Don't want to see articles from a certain category? When logged in, go to your User Settings and adjust your feed in the Content Preferences section where you can block tags!
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

The GPU industry is so broken right now and to make things worse, MSI thought it would be a good idea to do a lottery for a chance to win the ability to buy a GPU. I had to do a triple-take to make sure I was reading it right.

I would really love to have been a fly on the wall in the meeting where MSI thought this was a good idea. A competition that lasted all of 3 days, where people who signed up and entered would be put into a prize-draw where MSI would pull names out of a hat and give them the chance to buy a GeForce RTX 4090 within 48 hours.

Wow, that's super generous isn't it? A "limited" amount of people would also get a $50 MSI store code.

I can't be alone in thinking that was just really weird, getting a chance to possibly spend money by entering a competition. What in the world…I thought doing a lottery was supposed to be the exact opposite of that. Did I fall into an alternate even worse universe recently?

Am I going insane, or is the GPU industry just a complete total mess right now? Prices are absolutely crazy, pricing out a huge amount of people with AMD and NVIDIA focusing mostly on the high-end with their latest chips, with both sides also having plenty of problems like melted power connectors and temperature issues (noted at the bottom). Then we have Intel, whose new GPUs aren't exactly turning heads.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
15 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
40 comments
Page: 1/4»
  Go to:

jordicoma Jan 16, 2023
MSI: Win a change to give me you money.
ME: No thanks.

I thought that companies wanted to sell as much as possible, not as less as possible.
Termy Jan 16, 2023
I thought we were over this bullshit?

But given how the availability of the 4080 is looking, i truly believe (even more than at the beginning) that nvidia is either having pretty bad yield issues on the full Ada chips (somewhat unlikely given the state of quadro) or purposely limiting supplies of the 4090 to make the impression that 'most people are willing to shell out such absurd amounts of money' and further try to normalize the rip off. And perhaps even 'convince' people that are hesitant (read: sane) until now that their resistance is futile....
mr-victory Jan 16, 2023
MSI: We can combat scalpers with a lottery system!
Scalpers: DDoS'es the lottery
tohur Jan 16, 2023
The current state of the GPU market will crash the PC gaming market if this goes on another generation or so.. Nvidia, AMD and all the board partners need to get their act together to be frank
uzay Jan 16, 2023
Isn't that pretty much what Sony had been doing regularly throughout the PS5 shortage? You entered with your PSN account and then they sent out invitations to buy one to a few chosen ones. Similarly, in the AMD GPU drops you went to their store at a predetermined time and everyone got a random place in a queue that would or would not enable you to buy one. I'm not surprised, that it exists. Only that it's still the case apparently.
Zlopez Jan 16, 2023
  • Supporter Plus
I thought that the ship shortage is over and the prices are getting back to normal. This is a nasty surprise for me.
Mal Jan 16, 2023
  • Supporter
With this it's the third year in a row with PC gaming being non affordable. They continue like that again and by 2025 there won't be PC gamers anymore.

Perhaps Valve should start designing GPUs and save PC gaming yet again?
ShabbyX Jan 16, 2023
The state of the GPU industry is good for the environment though; people stick with their existing GPUs for much longer.

I wish this happened to phones, so people wouldn't be literally changing phones every 2 years. 'this' being shortage, not lottery of course.


Last edited by ShabbyX on 16 January 2023 at 2:58 pm UTC
StalePopcorn Jan 16, 2023
I'll wait until the one I want is available for purchase at MSRP. I'll wait. Also, F scalpers too.
M@GOid Jan 16, 2023
Those companies mastered the game of playing with the vanity of the typical PC gamer. "I must play with all the settings on the Max, at the highest resolution available".

If you manage to take your head out of manufacturer's distorted-reality bubble, you will realize you can play any modern AAA game, with a image quality superior to what the average PC gamer had a mere decade ago, using only the iGPU on a modern AMD processor.

Granted, is not the same experience as playing it on a 1000 dollar discrete card, but is the same game. It IS the same game. Vanity pushes us out of our senses, to make us spend a lot of money on a system just to play a game "better than in the peasant consoles".

Now, I can hear you say that I'm making excuses because I'm poor and cannot afford a 1000 dollar card. But that is a mistake. I'm a adult. I'm employed in the same place for a decade now. But as a full-grown adult, I don't have the luxury of making bad financial decisions anymore. My parents will not bail me out of financial trouble.

I also play games for 30 years. Started in the 8bit generation. I had some of the best gaming experiences of my life on a N64, playing games under 20fps (yeah, twenty!) at resolutions that look ridiculous by today's standards. So you tell me that I cannot have a great gaming experience at 60fps/1080p, just because 4k/120fps is the new hotness? Give me a break. The Steam Deck is out there proving that gaming is more than bragging rights on the internet.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.