In a post by the Radeon Technologies Group, which promotes the use of AMD hardware as well as software designed to be used along with the hardware, AMD was seen promoting their budget graphics card RX 560, which is both peculiar and irksome for most PC gamers as the RX 570 and RX 580 continues to be out of stock on popular retailers.
Due to an increase in the value of cryptocurrencies, most people have decided to build mining rigs, and start hoarding these cryptocurrencies. In cryptocurrency mining, a GPU does complex calculations, and the result of the calculations is a hash code added to the existing level of problem in the pool where mining is done. There has been an increase in the popularity of GPU mining over the years, but no one could have predicted a market crisis like this.
AMD graphics cards typically have a greater hash rate, meaning that they mine faster than equivalent NVIDIA graphics cards. This effectively means that the demand for AMD cards increased, and stocks of AMD cards at retailers were depleted in no time. The 480,470,580 and 570 are some of the most (yeah, the RX 4xx series are still in demand despite the RX 5xx series being in the market).
AMD has acknowledged the fact that the 570 and 580 are the most “in demand” AMD cards, but instead of working out a probably way of increasing supply at a time graphics cards are being sold at more than 50% premium in back-alley exchanges, AMD decides to promote the 560, which has been relatively untouched by the cryptocurrency mining craze because of it’s low cost-to-profit ratio, as well as it’s low hash rate.
This is a particularly irksome move by AMD, especially at a time AMD graphics cards are always “Out of Stock” on the fronts of major retailers. Selling the 560 as an alternative for the 570 or the 580 doesn’t work, and people want their money’s worth when they buy a graphics card. Most cards are bought to ensure smooth gaming for a period of two to three years, and most people prefer a mid end or high end graphics card, if they are buying it for gaming. The 560 is no substitute for the 570 and the 580, and people know that.
I decided to visit the major retailers in my city, even called them up, and they have no idea when they will be getting new stock of AMD graphics cards. Meanwhile the prices average at 35000 INR or $541, which is a mean price for a mid-end GPU like the RX 580. Both retailers have no stock of the RX 580’s, and one of them had to put up a tag to ask people to call and confirm whether stocks exist or not before ordering online.
Meanwhile, the same graphics cards are sold in back alleys, for as much as 200% of the actual price. These sort of market manipulations keep happening, and existing retailers also also increased the price a bit, in order to cash in on the demand, and when customers ask them the reason for the increase in price, they cite it as a “pre order cost” that must be paid in order to get the graphics cards, at a time stocks clear out once they hit shelves. Sky high pricing along with predatory market manipulation is going on, and all AMD has to do is promote the RX 560 as a good alternative, so that they can divert the attention of the public towards the 560 and get some additional sales in the process.
AMD, it’s about time you looked at the market crisis, try to address it, instead of promoting a low-mid end graphics card which will become a low end graphics card within an year. We want high-ultra settings on games, NOT medium settings!
The article by the Radeon Technologies group can be found here :
https://radeon.com/en-us/advanced-hd-gaming-with-the-sapphire-pulse-radeon-rx-560/?sf94927170=1