After the ban on cryptocurrency mining within China, the gaming video card market experienced an unprecedented drop in prices. All trading platforms are flooded with offers to sell GeForce RTX 3000 and Radeon RX 6000 series cards at advantageous prices. On average, a used top-tier video card can be bought for half the price of a new one in stores. And here, it’s up to the buyer to decide whether to buy or not.
Cheap Gaming Video Cards from China Cannot Be Purchased
However, enterprising Chinese individuals have found a way to profit from selling video cards that were used in cryptocurrency mining farms. Thematic forums and social networks are flooded with negative reviews from buyers who encountered seller scams. The core issue is that some sellers have started packaging used video cards in boxes and selling them as new, naturally increasing the price.
Such offers are abundant on eBay and AliExpress. Notably, disputes with trading platforms are often won by the seller claiming to have sold a new product. Additionally, manufacturer warranties do not cover products sold unofficially from China. The result is that buyers receive used video cards at the price of new ones (with a small discount).
How to Buy a New Gaming Video Card at a Good Price
It’s best to wait a little. Bitcoin is once again showing a price decline, and demand for video cards has significantly decreased. Since China was the most active consumer of video cards, a drop in demand will force manufacturers to lower prices, and stores will have to revert to previous markups.
Moreover, there’s no point in investing in a gaming video card for existing motherboards now. By the end of 2021, new Intel and AMD platforms supporting DDR5 are expected. Naturally, data transfer buses for video cards will also undergo changes to improve performance. This means we can expect entirely new gaming adapters. Old (new and official) video cards will definitely decrease in price.
It’s already better to start saving money now. Replacing the motherboard, processor, memory, SSD, and video card will cost at least $3000. Be prepared to transform your computer to get the most enjoyment out of gaming.
