{"video_id":"peYYl2vrIt4","title":"An Uncontroversial Opinion – AMD RX 6600 XT Announcement","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2022-05-05T14:53:29Z","duration_s":714,"segments":[{"start_s":0.16,"end_s":6.48,"text":"it's china joy sorry","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.4,"end_s":11.36,"text":"what is china joy well apparently it's a big enough event","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":8.72,"end_s":14.96,"text":"for AMD to announce their latest GPU there so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":12.719,"end_s":19.359,"text":"yep another graphics card no one can afford thanks to scalpers and miners or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":18.08,"end_s":25.68,"text":"is it yes it is but AMD's Radeon rx 6600 xt","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":23.039,"end_s":30.96,"text":"announcement also gives us an excuse to talk about why pricing for these parts","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":28.08,"end_s":36.64,"text":"is still so outrageous and some of the big changes that could","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":33.92,"end_s":40.0,"text":"finally put an end to the GPU shortage in the coming months","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":38.399,"end_s":44.0,"text":"it also gives us an excuse to tell you about our sponsor seasonic","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":42.079,"end_s":48.079,"text":"never skimp on getting a quality power supply for your current or next computer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":46.16,"end_s":53.879,"text":"build check out see sonic at the link below to find award-winning power","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":49.68,"end_s":53.879,"text":"supplies to meet your needs","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":60.16,"end_s":65.36,"text":"AMD's new Radeon rx 6600 xt is looking","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":63.199,"end_s":71.119,"text":"like a pretty standard launch so far you got 32 compute units 8 gigs of gddr6","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":68.72,"end_s":76.0,"text":"memory and 32 megabytes of infinity cache clock speeds are reasonably high","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":73.6,"end_s":80.479,"text":"and we already know that rd and a2 is a ridiculously scalable architecture","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":78.32,"end_s":85.36,"text":"thanks to earlier looks at their mobile parts they'll be available starting","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":82.32,"end_s":87.119,"text":"august 11th from third parties only no","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.36,"end_s":91.36,"text":"AMD branded card this time around although AMD says that there is a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":89.36,"end_s":95.2,"text":"reference design that will likely make up the bulk of the early shipments the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":93.2,"end_s":100.159,"text":"reference design calls for only a single 8-pin pci express power connector with a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":97.36,"end_s":104.96,"text":"total board power of 160 watts that's not too shabby for what AMD is touting","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":102.079,"end_s":111.52,"text":"as a 1080p monster that beats out the rtx 3060 and pulls over double the gtx","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":108.56,"end_s":116.96,"text":"1060s performance and it's efficient enough to be cec compliant unlike","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":114.479,"end_s":120.079,"text":"certain gaming pcs from our friends at dell","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":118.719,"end_s":126.0,"text":"got em make sure you get subscribed by the way we have a whole video coming about that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":124.079,"end_s":132.64,"text":"debacle the only problem with this announcement is that if you hated the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":128.0,"end_s":136.8,"text":"rtx 3060s msrp of 329 us dollars the rx","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":132.64,"end_s":140.319,"text":"6600 xt's 379 dollar price tag is going","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":136.8,"end_s":142.48,"text":"to be even more painful it is roughly as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":140.319,"end_s":146.8,"text":"fast as its price difference suggests if AMD's benchmarks are to be believed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":144.239,"end_s":152.16,"text":"however so it could still end up being a great value at least by today's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":149.52,"end_s":156.72,"text":"standards it's an open secret that GPU prices have been steadily rising over","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":154.4,"end_s":163.599,"text":"the past few generations i mean heck the gtx 1080 launched at 5.99 and the 1080","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":160.56,"end_s":166.239,"text":"ti a GPU that held its status as a top","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":163.599,"end_s":172.64,"text":"tier gaming card for over three years cost just 6.99 ah memories but","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":169.84,"end_s":177.12,"text":"unfortunately memories may be all there is left to that kind of pricing at least","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":174.8,"end_s":181.76,"text":"for the foreseeable future and