes it.

Ironically I am now spending far less often on PC upgrades due to the utter madness and greed that has entered the PC part market in the last 5 years. I no longer get excited about new hardware releases because it's the same **** every time - high prices and no stock.

 

[StarShock]

I do think cards have a much longer useful lifespan these days. Like with very few exceptions my 1070 is still able to provide a playable experience. And I feel like that does add value, even if most here tend to upgrade long before our old card becomes unusable

 

[Thekwango]

4-500 quid. I’ve no wish nor desire to pay more just to have a few more pixels on screen or make a computer game a little bit prettier.

 

[Octoplex7]

I think that perhaps the biggest problem is that the mid-range has become:
(a) Too expensive
(b) Increasingly scaled down

 

[BUDFORCE]

£600 unless I had a real requirement and not just general gaming.

Same for me.

Even that is a lot of money for what it is really.

 

[nomadd]

Is there a mental limit you have set in your head that you refuse to go over?
Personally I think £2k is already crazy money for a GPU but my needs are different to some of you guys obviously.

£600. And decent performance at 1440p for that.

I grabbed a 4070S last year (£570) after many years on a 1080Ti (£600). The 4070S will last me many, many years yet (no, I don't buy into the idiocy of "needing RT" and "12GB just isn't enough" )

 

[nomadd]

Until bailiffs are knocking on my door Jensen is entitled to all my money.

He'll find that extra £14 life-changing.

 

[nomadd]

£2k+ is where you need to list your GPU specifically on the house insurance

Give Nvidia a few more years and you'll be listing your house on your GPU insurance..

 

[Spudgun]

About £600-700 is my top limit, but only because I don't game that much any more (maybe 3-5 hours per week) and I'm struggling to see a meaningful difference between 1440p high and 1440p medium settings in a number of games

 

[uscool]

I think that perhaps the biggest problem is that the mid-range has become:
(a) Too expensive
(b) Increasingly scaled down

You can say the same for 80 tier look how much 5080 is scaled down when that's not meant to be mid range also I would feel insulted paying £1000 for that

My mental limit is £500-£600 that performs well at 1440p

 

[harmattan]

I'm in the privileged position where £2400 isn't a huge stretch. That said, it gets to a point where my disposable money for "fun" stuff is at a limit, and more importantly, there are other things that catch my eye at that price point e.g.

- New functional trainer and squat sled for my gym. If I didn't already have a well-kitted gym, I could basically fit one for that amount. And these would/will last me a lifetime
- Absolutely baller trip or two smaller that, honestly, would be more worthwhile and create longer lasting memories. You can literally visit all the big Egyptian historical sites for the cost (if that's your thing)
- Two very quality kayaks and all the kit
- Big honking OLED TV
- etc, etc
- get a decent high-end GPU that costs less than half and every game you want for the next three years

It really has gotten to a point where you look at the price and shake your head thinking "what am I thinking?"

 

[dave28]

The question should be, at what point will your max budget only get you a rubbish card not even worth buying in the first place.

 

[ATIorNvidia]

Around 500 is my personal limit. Can't see that changing either as I don't care for maxing out visual settings.

 

[ICDP]

Yeah, ask me this question 10 years ago and it was £500. Now it’s about £1000 realistically at the higher end. If it’s used it needs to be priced at a realistic price point for equivalent new with similar performance.

 

[hardkore]

For me personally it would be max £1000 but I'd need to get Atleast 2.5x the performance of the outgoing card.

Also as others have mentioned, modern/AAA games are appealing less and less to me. I'm quite happy playing my back catalogue as they have replay value or are open ended.

 

[Jim99]

I spent £450 on my 6800XT in 2023, but that was in part because I'd not upgraded in a really long time - waiting for the market to calm down.

Normally £300 feels about right for me.