How does one buy a graphics card?

VanGoghComplex

VanGoghComplex

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Whatever your opinion on crypto and miners (I personally can't fault a guy for making a buck), we folks who just want to buy a GPU and game with it are kinda out in the cold these days.

I'd love to get my hands on an EVGA 1080ti Hydro Copper, but as expected, they simply cannot be bought for less than 200%+ MSRP.

Any savvy GPU buyers got any advice for me? Do you like to use retailer's stock notifiers? Do you prefer a third party watchdog like PCPartPicker? Do you just backorder straight from the manufacturer? Is it some magical combination of the three, or some method I've not mentioned?

I'm patient, but also miserly; don't want to pay much more than MSRP if I can help it.

Cheers!
 
I think it involves some sort of ritual sacrifice.

Or pick who you're wanting to buy from and constantly check their restocks... and be quick if it shows up....

All else fails... patience is the only option to not "over pay."
 
I think it's going to start look better soonish, here in Finland prices already have dropped a little, a GTX 1070 for example used to be around 500€ cheapest not long ago but is currently around 450€, quite a bit closer to what it was at the lowest point before mining hype. Should have bought one when you could get them for 389€ from amazon.de tho, it still bothers me a lot but as I thought GTX 970 served me well at the time being STILL at 1680x1050 (now 1080p), I thought I might as well wait a little bit.

Welcome to the waiting club, unfortunately I'm not into mining (for principle reasons) and I'm a person who very unwillingly spend more than what I'd expect the street price be going for in ideal scenarios without various external factors such as mining, supply shortages etc. affecting the price so I'm probably going to have to hope for a big cryptocurrencies crash if there's any chance for that to become a reality or hope miners will ditch GTX 1xxx series in favor for next gen that it's just that much more effective in mining. 400€ is my upper limit I'd spend on a GPU, no matter my income unless I win the lotto.
 
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cageman said:
Check EVGA website and put notification, and wait ... You may get a chance to get one at the updated MSRP.
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Was going to say the same thing so a +1 to Cageman. I spotted a 1080 on there Yesterday and a 1080 Ti was up a week or so ago. I have been hitting the site several times through the day hoping for something I want and haven't hit on the exact card yet, but they do show up, and I have no idea how many I've missed seeing and were sold before I found them.

Camp them like a bitch bro, I am.
 
You can get one from EVGA DIY Program. They give priority to those while restocking.

You just need to buy a Case & PSU as well. They do give you a discount that ended up being around $100 when I got a 1080Ti FTW3 Hybrid, 850W PSU & a DG-7 Case

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find that combo with the Hydrocoppers.
 
flotz said:
You can get one from EVGA DIY Program. They give priority to those while restocking.

You just need to buy a Case & PSU as well. They do give you a discount that ended up being around $100 when I got a 1080Ti FTW3 Hybrid, 850W PSU & a DG-7 Case

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find that combo with the Hydrocoppers.
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Really? Hell I was wanting a case and eyeing the PSUs anyway.

Thanx, I'll look into it.
 
I have been shopping for video cards multiple times per day. I am finally now seeing some relief. Now in stock actually shows both vega and 1080ti in stock (above MSRP) but at least they are in stock. My one 1080ti i was able to snag is only making $2.50 a day now versus $12 it would of made 3 weeks ago. People might not quit mining with what they have, but i highly doubt they are going to grow while ROI is so ugly unless they have free electric.
 
Sign up on the EVGA website and then watch your e-mails like a hawk & once you get that e-mail race to grab the card.

Otherwise about $1100 to $1200 on the open market.

You could also look at the hybrid models as EVGA sometimes has them in stock more often.
 
James21 said:
Sign up on the EVGA website and then watch your e-mails like a hawk & once you get that e-mail race to grab the card.

Otherwise about $1100 to $1200 on the open market.

You could also look at the hybrid models as EVGA sometimes has them in stock more often.
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Signed up. No thanks on the Hybrid; it's not for me. =)
 
I waited with an F5 key on NVIDIA's website for the moment the 1080Ti's first went on sale and bought two. They were gone about 2 minutes after my order was placed.
 