trust me i hate it too","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":178.48,"end_s":183.68,"text":"but that's just the way it is as for why","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":181.76,"end_s":188.159,"text":"it's the way it is there's a litany of reasons but a few key factors stand out","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":186.08,"end_s":192.4,"text":"starting with of course the corporate greed angle that's been thrown around","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":189.76,"end_s":195.84,"text":"ever since the launch of NVIDIA's rtx 20 series","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":193.519,"end_s":200.319,"text":"the thing is believe it or not both NVIDIA and AMD for that matter love","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":198.319,"end_s":205.92,"text":"their shareholders much more than they will ever love you or me but it's also","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":203.68,"end_s":210.319,"text":"not the only reason there are some very real logistical problems that are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":207.519,"end_s":215.12,"text":"steadily pushing pricing up as companies try to remain profitable though to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":212.72,"end_s":220.239,"text":"clear the companies i'm referring to there are not NVIDIA or AMD neither of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":218.799,"end_s":225.84,"text":"which are struggling to remain profitable in fact compared to a year","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":222.64,"end_s":227.68,"text":"ago both of them reported nearly double","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":225.84,"end_s":232.48,"text":"the gaming revenue in the most recent quarter with healthy gross margins of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":229.76,"end_s":238.0,"text":"anywhere from 50 to 65 so the business of designing gpus","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":235.599,"end_s":243.28,"text":"partnering with a chip foundry like tsmc or samsung and selling the chips to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":240.319,"end_s":249.84,"text":"board partners is as healthy as ever it's the board partners folks like evga","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":246.4,"end_s":252.799,"text":"ASUS or MSI who are feeling the squeeze","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":249.84,"end_s":257.12,"text":"and passing that squeeze along to you take memory for example","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":254.56,"end_s":261.359,"text":"dram supply has been seriously hampered by the silicon shortage with contract","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":258.88,"end_s":266.56,"text":"pricing going up by 5 to 10 in the first quarter of this year then a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":263.84,"end_s":271.68,"text":"staggering 20 to 25 in the second quarter with a projected","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":268.72,"end_s":276.8,"text":"eight to 13 percent more again coming in the third quarter that is over a 50","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":274.96,"end_s":282.479,"text":"cumulative increase in the price since the end of 2020 and spa prices have been","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":280.24,"end_s":286.88,"text":"consistently worse with current prices sitting at easily double the contract","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":284.8,"end_s":292.8,"text":"price and trend for saying that at the scalp apocalypse's peak spot prices were","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":289.84,"end_s":298.88,"text":"up as much as 200 percent higher than contract pricing which is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":295.199,"end_s":301.759,"text":"wow so that is why NVIDIA can the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":298.88,"end_s":305.68,"text":"rumored high memory rtx 30 series eh at least for now","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":303.04,"end_s":311.28,"text":"and this isn't likely to let up demand from game consoles and gpus remains high","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":309.199,"end_s":317.68,"text":"and the realities of wafer production mean that eight gigabit and 16 gigabit","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":314.08,"end_s":320.639,"text":"gddr6 chips need separate allocations","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":317.68,"end_s":324.88,"text":"so this crucial manufacturing capacity is split","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":322.0,"end_s":329.36,"text":"the consoles use 16 gigabit chips while consumer gpus currently use eight","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":326.96,"end_s":334.0,"text":"gigabit chips and the majority of eight gigabit capacity is reportedly feeding","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":331.52,"end_s":337.919,"text":"NVIDIA's lower end 30 series gpus which leaves","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":335.039,"end_s":343.28,"text":"very little on the bone for anyone else thankfully the 6600xt is going to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":340.479,"end_s":348.479,"text":"using 16 gigabit chips so for this launch anyway it's less of a concern","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":346.24,"end_s":353.28,"text":"the final dram factor though is somewhat unexpected and it's servers","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":350.96,"end_s":359.6,"text":"that's