I'm curious others thoughts on when (or perhaps if) this supply issue with chips and GPUs comes to an end. I have to think it will at some point, but I don't follow PC stuff much.
Reasoning is I'm trying to solve a dilemma. I was about to sell off my old Radeon card, I only replaced it because the fan was noisy. I fixed the fan, then got distracted and let it sit in a drawer. Now I'm in drawer clean out phase. So I put it in my PC to test it. The thing is, it is still more than enough graphics card for me and I've got a friend offering me $100 more than I paid for my GTX 1660 in December 2019. I think they are fucking insane myself (it's not even a good card), but the prices check out when I look online.
So, I'm thinking about selling it, because I'm pretty much only a couch/TV/console gamer. I may convert to PC and build a totally new HTPC when my Xbox wears out it's welcome, but we are talking 2023-ish. I can't imagine I'd even want a GTX 1660 in 2023. Do we think it will still be impossible to get hardware by then?
Inflation is here to stay. All prices are going to go up when they restock the whatehouses with goods built with input materials at the new inflated prices.
Keep your hands on all real assets you can. Invest in materials, mining, energy (when lockdowns end...or if), and real estate. Do not hold cash except during the sell off during the impending market crash heralding in the recession.
I wasn't even poking at inflation, more hardware lifecycle and a GPU being a depreciating asset, but I like your point in the grand scheme anyway as it's spot on.
I've been on a massive spending spree this year. Not buying useless shit, just trading cash for assets. I was looking at my plan for the rest of the year and at year end I will have less cash in the bank than I think at any point since about 2015. By a large margin. My 2021 goal was to reduce cash down to just what I'm comfortable with as a minimum and maintain it there. Don't add to it but invest in other things. I've probably had my hands in about anything that could be considered an investment this year.