GPU Prices Expected To Continue Past Q3 2018, Apple And Samsung Share The Blame

The law of economics dictates that when demand is high and supply is low, prices go up. This is essentially the reason why graphics cards have become unbearably expensive, to the frustration of PC gamers. A lot of the blame regarding this trend is being leveled at cryptocurrency miners. However, it seems smartphone giants like Apple and Samsung are guilty of contributing to the problem, as well.

According to some retailers, the trend of rising GPU prices is not likely to come down anytime soon, Hot Hardware reports. As expected, a lot of this has to do with the supply not meeting the current demands, which is especially galling to gamers since they believe that they are supposed to be the primary consumers of GPUs.

Unfortunately, no relief can be expected over the coming months, with the soonest probable break being Q3. Even then, there is no guarantee that this is going to be the case since it would depend on a lot of factors.

Cryptocurrency miners are currently bearing the brunt of the blame for the shortage in supplies of GPUs. Depending on how the crypto market goes, this could get progressively worse if companies like Nvidia are unable to keep up even with increased production.

Then there’s the matter of smartphone companies using the memory components as those found in GPUs, making production even more problematic. Tech giants like Apple and Samsung are willing to pay top dollar to corner the market as much as they can in order for them to keep producing more mobile devices.

While it might be hard to hear, it’s a simple fact that there is more money to be made from smartphone companies and crypto miners than there is from gamers right now. As such, it’s no wonder that priorities would be directed at where the grass is greener.