right this whole thing is colliding with a big boom in server","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":355.84,"end_s":362.0,"text":"orders and servers they need dram lots","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":359.6,"end_s":366.319,"text":"and lots of dram and all of that is just the memory next","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":364.319,"end_s":370.24,"text":"up we've got copper you know that stuff that good heat sinks are made of among","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":368.16,"end_s":375.44,"text":"other things well copper's gone from a little under two dollars twenty cents","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":372.24,"end_s":377.52,"text":"per pound in mid 2020 to double that as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":375.44,"end_s":381.84,"text":"of today and a lot of that has to do with speculation that a global economic","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":379.759,"end_s":384.72,"text":"rebound will boost demand for metals used in manufacturing and in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":383.44,"end_s":389.759,"text":"construction if that sounds like it'll impact a lot more than copper","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":387.68,"end_s":394.4,"text":"you're right aluminum prices are skyrocketing they're up about 45 since","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":392.24,"end_s":400.56,"text":"this time last year steel and nickel are up nearly 30 percent plastics are up 47","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":398.16,"end_s":406.08,"text":"and neodymium which is used for magnets in fans and headphones is up a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":402.72,"end_s":409.68,"text":"staggering 88 even tin and lead which","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":406.08,"end_s":411.919,"text":"make up solder are up nearly 36 and 14","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":409.68,"end_s":417.68,"text":"respectively so all of that means that virtually every material that goes into","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":414.88,"end_s":422.88,"text":"producing a GPU or really any consumer electronics is significantly more","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":420.0,"end_s":429.199,"text":"expensive than it was just a year ago with the sole exception being gold","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":429.199,"end_s":434.319,"text":"and the fun keeps coming if you're a us resident and the GPU that you want is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":432.96,"end_s":440.8,"text":"made in china tariffs are famously misrepresented by","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":438.08,"end_s":447.68,"text":"politicians and enthusiasts alike but the tldr is u.s consumers get to pay the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":443.919,"end_s":449.52,"text":"u.s government between 10 to 25 more for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":447.68,"end_s":456.0,"text":"electronics manufactured in china right now which as of the end of 2020 has gpus","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":452.96,"end_s":457.319,"text":"falling in that 25 bracket","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":456.0,"end_s":461.52,"text":"there's no tariffs on merch from lttstore.com though so buy a t-shirt","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":459.759,"end_s":465.199,"text":"like this one and you'll be amazed how many fellow tech fans approach you to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":463.199,"end_s":470.0,"text":"talk shop it's actually kind of great the final head of the GPU pricing hydra","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":467.36,"end_s":474.0,"text":"is of course the silicon shortage itself now we can see from AMD and NVIDIA's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":472.24,"end_s":476.96,"text":"financial reporting that they've been telling the truth all along","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":476.0,"end_s":482.8,"text":"sort of like clearly they are producing plenty","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":479.919,"end_s":487.759,"text":"of gpus but even if we account for NVIDIA taking on average 10 more profit","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":485.44,"end_s":493.36,"text":"margin than they did in 2015 both of them are experiencing clearly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":490.52,"end_s":496.879,"text":"unprecedented levels of demand and when demand goes up","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":494.879,"end_s":500.479,"text":"pricing goes up this shortage is affecting industries","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":498.639,"end_s":505.44,"text":"everywhere from electronics all the way to automobiles and recent reports show","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":502.8,"end_s":509.68,"text":"that even apple who to date has seemed relatively insulated thanks to their","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":507.68,"end_s":513.839,"text":"careful production forecasting is starting to feel the crunch","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":511.52,"end_s":519.279,"text":"AMD's dr lisa said during an interview with behrens that supply is expected to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":516.0,"end_s":521.76,"text":"remain quite tight until 2022 and while","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":519.279,"end_s":526.88,"text":"AMD may be making