Every time the famous GPU manufacturer NVIDIA releases a new generation of graphics cards to the market, its cost is called into question. Certainly, graphics cards are becoming more and more expensive , but their complexity, power and number of transistors is also greater. In this article we are going to perform an analysis of the cost of NVIDIA GPUs for the last 15 years taking into account economic inflation and the size of your die .
Nowadays it is difficult to find a publication on NVIDIA in which users do not complain about the price of their graphics and how the manufacturer is “cheating users”, although they really are not without reason at least in terms of the prices are getting higher.
Many say that the prices of GPUs are artificially inflated by manufacturers to make more money, but it should also be noted that the price of R&D for new technologies has also skyrocketed, as well as the demand for products has skyrocketed. for gaming and mass production of these products. Similarly, in order to correctly assess whether or not a graphic is very expensive, it is also necessary to take into account the type of market to which it is aimed and the price that those markets are willing to pay for the product.
NVIDIA GPUs die cost analysis
Historically, NVIDIA has always used a die of around 500mm² in its top-of-the-range graphics cards of each generation (with a few exceptions). As we have mentioned before, to calculate the cost we must also take into account economic inflation and the loss of value of money, since what in 2010 cost 400 euros, now costs much more because of it.
As you can see in the graph, an NVIDIA 8800 GTX, which had a die of 484 mm², at the price it would have now with inflation (about $ 751 according to the launch price) each mm² would have a cost of $ 1.55, the highest in its history up to 1080 Ti, which exceeds it by very little. But in this trajectory over the years it can be seen that with certain ups and downs, the price has remained more or less stable, with an average of $ 1.31 per mm² .
So are NVIDIA graphics expensive?
If we only take into account the amount of money they cost, yes, they are quite expensive, and it is that only with what an RTX 3090 would cost us we could buy a very competent high-end gaming PC. Now, if we take into account inflation and the cost of R&D that the company has had to assume to implement the new technologies, it is not that the graphics are expensive, their price has simply been in line with the market. And, on the other hand, looking at the average cost according to the size of the die, we can say that they have always been quite expensive.
The fact is, NVIDIA is targeting certain niche markets. What we see as users is that the price of the brand’s high-end graphic cards is very high, but the truth is that the company has been focusing its efforts especially on the high-end, a small market niche but in the that users are willing to pay the market price of the products.
Of course, the company also offers options for other market segments with much more competitive prices, largely because that is where AMD does put pressure on them. But for now, as they have no competition in the highest range, the prices are what they are and are aimed at this type of user, neither more nor less.