We all know RAM and SSD prices have been significantly impacted by the memory supply crisis. But it's easy for some to forget just how much dedicated memory modern graphics cards rock these days. And when I say 'some' I mean those not still trying to hunt down a reasonably priced Nvidia RTX 5090. Alas, it sounds like the broader situation shows no signs of improvement.
Unfortunately for its Add-in Board partners, AMD has reportedly raised its prices for the GDDR6 memory that comes with its GPUs. According to sources on Chinese forum Boardchannels, the price increase took effect October 1 (via Benchlife).
If AIBs are having to pay more for AMD GPUs, they'll likely also raise their prices and pass the expense on to the consumer. Long story short, PC gamers will likely have to spend more on team red's wares in the near future. We've been actively monitoring graphics card prices for some time now, and sadly this is far from an unusual development.
Back in July, Nvidia made a similar move with the pricing of its GDDR6 and GDDR7 cards. Reports followed that Nvidia graphics card prices were rumoured to increase by as much as 30%.
In August, our Dave advised gamers to "avoid any Nvidia card with more than 8 GB VRAM, if you value your bank balance". It's also not just memory prices gamers have got to worry about when it comes to graphics cards, but increasingly limited supply too. Indeed, RTX 5090s have been particularly hard to find at US retailers online.
While celebrating the RTX 4090's fourth birthday earlier this week, rumours swirled that Nvidia had reportedly halted GeForce RTX 5090 production in favour of AI data centre GPUs. There's much ink I could spill on the AI industry's role in the memory supply crisis more broadly, but AMD and Nvidia are having to raise prices for reasons beyond that too. For instance, various components, such as the PCB, are also going up in price due to the war in Iran.
Bottom line, it's a tough time to be a PC gamer looking for a reasonably priced upgrade.