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My PC is 11 years old this year. I've been waiting to upgrade it for 2 years but held off because GPU prices are utterly ridiculous. I don't know who can affor

My PC is 11 years old this year. I've been waiting to upgrade it for 2 years but held off because GPU prices are utterly ridiculous. I don't know who can afford these inflated prices, I was hoping things would settle but it doesn't appear to be the case.

temp8964 5y ago
Why not just purchase a used one on eBay?
- laputan_machine 5y ago
  My current GPU is a used 980, it's mostly ok but it makes noises when doing certain tasks for some reason (like scrolling a browser window), I'm really not sure what causes it but it's put me off buying second hand cards, if it fails there's not much you can do to fix it
  - orliesaurus 5y ago
    I use 980Ti too - i'm lighting 6 candles on the cake this year...It keeps me warm at night and during the winter. I am surprised it's still working after 6 years of daily use with that TDP and heat released.
    - bavell 5y ago
      My 970 is still limping along... kinda hilarious that it's paired with a 5950x in my new workstation. I'm impressed it can still play modern games pretty decently on my 1440p monitor although usually I've gotta dial it down to medium gfx settings. Gonna try to hold out till next gen, crossing my fingers supply issues have been sorted out by then.
      - Semaphor 5y ago
        I’m running an RX 470, since I upgraded one of my monitors to QHD, it has been having some issues. Luckily, I hate action games, don’t care much about high-end graphics, and grew up with 30 FPS as target ;) Some day I’ll be able to upgrade to a new budget GPU.
  - initplus 5y ago
    It’s just coil whine, not really worth worrying about. Happens on many graphics cards even when brand new.
    - laputan_machine 5y ago
      I've just looked this up and it's exactly that noise, at least I know what it is now, thanks.
  - bserge 5y ago
    Noises? As in fan noises or GPU/VRM/component noises? If it's the former, repaste it and grease the fan, if it's the latter, it's normal (except when caused by overheating, in which case repaste/grease).
- photon-torpedo 5y ago
  Prices for used GPUs are also inflated, though I think they have started to come down a bit. Once Ethereum moves to proof-of-stake (early 2022?) the market will probably get flooded with used GPUs.
  - l-lousy 5y ago
    I’m saving up for the flood of old GPUs. I can finally realize my dream of taking all my ML work off the cloud once I scoop up some old mining GPUs for relatively cheap
    - trainsplanes 5y ago
      You really may be waiting a good while. And if a desirable used model is ever a decent price, it’ll be a unit burnt out from mining fake money that’s only used to buy real money or a mail order of LSD.
      - phone8675309 5y ago
        Mining usually does not "burn out" a GPU. Most miners cool their cards adequately and undervolt them. If a GPU is somehow damaged from mining then it’s typically observable - it either does not work or it artifacts quickly, making it easy to detect and avoid.
        kulahan 5y ago
        Even if they do that, they’re still running it 24/7/365 for possibly years at a time. Wouldn’t that be some serious wear and tear? Genuine question - I have no clue.
        phone8675309 5y ago
        Most of the wear and tear on a GPU is going to come from temperature changes due to the workload changing, or, for the fans, the card spinning the fans at start up, ramping up and ramping down due to a change in load, or halting the fans at shutdown. It's very possible that an undervolted, well-ventilated card, run with a steady workload 24/7/365 for three years would have _less_ wear and tear than a card used for gaming and then shut down every night for three years.
yepthatsreality 5y ago
Try finding a PC starter bundle that includes a gpu from GameStop or some other retailer and you can find one for MSRP. The trade off is you’re buying other PC parts you may not need, for example a PSU.
csomar 5y ago
A modest new desktop will be definitively much better than anything you could have had 11 years ago. Unless you are looking for high-end gaming, the most important parts will be your motherboard and SSD (nvme) speed. You could get all high-end components except for the graphic card, and just wait it out and replace it later when the prices come back.
nivenkos 5y ago
Consider a pre-build PC, and then a Steam Deck or Xbox for gaming?
topspin 5y ago
"I was hoping things would settle but it doesn't appear to be the case." I've come to the conclusion that it's not going to 'settle' for a long time. Not until competition arrives from new foundries (several years out, although they _are_ being planned and built) and competition from Intel and their GPU platform appears and eventually becomes competitive. So your wait will be a couple years longer. Proof Of Stake with Ethereum won't change anything. There are many other POW block chains around and people invested in GPUs farming will migrate, find profit and continue indulging their livelihoods. COVID isn't going away and isn't really causing any of this to begin with; it's just the go-to excuse for every complaint. The real problem is obvious to me; the manufacturers, particularly those in Western countries, have been on a 20 year long lemming-like off-shoring race to Taiwan and S. Korea foundries and now there is a foundry oligopoly and competition no longer exists. Prices go up. Big surprise. And it won't return to 'normal' anytime soon. With that in mind I bit the bullet ordered up all the parts for my new machine two weeks ago; $3k with a 3070 TI GPU. About a week after my order the the exact same GPU appeared in stock from the exact same reseller with a $200 price hike. The prices aren't going down. They're going up.
- pbourke 5y ago
  Apple’s move, a decade ago, to control their own silicon seems quite prescient.
  - pjscott 5y ago
    They have their own chip designs, but the manufacturing is done by TSMC.
    - pbourke 5y ago
      Indeed, but they control the supply chain risks to a much greater extent now.
    - larkost 5y ago
      Very true. But they have hedged that very well with long-term contracts, so they are effectively first in line for most of their needs. I would guess that this is still biting them on some components (they have so many in so many products), but they appear to be riding through this pretty well.
sva_ 5y ago
Onboard graphic is pretty good these days, unless you plan to game high-end stuff. I'm actually using my 4790k's onboard graphic (2014) as a daily driver since I use my GPUs for compute only.

