After hitting one million pesos, video cards drop sharply: because it’s a good time to buy one

The cryptocurrency boom of the past two years has pushed the price of cryptocurrencies up. video cards. This component of computers, which is used both for playing video games and for some professional activities (such as rendering 3D images for architects), has become a rare and elitist commodity: some models have even surpassed the million pesos. However, the situation has now changed dramatically and it is a great time to buy one.

The collapse in the price of cryptocurrencies has a lot to do with this: These digital currencies are created by “miners”, users or companies who put large quantities of video cards to work to generate new assets. These were largely the they saturated demand and generated a rise in prices, asking the market for quantities of plates that the producers could not supply.

Now, according to a detailed report from Tom’s Hardware, a site specializing in PC technology and components, the prices of motherboards are already in line with official price lists by manufacturers. And in some cases, even below.

This is already seen in our country: entrance plates can be obtained from 41 thousand pesos. And the top of the range can be bought for 350 thousand, a very high figure, but far from the million pesos it was worth last year.

The decline, in some brands, was brutal: dishes that at the beginning of 2021 were trading at more than one million pesos today they sell for a quarter of their dollar value.

Here are the reasons why it is a good time to buy a video card.

The lack of chips, one of the main causes

Strictly speaking, the rise in prices had multiple causes. Added to the mining activity was the shortage of chips in the entire electronics industry, which erupted in 2020 and is not over yet.

The coronavirus pandemic has created a complex situation for the computer industry. The various quarantines in the world has led many users to need new computers, electronic equipment and devices for work and study. But due to the temporary closure of factories to curb the spread of Covid-19, the balance between supply and demand has been shattered.

The situation was further exacerbated by the context that the trade war between China and the United States had dragged on since 2019, when the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed restrictions on the largest Chinese semiconductor manufacturer (SMIC) in the world, with an overflow to other companies. such as South Korea’s TSMC.

This problem has spread to all industries that depend on a microchip.

In a context where nearly all of the mass consumer goods we use on a daily basis have electronic components, this has impacted a variety of industries: from the obvious ones like telephones and computers, to cars, refrigerators, microwave ovens and other household appliances. .

Almost everything has a controller that depends on a semiconductora main component of the chips.

“There is another factor that has affected the chip shortage and it is a more complex solution: the sharp contraction in supply of substrates (the component on which the chips are mounted and then mounted on the control boards) due to the closure of some of the companies that supplied it “, explains Pablo Rubio, managing director of novatechArgentine company leader in the production and distribution of electronic products, which has experienced this problem firsthand.

graphics chips, called GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), depend entirely on semiconductors. And because of this, the production of Nvidia and AMD, the two main video card manufacturers, was heavily affected.

“One factor that has a very strong impact on the video card market is cryptocurrency mining. In particular, all those who work for the cryptography of the ETH algorithm that provides services to Ethereum and all currencies derived from that protocol. The sharp rise in prices from mid-2020 to the end of 2021 made mining very profitable and there was a huge number of new miners looking to buy video cards suitable for Ethereum mining. This aggravated and accelerated the shortage of video cards, ”explains Rubio.

All this scenario has favored the appearance of the scalper: “They are speculators who buy all the available stock of a product until it runs out and then offer it at a higher price – who, when the cards arrived, bought them immediately to sell them more expensive and therefore profit”Explained NVIDIA’s technical marketing manager Alexandre Ziebert in April this year.

“However, this scenario began to change drastically in March 2021 due to the sharp drop in the price of digital currencies and uncertainty about the final date of the change of the Ethereum protocol since proof of work a proof of participation. The latter would make mining a secondary aspect in the entire ecosystem of the ETH protocol ”, assures Rubio.

The offers that appeared due to the cryptocurrency crash

The drop in the price of cryptocurrencies in recent weeks seems to mark a new era. The price of bitcoin, which last year exceeded 68 thousand dollars, it plummeted to around $ 20,000 mid-month.

In this context, many experts consider it current prices are “correct”: “After years of suffering from product shortages and high prices, there are finally options for gamers to buy their video cards easily and at the right prices. And there are options for all tastes, in the GeForce RTX 30 series from a 3050, up to 3090 Ti”, Now explains Ziebert of Nvidiain reference to the models of the brand.

