GPU Pricing Update, July 2023: Flash Sales FTW!

It’s time for our monthly GPU pricing update, a series which we were really hoping wouldn’t still be relevant in the middle of 2023. Yet, here we are. We’ve had a plethora of new graphics card releases, and pricing continues to be a major issue for many shoppers.

In today’s update, we’ll discuss how to score a great deal on a GPU you might have your eyes on, delve into the latest GPU releases, and, of course, present more pricing data.

Since our previous GPU pricing update, two new graphics card releases have hit the market, both from Nvidia. The more recent release is the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB, which debuted just days ago – too soon to discuss sales figures. It’s also too early to analyze performance and value, primarily because Nvidia opted not to run a review program for this model, marking the first time a GPU from their 40 series hasn’t been sampled.

While it’s always beneficial to receive review samples as they simplify the evaluation process, we don’t feel entitled to them. Nvidia has the autonomy to make decisions about review programs they want to execute. However, the absence of a review program doesn’t exude confidence in the product. Typically, if a company refrains from getting something reviewed or doesn’t want reviews available when the product goes on sale, there are potential issues with said product – otherwise, the company would be enthusiastically showcasing its quality.

This decision is surprising considering Nvidia did run a review program for the poorly received RTX 4060 Ti 8GB model and, more recently, the RTX 4060. Regardless, we’ll share our thoughts on the 16GB card in the coming days. We’ve purchased one, despite its exorbitant pricing, and you can anticipate a number of VRAM comparisons featuring this model.

The RTX 4060 also launched a few weeks ago and, like most launches of the past year, has done little to impact the graphics card market. The card itself didn’t receive the best reviews, given its mediocre value compared to existing models from both AMD and Nvidia. Its performance was less impressive than anticipated, particularly when compared to the RTX 3060 and Radeon RX 7600. As expected, this led to lackluster sales.

We don’t have much to say about the RTX 4060 and its market performance. Virtually every GPU launched this generation – with the exception of the very highest-end models – has only garnered lukewarm interest from buyers. People aren’t rushing out to buy these new graphics cards at present, and we don’t blame them; they simply aren’t that appealing. It’ll be intriguing to see how it fares over time. Some models, like the RTX 4070, have gained momentum since their initial release, while others have maintained a steady low rate of interest.

GPU Flash Sales FTW!

What’s been far more interesting recently is observing the number of flash sales for new and older graphics cards. The frequent significant discounts just weeks after their market introduction clearly indicate that these GPUs aren’t selling well. We currently believe that vigilantly monitoring the market and buying a GPU during one of these flash sales is the best strategy to upgrade your GPU. For many models, we wouldn’t consider them good value unless you can get them at a flash sale price.

Here’s a recap of some of the pricing movements that have occurred this month, and we extend our sincere appreciation to Videocardz for consistently reporting on these sales – it’s an excellent way to keep customers informed. On July 4th, we saw GeForce RTX 4060 models drop to 310 euros, just a week or so post-launch, down from its original price of 330 euros. This pricing trend has persisted, with the cheapest RTX 4060 at the same retailer mentioned in the article, Mindfactory, now priced at 306 euros. While it’s not a drastic reduction considering the original price of $300, it’s a step in the right direction.

Similarly, Spanish retailer CoolMod offered the RTX 4060 Ti for 400 euros, down from a 450 euro initial price, as well as the Radeon RX 7600 for 260 euros, down from a 300 euro original price. The RTX 4060 Ti deal has since expired, but you can still get them for 420 euros, below the initial price. The RX 7600, though? Even today you can still secure one for 260 euros, meaning there’s no justification for paying original prices for that sort of product now, or ever.

On Newegg in early July, the RTX 4080 was briefly available for $1,000 after applying a $100 discount code at checkout. Today, that model has rebounded back to $1,200, with the absolute cheapest models now going for $1,140. Neither of the current prices are very compelling, so we’d certainly wait for the next $1,000 flash sale if we were interested in that model – especially since we now have evidence that such pricing is attainable. Truthfully, the RTX 4080 should be priced no higher than $1,000 all of the time, not just during sales, as the initial price is far too high, particularly when compared to the RX 7900 XTX, which is currently available for $940.

Speaking of the RX 7900 XTX, this Radeon GPU was available for just $800 briefly on Newegg about a week ago. Now, it’s back up to $940 – which is below the $1,000 MSRP – but $800 for that card is an excellent price. Anyone who was able to grab one during the flash sale got a great deal. At $940, it’s decent, not amazing, so we’d definitely advise waiting for the next sale. If AMD can price it at $800 for a longer period, we expect it to fly off shelves. At that price, it would be going head-to-head with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, and in our testing, the 7900 XTX is 20 to 30 percent faster, depending on the resolution.

Also about a week ago, Newegg was offering the RTX 4060 Ti 8GB model for as low as $335, with several other models priced around $350. That’s a better price than its $400 MSRP. However, in our opinion, it’s still too expensive for what is being offered. We don’t think anyone should pay more than $300 for the performance and VRAM it provides. Nevertheless, it shows that GPU vendors are willing to reduce prices to get these cards out the door. We don’t think it will be long until flash sales have this model priced at or below $300 – although right now, the cheapest models are back up at the unappealing $400 launch price, which is definite do-not-buy territory.

