schmidtbag:

Affordable in this context is rather obvious, when the price of the product rapidly outpaces demand and/or capabilities. The purpose of affordability matters tremendously when we're talking about a product you don't need. People don't need a gaming GPU, and if the cost of a gaming GPU by itself is more than a whole gaming console while offering a worse overall experience, the market is going to suffer dramatically. Compare this to the automotive industry for example: some may argue cars are outrageously expensive today, but when you account for inflation, regulations, and added features, cars haven't really got that much more expensive over the past century. Yes, prices have gone up, but even a modern economy car has better performance compared to a sportscar from 50 years ago, and has the technology of a luxury car from 20 years ago. So, there's an actual evolution happening. Demand hasn't subsided, there's a large variety of markets for automobiles, and there's a compelling need for people to have a vehicle. When it comes to GPUs though, we're seeing prices shoot up substantially for a product that is lowering in demand, is primarily used for leisure, and is expected to be better than the last generation (otherwise, might as well just buy the last generation).

AuerX:

What are the 10 most played PC games right now?

pegasus1:

There's a lot of things people dont need that they spend thousands on each year, smoking and drinking alcohol, gambling, sex, drugs, there's a huge list of things that cost a fortune but are not essential to life. Affordable is 100% personal, not general.

schmidtbag:

Right and guess what - a lot of those people who do those things are miserable, often living paycheck to paycheck. They actually can't afford to do them, and that's what it means to be fiscally irresponsible: to purchase beyond your means. At this rate, we can assume a 4050 is probably going to cost $400. A fiscally responsible person with an average wage with an average cost of living would never consider that, because it's either: A. More expensive than buying a used 3070, which is probably going to be a better GPU. B. More expensive than a console, which is a complete system that is also more capable. That same person likely have to make sacrifices to buy a higher-end model. Considering a gaming GPU is not a necessary purchase, that sacrifice is not necessary, and therefore, the GPU cannot be afforded. If you have to take out monthly payments for something like a GPU, either there's something truly wrong with the market or you're a little too invested in your hobbies.

Martin2603PL:

Secondly, high VRAM requirements are nothing more than a machine that is supposed to drive the sale of expensive cards. Video games and computer hardware are really one big business that drives each other.

Undying:

Didnt they look at the currect pc games market? What kinda dumbass thought 6gb on a 96bit bus is fine lol

KissSh0t:

Hey at least it will be a pretty good video card if your intent is to play video games from over 10 years ago.

wavetrex:

Yeah, and pay $400 for it 😉 Very good GPU, indeed ! Best value !

Horus-Anhur:

We are going backwards in vram. The 3060 has 12GB. The 4060 only has 8GB. And the 3050 had 8GB. But the 4050 will have only 6GB.

Undying:

People dont understand that you need extra vram to use raytracing, 1-2gb on top of what game req. on what settings you set the textures. So when you run out of vram game simply crashes and in others just spill out to system ram and degrade performance overtime. Not even dlss3 can help you with that. 6gb is simply doa in 2023 unless it costs 150$ and you play only Valorant and CS.