It's time we stopped pretending that the "retail price" of a graphics card means anything. AMD made a splash announcing its new Radeon RX 9070 cards at competitive prices, undercutting Nvidia. But surprise, surprise—finding one at that price on launch day is virtually impossible. It's, for all practical purposes, a lie.
I went looking for a $600 Radeon RX 9070 XT card. Initial reports suggested AMD cards were more available than Nvidia's recently launched RTX 50-series. However, the cards vanished almost instantly at 9 a.m. For the fourth time this year, they were gone.
The MSRP Mirage
While there were more Radeon 9070 cards available than GeForce RTX 50-series cards, those remaining at 9:05 a.m. had markups of $150 or more on the tantalizing $600 MSRP. Without AMD-branded cards like Nvidia's "Founder's Edition," the markup is the starting price.
Long-time PC gamers know the drill. Add-in-board partners like Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI sell "base models" and souped-up versions with fancy coolers and factory overclocking. These extras offer minimal performance gains, yet command hefty premiums. The MSI Suprim edition of the RTX 5090, with liquid cooling, gets maybe 2% better framerates for a $500 markup on a $2000 card.
Less outlandish cards get similar markups for meaningless features. XFX sells a 9070 XT variant (with magnetic fans!) for $849.99—a $250, 40% markup over the base model.
The Impossible MSRP
So, just buy the MSRP cards, right? Not an option. These cards are mythical, like Shiny Pokémon. Only a fraction of models reach retailers at the prices Nvidia and AMD claim.
Why not sell more at the "real" price? Because there's no incentive. Low GPU output and high demand from gamers and scalpers mean manufacturers sell every card, even with huge markups. There's no reason not to gouge prices.
Waiting it out won't work either. Graphics card makers brazenly raise prices after launch, even on "base model" GPUs. A retailer admitted they'd only apply initial prices to the first shipment. "Our second shipment from PowerColor is already waiting, and we cannot offer it at MSRP prices," said Swedish retail chain Inet.se.
This is infuriating. After years of inflation, shortages during the pandemic, and the crypto boom, companies are now catering to industrial AI demand for GPUs. A $600 graphics card is now the "bargain" for PC gaming, which is ridiculous when that buys a console or Steam Deck.
The Price of Power
Worldwide inflation and political pricing policies contribute. But the plain fact is that graphics card manufacturers and retailers jack up prices because they can. They'll sell every card at almost any price. That XFX Radeon card with the 40% markup? Sold out.
The "retail price" might not technically be a lie. But that price is only "the truth" in a loose sense.
If someone asked me how much they should budget for a new desktop graphics card right now, I’d tell them to add $200 to the prices that were announced. That makes those announced prices, in practice if not in every technicality, a lie.
So, next time you see that advertised price, remember to add a few hundred dollars to your budget. You'll likely need it.