inroads on supply the silicon shortage as a whole is likely to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":524.32,"end_s":533.2,"text":"continue well into next year thanks to the disruptions that covet has caused in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":529.76,"end_s":535.6,"text":"labor logistics and materials","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":533.2,"end_s":539.12,"text":"thankfully taiwan's worst drought on record did let up in late june which","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":537.68,"end_s":543.839,"text":"should take some of the pressure off of tsmc who happens to be the world's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":541.44,"end_s":548.64,"text":"largest chip foundry in other good news for consumers looking to buy a GPU one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":546.16,"end_s":553.519,"text":"of the major factors influencing demand for these processors mining has begun to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":551.839,"end_s":556.64,"text":"wane in recent weeks following crackdowns on crypto mining by the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":555.2,"end_s":561.36,"text":"chinese government since crypto's pricing began to fall in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":558.56,"end_s":567.44,"text":"early may gpus have at least begun to experience a slow return to normal as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":564.32,"end_s":570.0,"text":"miners have begun fire sailing gpus in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":567.44,"end_s":574.08,"text":"the chinese market although pent-up demand from gamers means that prices are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":572.24,"end_s":579.2,"text":"likely to remain high for the foreseeable future that is until we get","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":576.88,"end_s":583.44,"text":"a mainstream GPU that is shipping in serious enough volume to put enough","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":581.279,"end_s":586.16,"text":"cards in gamers hands that it puts pricing pressure on the more premium","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":585.2,"end_s":593.12,"text":"ones get subscribed then by the way so you don't miss our review of the rx 6600 xt","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":590.8,"end_s":599.12,"text":"when it launches it's based on AMD's navi 23 die which should mean better","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":595.92,"end_s":601.76,"text":"yields per wafer helping to chip away","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":599.12,"end_s":605.68,"text":"pun intended at the supply constraints that is assuming it ends up being a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":603.519,"end_s":610.24,"text":"solid card now at this point in the video you might have noticed that i","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":607.92,"end_s":614.72,"text":"didn't ever offer an opinion on the state of the gaming GPU market that's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":612.48,"end_s":617.839,"text":"because in my opinion it doesn't matter what i think","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":616.64,"end_s":622.88,"text":"that's the hottest take you're going to get for me today the unfortunate facts","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":621.2,"end_s":628.24,"text":"are that there is little that can be done about GPU pricing right now but the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":626.0,"end_s":632.32,"text":"good news is that once economic recovery efforts are in full swing demand for raw","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":630.24,"end_s":636.24,"text":"materials should begin to fall off and with any luck we'll be able to live in a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":633.92,"end_s":639.2,"text":"world where the fun comes back into pc building","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":637.279,"end_s":643.6,"text":"you could try to accelerate the end of the ride by keeping your money in your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":640.64,"end_s":647.519,"text":"pocket when the 6600 xt briefly hits store shelves","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":644.88,"end_s":652.16,"text":"but truthfully it probably won't change anything just like i never changed the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":650.32,"end_s":657.44,"text":"segways to my sponsors not even to build redux thanks redux for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":655.44,"end_s":662.48,"text":"sponsoring this video redux offers hardware with no markup pricing so you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":659.92,"end_s":667.2,"text":"pay only the 75 build fee and then whatever you already would have spent to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":664.32,"end_s":671.279,"text":"get the parts plus with redux you get a two year warranty for the parts and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":668.88,"end_s":675.44,"text":"labor on your expertly built pc use their online pc builder to customize","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":673.6,"end_s":680.16,"text":"what's going inside based on the games you want to play and your budget and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":677.519,"end_s":683.92,"text":"that's it it really is that simple redux wants to bring pc gaming to the masses","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":682.0,"end_s":687.6,"text":"which is why they only charge a small