My first big GPU purchase was in 2013. I splurged on a Radeon HD 7950, the second best AMD had to offer at the time and possibly the best value. It was something like $300CAD, an absurd amount of money for me at the time but with no living expenses to speak of I went for it. That was such a good GPU, and I got four years out of it before selling the PC and moving abroad. I can’t imagine I would have upgraded until it broke, had I kept the computer.
Ten years later I still can’t bring myself to go above that $300-350 range, yet there’s nothing worthwhile anymore. What happened to the $200 budget range do-it-all GPU? I’ve seen it explained as inflation but that only covers a small part of the increase in price. It may well be that 50% generational performance gains are a thing of the past, and that’s fine in itself. But when prices are going up 30% and performance only 20% people start to notice and take more time planning their next builds, if they even bother.
My first big GPU purchase was in 2013. I splurged on a Radeon HD 7950, the second best AMD had to offer at the time and possibly the best value. It was something like $300CAD, an absurd amount of money for me at the time but with no living expenses to speak of I went for it. That was such a good GPU, and I got four years out of it before selling the PC and moving abroad. I can’t imagine I would have upgraded until it broke, had I kept the computer.
Ten years later I still can’t bring myself to go above that $300-350 range, yet there’s nothing worthwhile anymore. What happened to the $200 budget range do-it-all GPU? I’ve seen it explained as inflation but that only covers a small part of the increase in price. It may well be that 50% generational performance gains are a thing of the past, and that’s fine in itself. But when prices are going up 30% and performance only 20% people start to notice and take more time planning their next builds, if they even bother.