In emmthe other major graphics chip maker, agree: “It is a good time whereas – from the manufacturers – the values ​​of the graphic plates are already at the minimum possible. We emphasize that the distortions that may exist in the market due to the resale of plates or old stocks with above average values ​​must be considered at the time of purchase “, explains Clarín Carlos Santabaya, Manager of AMD Components Channels. For this they recommend to” buy in official and recognized shops “.

“For the entry segment, we recommend an AMD Radeon RX graphics card 6400 and a Radeon RX 6500XT, as they are ideal for 1080p resolution, guaranteeing more than 60 fps in AAA games with graphics input settings. For the mid-range, we recommend the AMD Radeon RX 6650XT, which is perfect for 1080p in AAA games with Ray Tracing enabled, surpassing 60fps at maximum graphics settings.

In Nvidia they also have their own suggestions: “With a GeForce RTX 3050 you can already play AAA games with Ray Tracing in Full HD at 60fps and competitive gaming at 144fpsThanks to technologies such as DLSS; and for those who want more and more there are more powerful models. We generally recommend 50 and 60 (like the GeForce RTX 3050 and 3060) for 1080p, 70 for 1440p and 80 for 4k “, Ziebert details.

Now, how much do these video cards cost today and how much have they cost in the last year?

Prices today

Video cards vary greatly in their prices depending on the place that sells them. Although Mercado Libre is usually one of the most popular places to look, in PC components is not always the best.

Some official distributors who are experienced in the market (Mexx, Full Hard, Buy Gamer, just to name a few) usually have better prices, so it is advisable research on specialized sites. They also have brands from not very well-known manufacturers, but they have good performance (the cards are from third parties such as Gigabyte, MSI, Asus, Palit, etc.).

Taking the references from the recommendations of the representatives of AMD and Nvidia, the changes in the reference prices this year have been very pronounced.

Nvidia

It’s worth clarifying that Nvidia’s current entry bracket, the GTX 1650, is close to 40,000 pesos, which is why it’s a good entry point if you want to build something low-key.

• GeForce RTX 3060: cost 222 thousand pesos at the beginning of the year to 120 thousand on average. The lowest price available today is a 81 thousandaccording to the sellers.

• GeForce RTX 3070: passed from value 294 thousand pesos in February a 125 thousand in June.

• GeForce-RTX 3080: In February it cost 500 thousand pesos. Currently it can be purchased for 170 thousand.

The most exaggerated case of prices was that of Nvidia’s top of the range, the 3090, which cost more than a millions of weights. today it is joined by 350 thousand.

emm

• AMD RX6400: the cheapest are currently available for 41 thousand pesos. He has come to cost 90 thousand.

• RX6500XT: It reached 120,000 in some places and even higher prices. Currently it can be obtained from 47 thousand.

• RX6650XT: It costs approx 100 thousand pesos. It has no previous benchmark as it was released last month.

These prices are for reference: it is worth clarifying that the countervalue of the plates varies a lot depending on the retailer, together with the manufacturer’s model (those with better thermal solutions cost more because they have better performance).

Another important tip when choosing a card is, given the wide variety of models that exist, review the type of PC configuration you have – which processor and source will accompany the card. For this, it is best to look for reviews in specialized media.

The options: new generation at the door

Finally, there is one factor to consider: this year Nvidia will release its new generation of motherboards, the GeForce. RTX 40 Series. It is worth asking whether, with a new generation at the door, it makes sense to embark on one that will be “old”, given that AMD will also have its new range to compete.

And the answer is that if you are planning to buy a board for playing video games, without a doubt it’s worth it.

This responds to the fact that all currently available models meet the requirements for gaming in all configurations: be it 1080 monitors or 4K televisions; At refresh rates of 60 or 320 Hz, in low, medium or high quality, current graphics cards offer extremely high performance for every gamer.

So with mining on the wane and this scenario, for those with cash in hand, it’s a great time to buy a video card.

Especially in a local economic context where the inflation moves at high speed and the dollar always shows signs of climbing.