As it pertains to graphics cards, quite a bit has changed over the past year or so. Had you been in the market for a GPU around this time last year, you would have been staring at
inflated price tags for practically every mid-range and high-end option on the market. Fast forward to today and things are looking much better, thanks to the
cryptocurrency market sinking like the Titanic, and new GPU launches.
NVIDIA's newest generation
Turing GPU architecture has been especially helpful in spurring better prices, at least in certain segments. Sure, the initial GeForce RTX series launch hit gamers with sticker shock, but then came the
GeForce RTX 2060, which is still the least expensive RTX model on the market, followed by more affordable non-RTX Turing cards—
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti and
GeForce GTX 1660.
For the most part, the newest Turing cards are attractively priced for what they offer. The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti costs $279 and delivers performance that is roughly on par with the previous generation
GeForce GTX 1070, while the non-Ti variant costs $219 and is generally faster than a
GeForce GTX 1060 6GB. Either card is a fine option if you're in the market for a mid-range card.
Not to be outdone,
AMD's partners seem to be dropping prices on competing Polaris and Vega parts. Over on Amazon, the
Radeon RX 590 is cheaper than ever, with
Sapphire's Nitro+ Radeon RX 590 on sale for $219.99. That is an excellent price for a 590, and in this case, the card boasts a dual BIOS setup, a special edition backplate design, and three free games—Resident Evil 2, The Division 2, and Devil May Cry 5—as part of AMD's Raise The Game Fully Loaded promotion.
There are also deals to be had on the
Radeon RX Vega 56. It's been listed for as low as $279.99, though pricing fluctuates. The best deal we can find right now is for an
MSI Radeon RX Vega 56 on Newegg, priced at $289.99 after a $30 mail-in-rebate. This one also qualifies for the free game bundle.
The bottom line here is, it's finally a good time to be in the market for a GPU again. As always, we'll pass along any tantalizing deals we come across.