Two arms will get you a 1050ti; two arms and one leg will get you a 1060 SC and to wrap it up... two arms and two legs will get you a 1080
 
Here I bought an MSI Aero, waterblock and backplate last night lol. Coulda had a hydrocopper!

First time I've seen a hydrocopper in stock, pretty much ever!

Oh well. Cost identical, and I'll overclock the piss outta the aero.
 
jlbenedict said:
Two arms will get you a 1050ti; two arms and one leg will get you a 1060 SC and to wrap it up... two arms and two legs will get you a 1080
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Give up both testicles and your first born and you'll snag that 1080ti. Who needs kids when you've got a shiny new 1080ti in your rig? :D
 
Shintai said:
Buy one in Europe or another foreign place.
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Not in the UK or most EU countries though. Most 1080tis are going for >£800 right now ($1080), then shipping to the US. My wife was gong to pick me up another last week while on a business trip in Sing (where GPU prices are normally good) - nope... $1000 everywhere.

I got my Auros 1080ti a few months back for £550... Current prices are freaking bonkers.
 
harmattan said:
Not in the UK or most EU countries though. Most 1080tis are going for >£800 right now ($1080), then shipping to the US. My wife was gong to pick me up another last week while on a business trip in Sing (where GPU prices are normally good) - nope... $1000 everywhere.

I got my Auros 1080ti a few months back for £550... Current prices are freaking bonkers.
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You can get the VAT refunded. 550£ for a 1080TI would have been exceptionally cheap with VAT.

You can buy a 1080 TI in DK for 640£ if you remove VAT. (MSI 1080 TI Gaming X)
 
to be honest I did have a 1070 and 1080, but I realized I don't play anything modern (I play smite) and so I sold those cards. Got a craigslist 980ti back in september for $150 and been super happy with it. Obviously this doesn't work in the current f'ed up environment now, but depending on what you want to play...I could highly suggest not trying to find the latest and greatest. Hell most of my pc gaming now is done on the geforce 970 in my spare computer.
 
I think you're best bet is looking for decent older "power hungry" cards that miners don't want. Also crypto mining just took a nose dive, might be able to get one from someone selling a farm of cards
 
I like Flotz's suggestion and it looks good.

Register on EVGA's site then under products select the DIY Configurator, choose from the available cards which do not show up for individual sale, choose a case and PSU.. If you don't want or need it all fine, just sell them, you'll still come out ahead compared to other prices.
 
ajrettke33 said:
I think you're best bet is looking for decent older "power hungry" cards that miners don't want. Also crypto mining just took a nose dive, might be able to get one from someone selling a farm of cards
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If it's anything like the one ebay listing a certain member posted in the ebay section, they want 180 days of ROI per card at last months ROI. It's a business with the farmers, and they don't intend to sell cheap.
 
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On the EVGA DIY configurator, a great pick is the EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 FTW GAMING card for $650
They also have a 1070 for $509 or a 1080Ti for $830 to $880
 
James21 said:
On the EVGA DIY configurator, a great pick is the EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 FTW GAMING card for $650
They also have a 1070 for $509 or a 1080Ti for $830 to $880
Click to expand...

Now you just need to pick out a case and a PSU
 
ajrettke33 said:
Also crypto mining just took a nose dive, might be able to get one from someone selling a farm of cards
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This is pure fantasy. Only the most clueless nicehash noobs with no critical thinking would kneejerk sell a GPU (let alone multiple) just because BTC or altcoin values take a momentary dip. Every week its up or its down, makes no diff.

Everyone else is looking at moving averages - certainly the larger operations that make up the bulk of the millions of GPU's mining worldwide. They're looking at week over week, month over month, quarter over quarter, etc. Mining is a freight train, BTC could cut in half, then in half again, and then in half again and it would keep rolling save for a few nervous geeks with goldfish attention spans jumping off because they lack big picture. Hell, the larger operations would mine for months at negative profit if there was reasonable suspicion that whatever coin they're accumulating will recover.
 
