If you’ve tried to upgrade your graphics card this year, odds are you’ve already screamed internally at the outrageous prices—or maybe even externally at your monitor. And now, thanks to Gamers Nexus, we have the data to back up that frustration. In their latest 20-minute breakdown, they detail exactly how bad the GPU market is right now, and spoiler alert: it’s not just bad. It’s ridiculous.
According to their in-depth survey of available cards across Amazon, Newegg, and Best Buy, top-tier GPUs like the Nvidia RTX 5090 and 5080 are consistently selling at 50% or more above MSRP. The RTX 5090, for example, should be a $2,000 card. Instead? It’s averaging over $3,000. The RTX 5080 is even worse, marking up to $1,570 despite a much lower intended price. AMD’s RX 9070 XT is facing similar inflation. And yes, this is the average—some sellers are charging even more.
The trend doesn’t stop at the high-end. Cards that are supposed to be “mid-range,” like the RTX 5070 and RX 9070, are seeing markups of 20–27%. These aren’t rare luxury items—these are the GPUs many gamers are trying to buy just to keep up with current-gen games.
Even the budget cards can’t escape the mess. Intel’s Arc B580, which launched with a humble $250 price tag, is selling at more than a 50% premium in some listings. It’s a grim echo of the cryptocurrency GPU crisis, but this time, there’s no mining boom to blame it all on.
So what gives? For starters, demand still outweighs supply, especially for gaming-worthy GPUs. Scalpers haven’t left the scene either, grabbing up cards to resell at bloated prices. Then there’s the manufacturers and retailers themselves. Very few cards are actually sold at MSRP, and instead, the shelves are loaded with AIB models sporting fancy (and mostly unnecessary) cooling designs, RGB lighting, and factory overclocks—all of which push prices higher without adding meaningful value for most users.
Also frustrating: cards with lower VRAM variants are piling up in warehouses. The RTX 5060 and RX 9060 XT, which have 8GB and 16GB versions, are seeing consumers overwhelmingly go for the 16GB options, with sales outpacing the 8GB cards by 10 to 1. No one wants to spend several hundred dollars on a card that might choke on modern games in two years—or worse, right now.
Ironically, the RTX 5060—the card you’re most likely to find in stock—has gotten terrible reviews. Gamers Nexus points out that Nvidia didn’t even send it out for review, and it seems like no one really wanted it anyway.
So what’s the takeaway? It’s a tough time to be a PC gamer. Pricing is inflated, stock is inconsistent, and true value is hard to come by. Unless you’re desperate, it may be smarter to wait… or consider other avenues, like gaming laptops or last-gen deals, until the market cools off. Because right now, if you want a decent graphics card, you’ll need deep pockets—and a lot of patience.