Thing is, you don't need a GPU.

One of the major x86 manufacturers makes CPUs with integrated graphics that is good enough for gaming. It's in "Steam's hardware line" btw.

Oh yes, AAAs maybe won't run on that. But they're boring af anyway. And predatory. So not much loss.

Intel also sees the value in decent onboard GPUs now, their newly announced laptop processors have solid onboard GPUs too

> Oh yes, AAAs maybe won't run on that.

...so you do need a GPU.

> ...so you do need a GPU.

Well, for modern AAAs you also need to afford to pay for the IAPs. The GPU is the least of your problems.

> Thing is, you don't need a GPU.

You would struggle to play any graphically intensive game, old or new, without at least a modest GPU. It's not only AAA.

modern igpus of laptops can run cyberpunk between 24-30 fps... if you target indies, your more than good

That's optimistic, and most probably 1080p low or medium without RT and with upscaling. Not exactly a great gaming experience by 2026 standards.

Do you play FPS and pixels?

I play storylines and interesting mechanics.

My next GPU will be from AMD, not just because I'm in the process of switching to Linux but I have a gut feeling that Nvidia doesn't see desktop GPUs as their priority anymore and support might diminish faster.

Things have become crazy, indeed. I still kick myself for not buying the SSD I was eyeing in December, which has now went form 250 € to almost 400. I'm already maxed on RAM since a year ago, bought 64 GB for a fraction of today's cost.

But I still feel like we're still in the eye of the storm, and things will improve. Remember late 2020 when every useless GPU would command a fortune? I remember buying a used RX 5600 XT with a warranty somewhere around October for 300 €. A month later, it would cost at least twice as much, if you could even find one in stock. Last December I looked a bit at prices, and the current equivalent model (9060xt 16 GB) was roughly around 300 again, and I don't think it has gone up since. I understand there may be a shortage of equivalent Nvidia GPUs from a thread the other day, so this may change soon, again. I have no use for top-of-the-line models, so I'm not familiar with their prices and availability.

A bit of a nitpick - that's not what the "eye of the storm" is. In fact, if you perceive RAM prices as leveling off, that would be the "eye of the storm", meaning a brief, deceptive calm surrounded by... storm.

Truly I have seen not even a hint of reason to believe prices would come back down in the near term. Fab allocation is booked years out, and building out new manufacturing capabilities is difficult and slow. Everything I'm seeing points in the same direction: this is only going to keep getting worse for consumers month after month for a long time.

If the current RAM heavy buyers, the AI powerhouses investors, don't get the into a profitable state of business, then sustaining this rhythm "for a long time" becomes impossible. It won't matter much that "fab allocation is booked years out" if the client that expects the goods goes out of business, doesn't it? I, for one, don't find convincing hints that this free AI crazy partying will go on for long, so then what gives?

> If the current RAM heavy buyers, the AI powerhouses investors, don't get the into a profitable state of business, then sustaining this rhythm "for a long time" becomes impossible.

Exactly that is the problem with the "pork cycle" we are seeing [1] - there aren't that many manufacturers and ODMs around nowadays for RAM, storage, CPUs and GPUs. The ecosystem was so much more vibrant even 10 years ago. When the AI bubble collapses, it will take the entire world's economy down the drain, and I think that quite a few of the brands we have now will be extinct after this iteration.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_cycle

I think we both agree on that, just on different timelines. I think there's enough VC money to drag this out long enough for it to really hurt. And the longer they do, the more the entire planet becomes dependent on AI companies staying afloat lest the whole economy collapse.