build fee and they don't cut corners on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":686.079,"end_s":691.04,"text":"quality so click the link in the description to create your dream pc","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":690.0,"end_s":697.279,"text":"today while you're down there maybe check out our recent video on NVIDIA actually","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":695.079,"end_s":701.36,"text":"discontinuing support for their kepler gpus and whether you really need to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":700.0,"end_s":705.76,"text":"upgrade it's kind of a strange sentence to say","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":703.6,"end_s":709.44,"text":"about a GPU that first launched nine years ago","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":707.12,"end_s":715.279,"text":"man another nine years that's you go back nine more years","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":710.72,"end_s":715.279,"text":"that's GeForce four isn't that crazy","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"it's china joy sorry what is china joy well apparently it's a big enough event for AMD to announce their latest GPU there so yep another graphics card no one can afford thanks to scalpers and miners or is it yes it is but AMD's Radeon rx 6600 xt announcement also gives us an excuse to talk about why pricing for these parts is still so outrageous and some of the big changes that could finally put an end to the GPU shortage in the coming months it also gives us an excuse to tell you about our sponsor seasonic never skimp on getting a quality power supply for your current or next computer build check out see sonic at the link below to find award-winning power supplies to meet your needs AMD's new Radeon rx 6600 xt is looking like a pretty standard launch so far you got 32 compute units 8 gigs of gddr6 memory and 32 megabytes of infinity cache clock speeds are reasonably high and we already know that rd and a2 is a ridiculously scalable architecture thanks to earlier looks at their mobile parts they'll be available starting august 11th from third parties only no AMD branded card this time around although AMD says that there is a reference design that will likely make up the bulk of the early shipments the reference design calls for only a single 8-pin pci express power connector with a total board power of 160 watts that's not too shabby for what AMD is touting as a 1080p monster that beats out the rtx 3060 and pulls over double the gtx 1060s performance and it's efficient enough to be cec compliant unlike certain gaming pcs from our friends at dell got em make sure you get subscribed by the way we have a whole video coming about that debacle the only problem with this announcement is that if you hated the rtx 3060s msrp of 329 us dollars the rx 6600 xt's 379 dollar price tag is going to be even more painful it is roughly as fast as its price difference suggests if AMD's benchmarks are to be believed however so it could still end up being a great value at least by today's standards it's an open secret that GPU prices have been steadily rising over the past few generations i mean heck the gtx 1080 launched at 5.99 and the 1080 ti a GPU that held its status as a top tier gaming card for over three years cost just 6.99 ah memories but unfortunately memories may be all there is left to that kind of pricing at least for the foreseeable future and trust me i hate it too but that's just the way it is as for why it's the way it is there's a litany of reasons but a few key factors stand out starting with of course the corporate greed angle that's been thrown around ever since the launch of NVIDIA's rtx 20 series the thing is believe it or not both NVIDIA and AMD for that matter love their shareholders much more than they will ever love you or me but it's also not the only reason there are some very real logistical problems that are steadily pushing pricing up as companies try to remain profitable though to be clear the companies i'm referring to there are not NVIDIA or AMD neither of which are struggling to remain profitable in fact compared to a year ago both of them reported nearly double the gaming revenue in the most recent quarter with healthy gross margins of anywhere from 50 to 65 so the business of designing gpus partnering with a chip foundry like tsmc or samsung and selling the chips to board partners is as healthy as ever it's the board partners folks like evga ASUS or MSI who are feeling the squeeze and passing that squeeze along to you take memory for example dram supply has been seriously hampered by the silicon shortage with contract pricing going up by 5 to 10 in the first quarter of this year then a staggering 20 to 25 in the second quarter with a projected eight to 13 percent more again coming in the third quarter that is over a 50 cumulative increase in the price since the end of 2020 and spa prices have been consistently worse with current prices sitting at easily double the contract price and trend for saying that at the scalp apocalypse's peak spot prices were up as much as 200 percent higher than contract pricing which is wow so that is why NVIDIA can the rumored high memory rtx 30 series eh at least for now and this isn't likely to let up demand from game consoles and gpus remains high and the realities of wafer production mean that eight gigabit and 16 gigabit gddr6 chips need separate allocations so this crucial manufacturing capacity is split the consoles use 16 gigabit chips while consumer gpus currently use eight gigabit chips and the majority of eight gigabit capacity is reportedly feeding NVIDIA's lower end 30 series gpus which leaves very