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Why Do Graphics Cards Cost So Much?

Tamor writes "As an avid PC games player I'm locked into the perpetual hardware upgrade cycle like everyone else, but one thing really irks me. While other hardware has come down in price, graphics card pricing has spiralled beyond belief. Not only are graphics cards usually the single most expensive item in a gaming PC, they don't seem to be subject to the usual market forces. Instead of new generation cards forcing down the price of old cards, the old cards are simply phased out, and the likes of nVidia have a range wide enough to keep the high-end cards at the same prices for the forseeable future.

Why is this? Why does a top of the range graphics card cost so much more than an entire PS2 or X-Box system? Is it the lack of competition in the market following the demise of 3DFX or are there other forces at work. What do slashdotters thing about this pricing?"

2 of 85 comments (clear)

  1. its your fault! you keep buying them! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    get a life.

  2. Re:Are you looking hard enough? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Gambling: It's like a tax on people who don't understand mathematics.

    It's getting to the point where we need an official sig quote patrol here on Slashdot. Yet again, somebody has taken a common witticism and fucked it up in his signature.

    The quote is, "A lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math."

    Get it right, please. Thanks.