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odditory said:
This is pure fantasy. Only the most clueless nicehash noobs with no critical thinking would kneejerk sell a GPU (let alone multiple) just because BTC or altcoin values take a momentary dip. Every week its up or its down, makes no diff.

Everyone else is looking at moving averages - certainly the larger operations that make up the bulk of the millions of GPU's mining worldwide. They're looking at week over week, month over month, quarter over quarter, etc. Mining is a freight train, BTC could cut in half, then in half again, and then in half again and it would keep rolling save for a few nervous geeks with goldfish attention spans jumping off because they lack big picture. Hell, the larger operations would mine for months at negative profit if there was reasonable suspicion that whatever coin they're accumulating will recover.
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a bit apples to oranges comparison. larger operations have committed hundreds of thousands to millions in their operations and can't easily walk away. noobs using nicehash and investing a few thousand in a multi card rig may decide dealing with operation not worth their time unless certain profit levels happen and they have day jobs so have the option to walk away.
 
As stated above, get the alerts setup for the sites of your choice and have "quick order" type checkout ready to go.

I had luck with browsing reddit (r/nvidia) and sorting by new posts when I was originally looking for my 1080, the in stock alerts weren't quick enough (had newegg,nowinstock and a another setup) and someone posted 1080 SC availability and I was able to snag one in the couple minute window before they sold out. Worth a shot.
 
The 1080 cards seem to be in supply pretty often & would be a good deal for someone who actually wants to just game to get, as they are not very popular with the miners.
You should be able to find them between the $650 and $790 mark pretty easily for new ones.
 
If you're willing to settle for a normal 1080, hit up your local Best Buy. They're straight-up retail price. You can always purchase additional cooling and OC by hand.
 
EVGA has some special exclusive member 1080ti inventory.... I thought I had registered one of my previous cards (one of the requirements), but I guess I hadn't.

Oh well, too rich for my blood anyway.
 
well i didnt pay much less for my 980ti it was prety much the same sligthly cheaper. and the fact it was a aftermarket, and not early launch either. bougth my FE for 950$ at launch. but i do see aftermarkets they dont go less then 1000$.. thankfully i got a full refund on the 980ti coz the thing just shot sparks out of pcie connector once for no apparent reason, kinda freaky but everything worked nicely even the card. but i wouldnt want that hazard in my pc. and picked up on sale a 980ti nearly half price wich i sold for a good price later when i buy my 1080ti not long after. but hey if u are not picky maybe a 980ti if its a good deal, its still a damn fine card imo, neck n neck to 1070 and close to a 1080, with less vram higher power consumption. do noted im from norway btw. so 1000$ is aprox 8000 nkr
 
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I got an email from Nvidia today. Within 2 minutes of receiving the email, I went to the site to buy a 1080ti and they were all gone.

Anyone else have this happen to you?
 
You have to be a miner and purchase at least 20 at a time. lol!!! That's who the graphics cards market is now for. Screw the loyal costumers who wanted to upgrade. I've been wanting to upgrade my 1070 but unless I'm willing to spend more for the graphics card than the rest of the computer parts combined. It isn't going to happen. At this rate I'll quit PC gaming all together.
 
Spoonie_G said:
You have to be a miner and purchase at least 20 at a time. lol!!! That's who the graphics cards market is now for. Screw the loyal costumers who wanted to upgrade. I've been wanting to upgrade my 1070 but unless I'm willing to spend more for the graphics card than the rest of the computer parts combined. It isn't going to happen. At this rate I'll quit PC gaming all together.
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You haven't been reading what others are saying here have you?

There is at least one 1080 Ti, a 1080, a pair of 1070s, and a 6GB 1060 Ti available on EVGA right now, if you are willing to also buy a PSU and a Case. For your purchase you will get a small discount, probably $60+. You can use that discount to allow you to more quickly sell the case or PSU if you don't really want them, or you can take your time selling them and keep the discount making your card cheaper, almost MSRP.

Also, as was said earlier, it's a regular occurrence almost daily that EVGA puts up a few cards for sale. They don't last long, but they do show up so set up for it and catch one and either way, it won't cost you more than the rest of the computer combined.
 
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