The graphics cards are currently a complete mess. I know, I have talked about some time how terrible RX 9070 XT is, and it is definitely the best of the bunch, but just look at the position of things. Even buying “price” in 2025 is out of stock everywhere and options are worse. And it should not be rewarded.
I probably should not tell you this. Digitaltrends earns good money from the affiliate link, and I like the new hardware like the next person. But the graphics cards are not cheap yet, and when they are at these bloated prices, buying them, paying for access to stock trackers and special groups is a bad idea to give you a chance to pay more money to someone else. It can work in short term, but it is not something we want to establish for the future.
Now there is no time to buy a new graphics card.
If you can, just wait for it
There is an old saying with computer hardware that this is not the right time to upgrade, as there is always something new and shiny on the horizon. Even if you bought RTX 5090 and 9950x3D with all other high-end components that make your PC as fast as it is in 2025, it will not happen before a long time before something else comes to suppress it. New monitors will come that makes you look dull and slow, or Intel will refresh its 200 series CPU and create a new workharse monster chip, or NVDia and AMD will refresh your GPU lineup, which makes you definitely feel less-superior.
But this is a time where you should actually wait for it. Although the march of progress will continue, and any delay in upgrading means that you will have less time before something better, this time prices and availability around prices and availability are ridiculous. If you can, you should really just wait.
If you have a new game you want to play and requires a new GPU, I get it. But if you can delay it, then for a while to save yourself a hundred dollars And Do not reward bad business practices, it is better for you and industry.
Voting with your wallet
I like to go back and forth in the hardware industry. Intel vs. AMD, AMD vs. Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple are all in good fun. This is a silly team game that is going over numbers. But at the end of the day, even “Plockee” Underdog AMD is a company of about 200 billion dollars. CEOs are worth hundreds of crores or billions. They can play as a good man, but none of them are interested in our heart. They are trying to make money, which is why the only real weight of any of our concerns is with our money.
Buying GPU at inflated prices rewards poor behavior. This tells these companies that you have no objection to paying crazy prices. But if the cards sit on the shelves for a long time, the prices always decrease. We have seen it after generation that the price of the card is badly cut. All GPUs are priced badly at this time, even new AMDs. There is a chicken game to bring them down prices that we work together.
NVIDIA can also start focusing more again on gaming. No, maybe not.
Do not normalize the worst aspects
I fully understand the mindset of all for myself, when prices and availability it deteriorates. If you want a new GPU and you sit outside a micro center before the launch to achieve it, I understand – even if my ass never sits on the concrete for more than 10 minutes. But the one thing you can do is worse than paying more influented retail prices, paying other people for the privilege of doing so.
This includes paying for stock tracking apps and services, playing in lottery, or paying for VIP access to the store. Spending money on anything is not a private. It is a transition that should be properly honored, not the gatericapt behind more financial investment.
What you are doing, but if you can avoid rewarding scalpers and chances taking advantage of this situation to sell the shovel in this GPU Gold Rush, then it can help normalize the scene after the return of the stock level, and it is likely that they will return when they come back.
If you want to do it completely, correct it
You do not give me anything and you definitely do nothing to the industry. Your personal purchase is not going to do anything in one or any other way. I (and in detail, gamers normally) will appreciate solidarity and help prevent such practices, if you will be ready to buy.
But if you want to do, I get it. Just make sure that you do it correctly.
My colleague Monica right now put a great guide together to buy a graphics card, but I should summarize her suggestions:
- Try small retail vendors, as they are often left with stock because people often do not think to investigate there.
- Buy directly from the manufacturer, as it can help avoid scaller prices and medium-migrants can be added.
- Buy a pre-made PC: They are often at a higher price because the retailer can also make profit on other components.
You can consider buying the second hand or old last generation card, but be careful. Prices are also inflated there, and the cards do not come up with all the latest features, and may not be warranty. A second -hand card was not used for cryptocurrency mining, it is also no guarantee, which can shorten its lifetime.
