NVIDIA & AMD might be planning a price increase across their GPU lineup due to rising costs associated with the DRAM market.
Gaming GPUs Might Get More Expensive In Early 2026 Due To Rising DRAM Costs
The ongoing DRAM shortages might soon land in the GPU segment, as Chinese Board Channel forums suggest. We have multiple articles on how DRAM shortages have affected consumer DDR5 prices, with over 2x price hikes on consumer-tier hardware such as DDR5 modules. But the DRAM segment covers more than just memory modules.
One crucial segment of the DRAM industry is GDDR solutions for graphics. Currently, the most widely used DRAM solution for graphics is GDDR6 and GDDR7. AMD and Intel rely on GDDR6 memory, while NVIDIA has been leveraging the latest GDDR7 solution since the launch of its RTX 50 series. But the ongoing shortages might soon lead to graphics cards becoming expensive too.
As per the report, the purchasing cost of GDDR DRAM has started to rise, and the direct impact of this price hike would be on graphics cards. Both NVIDIA and AMD seem to have confirmed that the procurement costs for GDDR DRAM will increase, and while they haven't notified of an immediate price increase, there are plans.
It is reported that by Q1 2026, or even earlier (December), NVIDIA, AMD, and their partners are likely to carry out a price hike on existing graphics cards. Do note that just recently, GPUs from NVIDIA and AMD started to sell for prices below MSRP. But these prices may not last if memory shortages continue.
Judging from the current sharp price increase of DRAM chip manufacturers, the prices of the three major original chips have risen by at least 90% since the last listing, almost doubling. Many people have started to speculate that the purchasing cost of the memory chips corresponding to graphics card products has certainly increased accordingly, which must have some impact on the cost of graphics cards.
The only uncertainty is when this increase will be reflected. According to NVAMD and brand manufacturers, they have not provided any clear notifications or official announcements, but NVAMD have confirmed that the procurement cost of memory chips will definitely rise, though they have not disclosed any specific timing for the price increase.
Based on personal speculation, it is likely that NVIDIA or AMD will implement the increase in the first month of the first quarter of 2026, although it could be one month earlier: either in December or January, brands might advance the price increase. If not, it would be implemented at the originally expected time.
via Board Channels
It was also recently reported that NVIDIA might have revised the launch plan for its GeForce RTX 50 "SUPER" series due to the ongoing memory shortages and price increases. Products for the PRO and Workstation segment might be more lucrative for GPU manufacturers as opposed to gaming cards.
Despite all of this, we should continue looking into current DRAM and NAND trends, and we will keep you updated on GPU prices if there's a price hike.
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