PC owners can now start window-shopping again for a new graphics processing unit (GPU), as the prices for the said computer component is slowly getting back to normal due to tumbling price of cryptocurrencies.
The said GPUs in question are NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1060 and its midrange counterpart Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Radeon RX 580. Both are now close to their manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) after experiencing inflated prices a few months back due to depleted supplies and massive demands. It can be recalled that the demand for both GPUs skyrocketed after the cryptocurrency mining craze where miners bought the said video cards in bulk to maximize their profits.
The most recent price check for the GTX 1060 came in at $330 while the RX 580 was at $320 just a couple of days ago. This, however, was just for the United States, meaning prices may vary when converted depending on where one lives or the availability of the said GPUs in their area. This is still quite expensive for some as both originally sold for around $200+ only at the time of their release and before their supplies dwindled.
It is also worth noting that at the time of writing, both GPUs sporting the said prices have been sold out in online stores like Newegg, meaning they are no longer available at those prices anymore. This ultimately puts the pricing back to a more expensive notch, though the sudden availability of the cards at those prices are indicative of what PC owners can expect soon in the market.
Of course, this could still depend on the price of cryptocurrencies right now, as fluctuations could affect the demands of mining hardware, specifically GPUs. Should the price of cryptocurrencies experience a spike again, then the availability of GPUs might suffer consequently raising the prices like what happened before.
It remains to be seen whether the two midrange GPUs mentioned above would ever come back to their original MSRP and the only thing gamers and PC owners can do right now is to wait before buying.
