Nvidia's GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards are facing price increases of roughly 20-30%, depending on the model, according to a report from ZDNet Korea. South Korean importers and distributors have reportedly already informed the supply chain about the hikes, which are set to take effect this month.
The price increases stem from two main factors: rising costs of GDDR7 memory from Nvidia's suppliers and recent wafer price hikes from TSMC. TSMC reportedly asked customers to prepare for price increases across its advanced chipmaking portfolio, extending beyond its newer 3nm process to include 7nm and other legacy products. Nvidia supplies its add-in board (AIB) partners with GDDR7 memory as part of a kit that includes both the GPU die and memory, meaning any cost increase from memory manufacturers gets passed down to AIBs and ultimately consumers.
Market research firm TrendForce reportedly found that GDDR7 2GB memory modules used in RTX 50 series GPUs have risen to about $20 per unit, according to ZDNet Korea's report as cited by Tom's Hardware. For the flagship RTX 5090, which requires 16 of these modules, this amounts to at least $320 spent on GDDR7 memory alone, before accounting for the GPU die, research and development costs, and AIB partner margins.
Multiple officials from domestic importers and distributors have confirmed the price increases. One manufacturing company official said major manufacturers have temporarily suspended shipments ahead of the August price hike, and few companies secured inventory beforehand. A local distributor said one manufacturer with a low domestic market share is considering roughly a 20% increase, while other manufacturers are preparing for increases of up to around 30%.
According to Danawa, a South Korean price comparison website, the cheapest RTX 5060 Ti 8GB model now sells for around 700,000 won (about $490), up roughly 100,000 won (about $70). The lowest-priced RTX 5070 model is listed at around 1.1 million won (about $770), an increase of about 200,000 won (about $140). The RTX 5090 has seen the largest increase, selling for up to 7.3 million won (around $5,112) depending on the model and manufacturer, an increase of as much as 1.5 million won (around $1,050) compared to the previous month.
Notably, South Korea is home to major DRAM producers SK hynix and Samsung, yet the country is not exempt from these price increases. Because global market dynamics affect pricing broadly, both reports suggest similar price hikes could extend to other regions in the future.