What simply occurred? In a situation few of us anticipated to see for a really very long time, a contemporary graphics card is promoting for considerably lower than the producer urged retail value (MSRP). There are a few caveats—it is the much-maligned Radeon RX 6500 XT, and it’s promoting in Germany—however the reality it’s 35% lower than MSRP is one more latest signal that the protracted GPU disaster might lastly be beginning to alleviate.
As noticed by Tom’s Hardware, German retail big Mindfactory has a PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT listed for €169 together with VAT (on the time of writing), 35% lower than its regular €229 MSRP. That new value converts on to $189, and as soon as Germany’s 19% gross sales tax is eliminated, the determine drops to $159. There’s additionally a dual-fan Fighter mannequin for ten euros extra.
A fast look on Newegg exhibits two AMD Radeon 6500 XT playing cards on the market: a $253 XFX mannequin and a $224 Asrock card, each of them above the $200 MSRP. If Mindfactory’s low cost was utilized to the US MSRP, the RDNA 2 product can be promoting for round $130.
Mindfactory really began promoting the Radeon RX 6500 XT beneath MSRP over three weeks in the past, however it has since lowered the earlier €199 value right down to €169.
| Radeon RX 580 | Radeon RX 5500 XT | Radeon RX 6500 XT | Radeon RX 6600 | Radeon RX 6600 XT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price (MSRP) | $200 / $230 | $170 / $200 | $200 | $330 | $380 |
| Release Date | April 18, 2017 | Dec 12, 2019 | Jan 19, 2022 | Oct 13, 2021 | Aug 11, 2021 |
| Core Configuration | 2304 / 144 / 32 | 1408 / 88 / 32 | 1024 / 64 / 32 | 1792 / 112 / 64 | 2048 / 128 / 64 |
| Die Size | 232 mm2 | 158 mm2 | 107 mm2 | 237 mm2 | |
| Core / Boost Clock | 1257 / 1340 MHz | 1717 / 1845 MHz | 2610 / 2815 MHz | 1626 / 2491 MHz | 1968 / 2589 MHz |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 | |||
| Memory Data Rate | 8 Gbps | 14 Gbps | 18 Gbps | 14 Gbps | 16 Gbps |
| Memory Bus Width | 256-bit | 128-bit | 64-bit | 128-bit | |
| Memory Bandwidth | 256 GB/s | 224 GB/s | 144 GB/s | 224 GB/s | 256 GB/s |
| VRAM Capacity | 4GB / 8GB | 4GB | 8GB | ||
| TBP | 185 watts | 130 watts | 107 watts | 132 watts | 160 watts |
While the GPU market in Germany can replicate present or upcoming tendencies, the large caveat right here considerations the cardboard in query. We hated the Radeon RX 6500 XT—our personal Steve Walton referred to as it the worst GPU launch he might bear in mind. Its PCIe x4 limitation, 4GB of VRAM, and lack of {hardware} encoding helped it to an abysmal rating of simply 20, explaining why it alone underneath MSRP.
However, there was a slew of reviews just lately indicating that the chip shortage-induced graphics card disaster has turned a nook: playing cards just lately hit their lowest costs in Germany because the begin of 2021, Nvidia’s and AMD’s AIB companions are working promotions on their GPUs, and shipments elevated within the fourth quarter of final yr. All of which counsel obscene costs and low availability might be coming to an finish, lowering the necessity for individuals to steal them from warehouses.
