- 0-20%: Unlikely - Lacks credible sources
- 21-40%: Questionable - Some concerns remain
- 41-60%: Plausible - Reasonable evidence
- 61-80%: Probable - Strong evidence
- 81-100%: Highly Likely - Multiple reliable sources
70%
Probable
The rumor suggests that both NVIDIA and AMD have informed their partners about a hike in the GPU memory bundles.
NVIDIA and AMD Rumoredly Informed AICs About Higher GPU Memory Prices; NVIDIA's Price Increase is Reportedly Lower Than AMD
Higher GPU prices are imminent, and we have not just been tracking the prices of the latest-gen GPUs, but have been continuously reporting on the new pricing and supply strategy by the GPU giants. Most reports have centered on NVIDIA GPUs, as there have been rumors regarding the discontinuation of some RTX 50 series GPUs temporarily, which have ultimately been denied and put to rest by NVIDIA itself. Though there is no doubt about the reports that suggest higher GPU prices in the coming days. We saw previous price hikes all the way back in 2021 on the RTX 30 series lineup.
On January 16th, NVIDIA officially notified its AIC partners that all bundled GDDR6 and GDDR7 memory packages are now increasing in price. We have been informed of the price increase through familiar AIC partners, but we won't specify the exact price here. What we can say is that NVIDIA's new prices are still lower than those announced by AMD to its AIB partners.
NVIDIA promised that it would absorb the memory costs to ensure gamers can still get GPUs at an affordable price, and so did AMD. It appears that both GPU manufacturers have now informed their board partners about the price hike in memory chips. Both supply the GPU and memory chips to their board partners, and therefore, the AIBs will have no choice but to increase the GPU prices. However, it's said that NVIDIA's newly announced GPU memory prices are still lower than what AMD told its board partners.
So, if higher costs are passed down to the AIBs, one can expect a noticeable increase in AMD GPU prices vs NVIDIA. That said, the AIBs can decide how much they want to charge for various editions, and we have already seen NVIDIA's high-end RTX 50 series GPUs costing nearly twice as much. AMD RX 9000 GPUs have also seen a significant price change in recent days, and since AMD is expected to focus more on the 16 GB cards, the GPUs may see a higher price hike.
On the other hand, the shipment volume of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT has consistently exceeded that of the Radeon RX 9070, so the focus on the Radeon RX 9070 XT is somewhat puzzling... After all, they both use the same NAVI 48 chip, differing only in XTX, XT, XL, and XTW versions...
Keep in mind that it's reported that neither NVIDIA nor AMD is changing their MSRP for the GPUs, which means the suggested retail prices will remain the same. As of right now, NVIDIA & their partners have denied special treatment to a specific line of GPUs. AMD, on the other hand, is said to have increased the shipment capacity of its higher-end RX 9070 XT GPUs rather than focusing on more mainstream models such as the RX 9070.
News Source: Benchlife
About the author: Sarfraz Khan is a hardware reporter with a focus on PC components and the builder community. With years of experience writing about PC hardware and laptops, his work has been featured on several reputable technology publications. Sarfraz's hands-on experience is demonstrated through his first-person accounts of using and comparing different hardware configurations, providing practical and relatable insights for everyday users. His technical analysis is respected by peers in the enthusiast community and has been cited by specialized hardware sites such as Germany's Igor's Lab.
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