little on the bone for anyone else thankfully the 6600xt is going to be using 16 gigabit chips so for this launch anyway it's less of a concern the final dram factor though is somewhat unexpected and it's servers that's right this whole thing is colliding with a big boom in server orders and servers they need dram lots and lots of dram and all of that is just the memory next up we've got copper you know that stuff that good heat sinks are made of among other things well copper's gone from a little under two dollars twenty cents per pound in mid 2020 to double that as of today and a lot of that has to do with speculation that a global economic rebound will boost demand for metals used in manufacturing and in construction if that sounds like it'll impact a lot more than copper you're right aluminum prices are skyrocketing they're up about 45 since this time last year steel and nickel are up nearly 30 percent plastics are up 47 and neodymium which is used for magnets in fans and headphones is up a staggering 88 even tin and lead which make up solder are up nearly 36 and 14 respectively so all of that means that virtually every material that goes into producing a GPU or really any consumer electronics is significantly more expensive than it was just a year ago with the sole exception being gold and the fun keeps coming if you're a us resident and the GPU that you want is made in china tariffs are famously misrepresented by politicians and enthusiasts alike but the tldr is u.s consumers get to pay the u.s government between 10 to 25 more for electronics manufactured in china right now which as of the end of 2020 has gpus falling in that 25 bracket there's no tariffs on merch from lttstore.com though so buy a t-shirt like this one and you'll be amazed how many fellow tech fans approach you to talk shop it's actually kind of great the final head of the GPU pricing hydra is of course the silicon shortage itself now we can see from AMD and NVIDIA's financial reporting that they've been telling the truth all along sort of like clearly they are producing plenty of gpus but even if we account for NVIDIA taking on average 10 more profit margin than they did in 2015 both of them are experiencing clearly unprecedented levels of demand and when demand goes up pricing goes up this shortage is affecting industries everywhere from electronics all the way to automobiles and recent reports show that even apple who to date has seemed relatively insulated thanks to their careful production forecasting is starting to feel the crunch AMD's dr lisa said during an interview with behrens that supply is expected to remain quite tight until 2022 and while AMD may be making inroads on supply the silicon shortage as a whole is likely to continue well into next year thanks to the disruptions that covet has caused in labor logistics and materials thankfully taiwan's worst drought on record did let up in late june which should take some of the pressure off of tsmc who happens to be the world's largest chip foundry in other good news for consumers looking to buy a GPU one of the major factors influencing demand for these processors mining has begun to wane in recent weeks following crackdowns on crypto mining by the chinese government since crypto's pricing began to fall in early may gpus have at least begun to experience a slow return to normal as miners have begun fire sailing gpus in the chinese market although pent-up demand from gamers means that prices are likely to remain high for the foreseeable future that is until we get a mainstream GPU that is shipping in serious enough volume to put enough cards in gamers hands that it puts pricing pressure on the more premium ones get subscribed then by the way so you don't miss our review of the rx 6600 xt when it launches it's based on AMD's navi 23 die which should mean better yields per wafer helping to chip away pun intended at the supply constraints that is assuming it ends up being a solid card now at this point in the video you might have noticed that i didn't ever offer an opinion on the state of the gaming GPU market that's because in my opinion it doesn't matter what i think that's the hottest take you're going to get for me today the unfortunate facts are that there is little that can be done about GPU pricing right now but the good news is that once economic recovery efforts are in full swing demand for raw materials should begin to fall off and with any luck we'll be able to live in a world where the fun comes back into pc building you could try to accelerate the end of the ride by keeping your money in your pocket when the 6600 xt briefly hits store shelves but truthfully it probably won't change anything just like i never changed the segways to my sponsors not even to build redux thanks redux for sponsoring this video redux offers hardware with no markup pricing so you pay only the 75 build fee and then whatever you already would have spent to get the parts plus with redux you get a two year warranty for the parts and labor on your expertly built pc use their online pc builder to customize what's going inside based on the games you want to play and your budget and that's it it really is that simple redux wants to bring pc gaming to the masses which is why they only charge a small build fee and they don't cut corners on quality so click the link in the description to create your dream pc today while you're down there maybe check out our recent video on NVIDIA actually discontinuing support for their kepler gpus and whether you really need to upgrade it's kind of a strange sentence to say about a GPU that first launched nine years ago man another nine years that's you go back nine more years that's GeForce four isn't that crazy"}