Gamers are reportedly taking a step back from upgrading their GPUs due to sky-high prices, with many choosing to prioritize paying bills over chasing the latest high-end models. A new survey reveals that this year’s new GeForce RTX 50 series from NVIDIA has been priced out of reach for most gamers. While the suggested retail prices (MSRPs) initially seemed acceptable, supply chain issues have forced consumers to pay even more, making these upgrades unaffordable for many.
According to a recent survey by Liquid Web, which polled 1,000 gamers, a significant portion have decided to forgo upgrading their GPUs this year. 
The steep prices combined with rising living costs have led gamers to focus on necessities like rent and electricity. This shift highlights a growing trend where gaming hardware, once a top priority, has taken a backseat to more pressing financial concerns.
The survey further reveals that over 57% of PC gamers have been prevented from purchasing a new GPU due to supply chain problems, and the addition of President Trump’s tariffs has made things worse. The result? More than 40% of gamers say they are willing to wait two years or longer before considering a GPU upgrade. This reflects a broader industry issue, as retailers struggle with a delayed upgrade cycle while gamers opt for practicality over performance.
Interestingly, when asked which GPU offers the best value, many gamers favored the RTX 4070 Ti, which came as a surprise. The RTX 3070, based on NVIDIA’s Ampere architecture, was also a popular choice, but AMD’s newer Radeon RX 9070 XT didn’t receive much attention. This suggests a lingering preference for NVIDIA, despite the better price-to-performance ratio of AMD’s RDNA 4 GPUs, if they’re available at MSRP.
The overall sentiment is clear: gamers are looking for more value-focused options, and the industry needs to adjust to offer products that cater to the average consumer rather than just increasing profit margins. AMD has made strides in the mid-range GPU market with their RDNA 4 series, but there’s still a clear need for more affordable, high-performance options for gamers on a budget.