Just over 5 months ago I had bought myself a Ryzen 5 1600 Gaming computer. I did not buy a graphics card, because prices where a little high at the time. I had a spare GTX 1050 so I plugged that in, although it is a HUGE bottleneck! I am sick and tired of waiting, Zen+ is on the way in the next month, and I haven't even gotten a GPU in 5 months! Prices have been so crazy, even after the bitcoin crash. My computer isn't even done and it's a generation behind already, I just wanted to have a fun 1440p experience with any Vega card I could get for a reasonable price so I can get a cheap freesync monitor. I haven't even seen 1440p, never mind 4K! 5 months I've been waiting, that's long enough times 10. Does anyone have a clue when the prices come down? I have so much extra money I can get a more powerful card than I originally wanted, that is, if I get it for MSRP... I hate this, absolute greed! Is their any possible way the prices will come down before Zen+ comes out?
This was probably a General Discussions topic?
I get your frustration. I was in the same dilemma back in November. Wasn't going to pay way over MSRP so I was still making my HD 7905 last. It was still pretty okay for 1080p for most titles. I however had just bought a 1440p freesync monitor for my Photoshop work. It is an IPS model so very good color. Now I was wanting to see some higher resolution games, and that was severely pushing the limits of the card. I then bought a couple newer AAA titles from the last couple years and just couldn't get the frames playable for my taste.
Long story short, having the same frustration as you I took to the net to figure out where to get a card. Someone said watch Best Buy online, the prices change a lot there.
I did that and sure enough. In 2 weeks time, I got lucky. The price on a RX 580 dropped to $300. Seeing as this is still over MSRP I was hesitant but bought because it had been $700 the day before, and super high for months. The next day after buying I saw the price back up to $500 and was glad I jumped on it. I kept watching the prices and 2 weeks later it was in their add for $269 and this was as cheap as I have seen the 8gb version since shortly after release, I called their online help and they price adjusted for me. Very nice they were too.
I have heard that some people have gotten Micro Center to adjust their price for gamers over miners. I think these stores are maybe franchises, or at least some of them, so your mileage may vary. Never hurts to ask.
You can also watch Ebay, just try to figure out if it is a used miner card, don't overpay for a card with tons of mileage. I have been seeing some used 580's going for around $300 recently. Even watch Craig's list, you might find something local.
I feel your frustration!
Good Luck & Happy Gaming!