Finally, we also saw the Intel Arc A750 drop to as low as $180, which is a compelling price for that GPU. Right now, it is back up at $250, but for $180, that’s a great price given it typically outperforms the RTX 3060 which costs $260, and offers similar performance to the RX 6650 XT at $240. That sort of price is definitely a sweet spot for an Intel GPU, so hopefully, pricing drops back down at some point.

We’re only three weeks into July and have already seen half a dozen discounts. Of course, some of these have been related to major sales events like Amazon Prime Day, but over the last few months, there’s been an increase in these short-run sales. For many graphics cards, we wouldn’t consider buying something current generation unless it was on sale. There are plenty of examples where these sales push the cards into a more reasonable price range. You just have to stay on top of when these sales happen and act on them ASAP.

New GPU Pricing

Looking at general pricing trends, not much is happening outside of these sales if you are looking to buy a new GPU right now. Nvidia’s GeForce 40 series models are all sitting at the MSRP, with the exception of the RTX 4080, which is 6 percent below MSRP. Very few of these models are worth buying at these prices, we’d just ignore these for now and wait for a sale.

AMD and Intel models are slowly coming down in price each month, although it varies. The most significant reduction is the $50 drop for the Arc A770 8GB, now down to $280. AMD’s high-end Radeon RX 7900 series have both fallen slightly in price, while the RX 7600 is unfortunately back up at its $270 MSRP, which isn’t worth considering.

GeForce RTX 30 series pricing

Older generation models are still a viable choice, and for Nvidia’s mid-range and entry-level RTX 30 series, there appears to be plenty of stock. Four of the five remaining models fell in price this month, the most notable being the RTX 3070 Ti, now at $460, just $20 more than the RTX 3070.

Most of these prices are set to clear out stock and ensure that buyers only have the (sometimes worse value) 40 series models to choose from. But until that stock clears, in our opinion, models like the RTX 3060 at $260 are definitely worth considering and would get our vote over the RTX 4060 at $300.

Radeon RX 6000 series pricing

On the AMD side of things, Radeon RX 6000 series pricing has remained flat, or in some cases, increased month on month. Supply for the Radeon 6600 XT, in particular, seems to be nearly exhausted at Newegg, though the faster 6650 XT is still in plentiful supply. At $240, the Radeon 6650 XT is a standout choice, offering similar performance to the more expensive RX 7600 and RTX 4060, and exceeding Nvidia’s discounted RTX 3060.

The RX 6600 is a great buy for entry-level gamers, although unfortunately for those after something around $300 to $400, the 6700 XT and 6750 XT are slightly more expensive this month compared to the last. Hopefully, those prices drop back down to near $300 soon, as they were compelling choices around that mark.

Used GPU Pricing

For used GPUs, Nvidia’s GeForce 30 series is an interesting situation. If you’re after a higher-end model, from the RTX 3080 and above, pricing has slightly increased month on month. But for models still available to purchase brand new, pricing, in general, has dropped slightly. Not exactly a significant difference though, and some models like the RTX 3060 are not discounted enough on the used market to consider compared to brand-new models that have recently dropped in price.

The story is pretty similar on the AMD side of the market; you’ll really have to pick and choose which models make sense to buy used. For example, the Radeon 6950 XT is only around $30 cheaper on average on the used market versus buying a card brand new. We would not advise buying one at that price on eBay. But the RX 6600 XT is comparatively well-priced, as 6600 XT new stock has been drying up lately. The 6500 XT data is skewed somewhat by what appears to be one seller getting rid of a dozen models for dirt cheap – no idea why someone would have so many of those cards.

For older models, there’s no real change for the RTX 20 series, though it is interesting to note that the RTX 2080 Ti continues to be worth about 20% more used compared to the RTX 3070 which has similar performance. The GTX 16 series has become slightly cheaper, with plentiful supply. Then, we have the RX 5000 series, which has become slightly more expensive, perhaps due to these cards being incredibly cheap in prior months considering the performance they offer.

Hot N Cold

So there we have it for GPU pricing in July of 2023. As we see it, there are really only two choices that make sense right now if you’re interested in buying a new graphics card.

Either you wait for a flash sale for a current-generation model, which seems to be increasing in frequency and tend to offer much more acceptable prices. Or you grab something from the previous generation, especially in the lower parts of the market where supply is still strong, and both AMD and Nvidia are desperately trying to clear out that stock. While pricing for some models has bounced around a bit lately, the general trend is that interest in GPUs is low, and pricing is heading downwards.

There are only a few GPUs left to launch to complete both AMD and Nvidia’s product line-up, so we’re still anticipating some impact from these releases, albeit not substantial. Unsurprisingly, AMD has the opportunity to make a more significant impact, as they have yet to unveil any mid-range offerings – current rumors suggest a late Q3 release for cards such as the Radeon RX 7700 and RX 7800. AMD could also benefit from a card priced near $200 that isn’t as disastrous as the RX 6500 XT launch was, but we haven’t heard much regarding their plans in this area.

On the Nvidia side, most of their line-up appears complete, with the exception of a product akin to the RTX 4050, priced in the $200 to $250 range. We’re not anticipating that this type of card will be particularly enticing, as previous rumors indicated it would have merely 6GB of VRAM. Nevertheless, anything could happen. Nvidia also has room for more high-end models if they truly wish to produce them, such as the GeForce RTX 4080 Ti and RTX 4090 Ti.

Shopping Shortcuts:

• Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 on Amazon
• AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT on Amazon
• Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 on Amazon
• AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT on Amazon
• AMD Radeon RX 7600 on Amazon
• AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT on Amazon
• Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 on Amazon