Idiotic tariffs, indifferent retailers, depraved flippers and AI mania are making the simple act of buying a graphics card the defining misery of PC gaming in 2025.
It’s unacceptable that there’s new cards for sale (if you can even find one) that cost more than I paid for my 1080 Ti 8 years ago and have essentially the same amount of VRAM (12 GB vs 11 GB).
I thought that maybe the 9070 XT would be at least a reasonable option if I could get it for MSRP. Of course that launch ended up being another farce.
At this point it looks like I’m going to be riding my 1080 Ti until the bitter end. Sure, newer cards will wipe the floor with it, but I can’t justify the current prices.
I should look hard and long at Intel Arc if i was you. Those are nice and a clear move up the ladder from where you are at. And they are reasonably priced.
ARC unfortunately still has a few driver problems. While it’s infinitely better than when it launched, if you went with it most of the time you’d have to wait a few weeks before new games are playable.
How was that launch a farce? I went with my friend to MicroCenter on launch day and he got one without any problems. They had over 500 cards in stock. We just made a line to get in, picked out the model and made another line at the cashier. Easy.
It wasn’t the same experience over here. All MSRP cards sold out instantly on all stores. Whatever was actually in stock were all at least £100 over MSRP, and they quickly sold out too.
Yeah, I bought my 3090 used in 2022 for $600USD. It hasn’t had a single issue yet. Knock on wood
People really shouldn’t sleep on buying used. I know it can be risky, but if you do it through platforms that offer some amount of buyer protection for the first 30-90 days, I think the risk is greatly reduced. If your card doesn’t die in that early window, the chances of it dying in the next year or so are pretty low.
I’m sure it doesn’t help that Nvidia also runs Geforce Now - the higher they price their cards the more it can make their streaming GPU rental solution look like a better deal by comparison… (also since nobody can compete against GFN as Nvidia controls the pricing there as well and also blocks use of Geforce cards in datacenters).
The entire GPU market has gone to shit.
It’s unacceptable that there’s new cards for sale (if you can even find one) that cost more than I paid for my 1080 Ti 8 years ago and have essentially the same amount of VRAM (12 GB vs 11 GB).
I thought that maybe the 9070 XT would be at least a reasonable option if I could get it for MSRP. Of course that launch ended up being another farce.
At this point it looks like I’m going to be riding my 1080 Ti until the bitter end. Sure, newer cards will wipe the floor with it, but I can’t justify the current prices.
I should look hard and long at Intel Arc if i was you. Those are nice and a clear move up the ladder from where you are at. And they are reasonably priced.
ARC unfortunately still has a few driver problems. While it’s infinitely better than when it launched, if you went with it most of the time you’d have to wait a few weeks before new games are playable.
How was that launch a farce? I went with my friend to MicroCenter on launch day and he got one without any problems. They had over 500 cards in stock. We just made a line to get in, picked out the model and made another line at the cashier. Easy.
He paid MSRP.
That only works if you live near a micro center.
It wasn’t the same experience over here. All MSRP cards sold out instantly on all stores. Whatever was actually in stock were all at least £100 over MSRP, and they quickly sold out too.
The 1080 Ti was GOAT’d.
Mine was first in my PC, then it moved into my wife’s PC, and now it sits happily in a Jellyfin server. That lad has served me thoroughly.
You can always buy used. Even a 2080 TI would be a big step since you can use dlss with it, and prices for them are better now.
Yeah, I bought my 3090 used in 2022 for $600USD. It hasn’t had a single issue yet. Knock on wood
People really shouldn’t sleep on buying used. I know it can be risky, but if you do it through platforms that offer some amount of buyer protection for the first 30-90 days, I think the risk is greatly reduced. If your card doesn’t die in that early window, the chances of it dying in the next year or so are pretty low.
Look at it this way:
Many (most?) defective GPUs ship that way, and fail early. If you buy used, it’s already lasted that long.
I would look for a used 3060 ti because it has 12 gb and has about the same performance as a 2080 ti or 1080 ti.
The 3060 TI is 8GB IIRC, the base 3060 is 12 but somewhat slower, probably not a worthy upgrade over a 1080 TI.
I forgot nvm
I’m in this boat. I’ll ride my 1080 ti until it becomes unrepairable and dies. 🚀
I’m sure it doesn’t help that Nvidia also runs Geforce Now - the higher they price their cards the more it can make their streaming GPU rental solution look like a better deal by comparison… (also since nobody can compete against GFN as Nvidia controls the pricing there as well and also blocks use of Geforce cards in datacenters).