AMD has notified its add-in board (AIB) partners that it will raise GPU-memory kit prices by at least 10%, according to a report from Chinese outlet ChannelGate. The increase, which will be applied uniformly, was originally planned for July but was delayed by about a month reportedly out of concern over losing market share. AMD is said to have waited for NVIDIA to move first before adjusting its own pricing strategy.
The hike stems from AMD's supply chain, in which the company sources GPU dies from TSMC and negotiates GDDR6 memory purchases from suppliers such as SK hynix, Micron, and Samsung, bundling them into GPU kits for AIB partners. Cards with more VRAM, such as the Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB, are expected to see increases exceeding 10%, while lower-VRAM, entry-level models like the RX 9050 4 GB are expected to rise closer to the 10% baseline. Reporting also notes that vendors have been forced to raise prices because absorbing higher DRAM costs — which have nearly doubled for some components — is no longer sustainable.
NVIDIA has already implemented its own price increases, and according to Taiwanese outlet Economic Daily Times, another round could push consumer prices up by 20-30% across the entire RTX 5000-series lineup, marking NVIDIA's third such hike in 2026. Higher-end GPUs are expected to see steeper increases since memory makes up a larger share of their cost. The outlet predicts these repeated hikes could cause a 10-20% decline in overall PC hardware sales, even as vendors are expected to see higher revenue.
The effects are already visible at retail. Premium partner models of NVIDIA's RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 have been listed well above their launch MSRPs — for example, an Asus ROG Astral RTX 5080 selling for $2,099.99 versus its $1,499.99 launch price, and an Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 listed at $4,329.99 compared to its $2,799.99 launch MSRP. Some mainstream cards, such as the Zotac RTX 5080 Solid OC and PNY RTX 5080 OC, remain closer to MSRP. Contributing factors cited include rising GDDR7 memory costs and NVIDIA's reported discontinuation of its Observed Pricing Program, which previously incentivized partners to sell near MSRP, as well as NVIDIA reportedly prioritizing higher-margin products.
On the AMD side, the Radeon RX 9070 XT, which launched at $600, is now commonly selling for $700-800 amid what has been described as a broader memory shortage. Some retailers have offered workarounds: Newegg has bundled free 360mm AIO coolers with select ASRock RX 9070 XT cards, including the Steel Legend and Monster Hunter Wilds editions, effectively lowering their price to around $659, and the Taichi models to roughly $700-730. These deals are described as limited-time offers.