Hey all, long time no see :-)

I have a question that i may know the answer to but im going to ask anyway.

Background: was wanting to link a second GPU into my second computer.
Issue: The gpu in that machine is an R9 390x 8gb XFX black edition.
Question: Why on earth are these cards so damn expensive for discontinued tech?

My believed answer: Because they were good cards of that type and they are now discontinued with added supply and demand of people in my situation that want a second card.

Bonus points for decent alternatives considering it will mean 2 new GPU's that doesnt make my back account scream bloody murder.

Not really... AMD GPUs these days are mostly used for cryptocurrency mining.

Hope it crashes and burns asap :)

https://www.techpowerup.com/234959/cryptocurrency-mining-consumes-more-power-than-17m-population-country

https://www.techpowerup.com/234134/ethereum-mining-wipes-out-radeon-inventory-amd-stock-rallies

Go for a high-end GPU - luckily those are generally not economic for mining, so they cost the same or less than those weaker cards that are good for mining, but otherwise not so good for gaming.
ie get NV 1080, 1080 ti, or even wait 3 weeks for AMD Vega RX (and hope it's better than FE...)

but then why is it that newer models are not effected in the same way, I saw an identical card to my own secondhand for 300£

the 570 nitro+ 8gb for the same price new. are the older models just better for the mining stuff?

Would it be more beneficial to cross over to Nvidia?

Where is the bang for buck at these days?

Long time no see, indeed :)

The price/performance ratio is still definitely in AMD's favour if going by the standard retail price. However, the recent mining boom has made these prices go completely bananas. I've read about people selling their AMD cards to miners and upgrading to a higher-tier nVidia card almost for free, such is the market for good mining cards.

But all that aside, I don't recommend Crossfire anyway. A lot of games don't support it and it's not necessarily an amazing experience for the games that do. If you can wait a little longer, as per IFW's suggestion, see if the price point for RX Vega is right for you. I know that if the value proposition is similar to AMD's Ryzen CPUs, I'll be buying one for myself on day one before miners clear them out :)

Interesting thank you both. and if i do go the new model GPU at least I know I can basically get the same I paid for my gpu back lol.