Life almost always moves forward, dear reader. Almost always…
But in this gorgeous year of 2026, we have discovered time travel, and we are absolutely delighted!
The Wrinkle (in Time)
Last month, we revisited 2022, where we brought the Intel A380 back as a recommendation. This was because no one had bothered to make a decent budget card for a while, and real human beings who are not millionaires have actual budgets that do not stretch to the millions of $$$.
To see a four-year-old graphics card get better with age, due to improved drivers and terrible prices from the competition, until it becomes a solid recommendation… was weird, man, weird! It made us uncomfortable, but there was no escape from the truth: Was the A380 the best choice in its price range? Yes. So it was this card that we at Logical Increments would buy ourselves, if that was our budget.
But the weird August trickle would be swept away by September’s ultra-bizarre floods.
Our triple joy came from nVidia’s announced price hikes, the RAM supply going from squeezed-to-death to squeezed-to-extinction, and the rumours that hardware relief will be delayed to 2030. All of that had a wonderful effect: Gamers decided to pause HODLing with diamond hands, and go paper. En masse, we could no longer bear the thought of Forever being released when our GPUs could not handle the new water effects. No! Undead paladins deserve good graphics! And so to the online stores we went, where we emptied wallets and cleaned shelves.
In short, the fear that the bad situation was about to get worse (and stay that way for years) has led to a remarkable outcome: GPU sales have increased. Despite the prices and scarcity and neglect, GPU sales have increased!
With supplies already AI-limited, the increased demand had the expected effect, with prices for most GPUs jumping up by 20-30%, in just a few weeks. The Halo–halo RTX 5090, launched at $2000, is now $7000+, if you act fast. Some 5090s are already $8000-$9000. Rumours (predictions, actually) are circulating that we will see $10,000 before we see November.
The Conundrum
With these absurd(ly phenomenal!) price increases, we can no longer exclusively recommend the most modern graphics cards. Indeed, we need to return to the previous generations, and revisit some old friends.
Due to the mercurial prices of modern cards, we now look at AMD’s 7000 series, as well as nVidia’s 4000 series. And just to twist the sweet dagger a little further into our loving hearts, the exquisite 3050 has returned from the year 2022, to keep the A380 company.
Going Forward
Amongst our recommendations and changes for our main build chart:
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- RX 550: The hope, the curse, and the holdout that keeps the dream alive for tight-budget gamers everywhere. This card is EOL, so once it goes out-of-stock, it is not coming back.
- RX 6000 series: Is not logically priced. But if the newer cards go out-of-stock, we have these on standby.
- RX 7000 series: On standby. Good cards, these. If the price was lower, we would recommend them outright.
- RTX 4000 series: Not logically priced, either. Also on standby.
- RTX 3050: You do not understand? We do not understand. The RTX 3050 does not understand. But with the alternative A750 stock dwindling, this is a valid purchase. It has been added to the Modest tier, as an alternative. If (when) the Intel options go out-of-stock, the 3050 will say hello.
- RTX 5050: This card has been removed from the Very Good tier, to be replaced with the RTX 5060.
- RTX 5060: Greetings, nVidia X60 card. It has been a while since we last saw your kind around here. How are you feeling? Very Good? Very Good.
- RTX 5060 Ti (8GB): Makes its appearance in the Great tier.
- RTX 5060 Ti (16GB): Due to price misbehaviour, this card gets a warning.
- RTX 5070: Gets a warning, too.
- RTX 4080: What is this? Why are you here, good sir? Oh, right, the price increase of everything else. Welcome back, good sir. Outstanding, good sir, and Exceptional.
- RTX 4090: The old king comes out of retirement to go for an Extreme second round.
- Exceptional tier: Switches to AMD CPUs and motherboards.
In Conclusion
Life almost always moved forward. In just a few months, we are expecting to celebrate 2027 as the new year, while we look upon 2022’s hardware choices.
There is a question, and the answer is: Yes, it is true. We at Logical Increments are just as happily frustrated as you are, dear reader.
Hope this helps,
The Falcon
(P.S. The original title for this article was:
The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of the RTX 3050, Of nVidia, GPU: Who lived Eight and Fourty Months, all alone in an un-inhabited Island-shelf in a Warehouse of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Lithography Progress, wherein all the other RTX 3000 GPUs perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver’d by Paladins.
Our operators stand ready to swap back to this title, should you desire.)