Graphics card prices are increasing, but EVGA will honour pre-tariff MSRPs in its GPU queue
Another reason to be patient and let the system work itself out.
Still waiting to be called up for your chance at an Nvidia RTX 30-series GPU from EVGA? Fear not, though prices for RTX 30-series cards are increasing, reportedly due to tariffs and increased cost of components, EVGA has promised to honour the prices users first signed up for on its webstore through April 16, 2021.
Your next upgrade
Best CPU for gaming: the top chips from Intel and AMD
Best graphics card: your perfect pixel-pusher awaits
Best SSD for gaming: get into the game ahead of the rest
EVGA's been operating its queue-based notification system since a little after Nvidia launched the RTX 30-series, de jure led by the Nvidia RTX 3090. As we all likely know by now, stock has been sparse since, often blamed partially on resellers and bots, leading some retailers and manufacturers to re-evaluate their means of sale in the face of growing calls for companies to do more.
The EVGA queue-based notification seems to be some of the most successful of those efforts. It's a system by which, if you sign up to stock notifications for any card on the EVGA store, you'll be entered into a queue to secure a card. When your number is called via email, the system will auto-reserve you your chosen graphics card, but in order to keep the queue moving, you'll have just eight hours to net a new GPU before that stock is sent elsewhere.
A decent system, then, and one that has proven a little more beneficial to would-be graphics card customers in a pinch with EVGA's announcement that it will honour MSRP pricing for those currently in the Notify Queue system.
Here's the full statement from the EVGA store (via Reddit user u/origional_esseven):
"Due to ongoing events, EVGA has made price adjustments on the GeForce RTX 30 Series products. This change was necessary due to several factors and will be effective January 11, 2021. EVGA has worked to reduce and minimize these costs as much as possible. For those who are currently in the EVGA.com Notify Queue system or Step-Up Queue, EVGA will honor the original MSRP pricing through April 16th, 2021 if your purchase position is processed before this date."
EVGA isn't the only manufacturer set to raise prices, either. Asus announced its intentions to raise prices due to "increases in cost for components, operating costs, and logistical activities plus a continuation of import tariffs," and most manufacturers are expected to follow suit.