asus says It will reduce the price of its RTX 30 series cards (it lists the 3050, 3060, 3070, 3080 and 3090) by up to 25 percent. To list a few examples based on Best Buy’s price, a 25 percent price reduction would take a Tuf 3060 12GB from $550 to $412.50, one Strix 3070 8GB from $825 to $618.75, and a Tuf 3080 12GB from a whopping $1,500 to $1,125 (although note that Asus says the reductions will be until 25 percent, and has not released details for any specific card).
The company says consumers will see the lower prices “beginning April 1, 2022” and will arrive on “different models throughout the spring.”
Yes, I also squinted and frowned when I heard that the changeover was scheduled to start on April Fools’ Day. But Asus cites one specific reason for the price drop: a “lifting of tariffs on Chinese imports by the Office of the United States Trade Representative.” In early 2021, the Trump administration started imposing a 25 percent tax on graphics cards imported from China after a exemption carved out for them in tariffs from 2018 expired. At that time, Asus said the edge which would consequently increase the MSRP of its cards (it cited fees, among other factors).
However, on March 23, the Office of the United States Trade Representative Announced that it will be reinstating that exemption until December 31. Given that it raised its prices due to fees, it makes sense for Asus to drop prices now that the fees are gone (although whether they stay is another matter entirely).
However, the question still remains: will this make it easier and/or cheaper for me to get a graphics card? The answer is… well, it’s exhausting given how complex buying electronics can be in 2022. First of all, it’s hard to imagine this tariff change having any noticeable impact on chip shortages, meaning that Providers will continue to be limited as to how many cards they can actually make. Demand was already outpacing supply, but with lower list prices, you may have to compete with more people who want to buy a GPU and can suddenly afford one thanks to a big price cut.
It is also worth noting one important thing: as Asus saying pc gamer, you’re lowering the MSRP of your cards. MSRP of course stands for manufacturer He suggested retail price, meaning that unless Asus has contracts in place to stop them, retailers could always keep selling GPUs at the same price and earn 25 percent more for doing absolutely nothing. That doesn’t mean they will, of course, but it is a possibility. And even if we trust stores to have reasonable prices, can we really expect the same from speculators and crypto miners who do their best to get their hands on as many GPUs as possible?
That said, it’s not all doom and gloom. One retailer predicted that by April or May we could see GPU prices move closer to MSRP, according to a report from TechRadar. With a major graphics card vendor promising to slash prices by as much as a quarter, that could mean really good things for PC makers this summer, if all goes well, that is. Either way, this price drop is, if nothing else, a sign that manufacturers are looking to make graphics cards more affordable for consumers. Now Asus just has to do enough for that to make a difference.
MSI, Gigabyte and EVGA did not immediately respond to the edge when asked if they also had plans to adjust prices based on rate changes.