temp8964 5y ago

Why not just purchase a used one on eBay?

laputan_machine 5y ago
My current GPU is a used 980, it's mostly ok but it makes noises when doing certain tasks for some reason (like scrolling a browser window), I'm really not sure what causes it but it's put me off buying second hand cards, if it fails there's not much you can do to fix it
- orliesaurus 5y ago
  I use 980Ti too - i'm lighting 6 candles on the cake this year...It keeps me warm at night and during the winter. I am surprised it's still working after 6 years of daily use with that TDP and heat released.
  - bavell 5y ago
    My 970 is still limping along... kinda hilarious that it's paired with a 5950x in my new workstation. I'm impressed it can still play modern games pretty decently on my 1440p monitor although usually I've gotta dial it down to medium gfx settings. Gonna try to hold out till next gen, crossing my fingers supply issues have been sorted out by then.
    - Semaphor 5y ago
      I’m running an RX 470, since I upgraded one of my monitors to QHD, it has been having some issues. Luckily, I hate action games, don’t care much about high-end graphics, and grew up with 30 FPS as target ;) Some day I’ll be able to upgrade to a new budget GPU.
- initplus 5y ago
  It’s just coil whine, not really worth worrying about. Happens on many graphics cards even when brand new.
  - laputan_machine 5y ago
    I've just looked this up and it's exactly that noise, at least I know what it is now, thanks.
- bserge 5y ago
  Noises? As in fan noises or GPU/VRM/component noises? If it's the former, repaste it and grease the fan, if it's the latter, it's normal (except when caused by overheating, in which case repaste/grease).
photon-torpedo 5y ago
Prices for used GPUs are also inflated, though I think they have started to come down a bit. Once Ethereum moves to proof-of-stake (early 2022?) the market will probably get flooded with used GPUs.
- l-lousy 5y ago
  I’m saving up for the flood of old GPUs. I can finally realize my dream of taking all my ML work off the cloud once I scoop up some old mining GPUs for relatively cheap
  - trainsplanes 5y ago
    You really may be waiting a good while. And if a desirable used model is ever a decent price, it’ll be a unit burnt out from mining fake money that’s only used to buy real money or a mail order of LSD.
    - phone8675309 5y ago
      Mining usually does not "burn out" a GPU. Most miners cool their cards adequately and undervolt them. If a GPU is somehow damaged from mining then it’s typically observable - it either does not work or it artifacts quickly, making it easy to detect and avoid.
      - kulahan 5y ago
        Even if they do that, they’re still running it 24/7/365 for possibly years at a time. Wouldn’t that be some serious wear and tear? Genuine question - I have no clue.
        phone8675309 5y ago
        Most of the wear and tear on a GPU is going to come from temperature changes due to the workload changing, or, for the fans, the card spinning the fans at start up, ramping up and ramping down due to a change in load, or halting the fans at shutdown. It's very possible that an undervolted, well-ventilated card, run with a steady workload 24/7/365 for three years would have _less_ wear and tear than a card used for gaming and then shut down every night for three years.

yepthatsreality 5y ago

Try finding a PC starter bundle that includes a gpu from GameStop or some other retailer and you can find one for MSRP. The trade off is you’re buying other PC parts you may not need, for example a PSU.

csomar 5y ago

A modest new desktop will be definitively much better than anything you could have had 11 years ago. Unless you are looking for high-end gaming, the most important parts will be your motherboard and SSD (nvme) speed. You could get all high-end components except for the graphic card, and just wait it out and replace it later when the prices come back.

nivenkos 5y ago

Consider a pre-build PC, and then a Steam Deck or Xbox for gaming?

topspin 5y ago

"I was hoping things would settle but it doesn't appear to be the case." I've come to the conclusion that it's not going to 'settle' for a long time. Not until competition arrives from new foundries (several years out, although they _are_ being planned and built) and competition from Intel and their GPU platform appears and eventually becomes competitive. So your wait will be a couple years longer. Proof Of Stake with Ethereum won't change anything. There are many other POW block chains around and people invested in GPUs farming will migrate, find profit and continue indulging their livelihoods. COVID isn't going away and isn't really causing any of this to begin with; it's just the go-to excuse for every complaint. The real problem is obvious to me; the manufacturers, particularly those in Western countries, have been on a 20 year long lemming-like off-shoring race to Taiwan and S. Korea foundries and now there is a foundry oligopoly and competition no longer exists. Prices go up. Big surprise. And it won't return to 'normal' anytime soon. With that in mind I bit the bullet ordered up all the parts for my new machine two weeks ago; $3k with a 3070 TI GPU. About a week after my order the the exact same GPU appeared in stock from the exact same reseller with a $200 price hike. The prices aren't going down. They're going up.

pbourke 5y ago
Apple’s move, a decade ago, to control their own silicon seems quite prescient.
- pjscott 5y ago
  They have their own chip designs, but the manufacturing is done by TSMC.
  - pbourke 5y ago
    Indeed, but they control the supply chain risks to a much greater extent now.
  - larkost 5y ago
    Very true. But they have hedged that very well with long-term contracts, so they are effectively first in line for most of their needs. I would guess that this is still biting them on some components (they have so many in so many products), but they appear to be riding through this pretty well.

sva_ 5y ago

Onboard graphic is pretty good these days, unless you plan to game high-end stuff. I'm actually using my 4790k's onboard graphic (2014) as a daily driver since I use my GPUs for compute only.