Asus hikes prices for its graphics cards and motherboards: Already costly ROG Strix Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 White OC Edition Gaming goes from US$1,849.99 to US$2,109.99

The technical product marketing manager for Asus has been revealing bad news for those saving up for a new high-end graphics card or motherboard from the popular AIB partner. A statement, shared on Reddit, declares: 

Update regarding MSRP pricing for ASUS components in 2021.

This update applies to graphics cards and motherboards*

We have an announcement in regards to MSRP price changes that are effective in early 2021 for our award-winning series of graphic cards and motherboards. Our new MSRP reflects increases in cost for components, operating costs, and logistical activities plus a continuation of import tariffs. We worked closely with our supply and logistic partners to minimize price increases. ASUS greatly appreciates your continued business and support as we navigate through this time of unprecedented market change.

*additional models may see an increase as we moved further into Q1.

So this now means there is a variant of the RTX 3080 for over US$1,000 (ROG Strix RTX 3080 White OC -US$1,049.99) and there is a mention of the white version of the RTX 3070 priced at a whopping US$779.99. That latter graphics card had a launch price of US$499 for the basic design when it was released in October.

As demonstrated above, it’s not just Nvidia Ampere boards that are receiving price hikes; AMD’s new Radeon RX 6000 SKUs are also getting more expensive, even though like the GeForce RTX 30 series products they are either “temporarily out of stock” or practically impossible to find. The price hike for the aforementioned special white edition of Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3090 card is especially egregious, as it now leaves this top-end part over 40% costlier than the launch price for the basic variant: US$2,109.99 vs. US$1,499.

Obviously other manufacturers will soon follow suit, and there will be lots of gamers and desktop PC builders out there who will be angry at these companies for their price hiking. Admittedly, 2020 has been a hard year for businesses due to the effects of the global pandemic and subsequent parts shortages, but it has also been an immensely difficult year for millions of consumers who have also seen their income greatly depleted for the same reason. Increasing prices, especially by considerable sums such as these, will not be greeted sympathetically by the majority of potential customers.

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