GPU improvement rate is stalling (or more likely pixel count growth is slowing), so less visual improvement easily obtained? And given that cryptocoins created a new use for GPUs, we have a price influx in even "old" cards.
My 2¢
My 2¢
Though I have to say, for all its faults, CP2077 really blew me away graphically (using the RTX support) like no other game did so far. Also, VR would also really benefit from better GPUs. And 4K gaming is also not quite there yet. So actually, I maybe wouldn't even say that. Performance improvements are still welcome.
The problem is more that there is an unprecedented demand for compute. ML, Crypto mining, Gaming being more popular than ever with Corona, etc. just means that demand is higher than ever. Combine that with the new console launch and exhausted semiconductor manufacturing capabilities and you can easily see why customers are biting the bullet and going for less pricy, older cards.
DLSS is a cute hack. We have better scalers than that in video market, its main advantage is speed. Instead, fixed function scaler should be better than outdated 5-tap filter. Remind me again when it matches basic scalers put in Smart TVs.
The gaming GPUs are hilariously underpowered for compute, even something like 3090, vs MI100 or A100. It's just the latter cost $10k per unit.
What TV upscaling does that?
Also ray tracing produces significantly more realistic lighting. It's not comparable to traditional lighting methods in accuracy.
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2020-contr...
All the work is going into memory and caching. Fine tuning the arch. Ray tracing and such have also changed the latency tightrope you balance a bit.
For an end user, the difference in visual fidelity will probably be minor. As an GPU researcher myself, this is an extremely exciting period.