THE CRUNCH

Graphics card prices rose again in October, with a TechSpot survey across 10 countries showing an 11% month-over-month increase. That follows a 15% jump in August and 7% in September, roughly 35% over three months. On average, cards now sell for 44% above MSRP, rising to 58% in the US and Canada. The figures track the lowest in-stock price in each region, so most models cost even more.

The GeForce RTX 5090 stands apart. Its normalised global price of $7,240 sits 262% above its $1,999 MSRP, up 32% in a month and nearly double the 136% premium recorded in early September. In the US, the cheapest in-stock model costs $9,400, or 370% over MSRP, with most models above $11,000.

The RTX 5080 is on a similar path, up 22% in a month to $2,200 in the US, and Newegg had none of its own stock when the data was collected. TechSpot argues the GDDR7 memory shortage cannot explain a jump that large, and retail sources reportedly told the outlet that wholesale RTX 5080 costs have risen recently too.

For context, the RTX 5090's escalation has been building for months: in September the cheapest listed model in Germany already topped €5,200, compared with around €3,029 back in January, a roughly 73% rise in eight months. The October figures suggest that climb has since accelerated sharply. TechPowerUp's report adds that another RTX 50-series price hike is on the horizon, so the survey numbers are likely to rise again.