Long-rumoured GPU price rises may soon come to pass, as graphics card makers are allegedly contemplating how to deal with increased cost pressures from the global DRAM shortage. While leakers agree we can expect the first changes to manifest as we enter 2026, the timing for AMD Radeon and Nvidia GeForce price increases will reportedly differ slightly.
Recent discussions on Board Channels suggest that GPUs will become more expensive as AMD and Nvidia enter their next financial quarters. For Radeon, this means price hikes as early as January. Meanwhile, GeForce stock should have a slightly longer grace period, with costs possibly rising in February.
These quarters will reflect any changes in terms between the GPU makers and their board partners, with rising DRAM prices expected to affect any agreements. For the moment, consumers enjoy relatively good insulation from current market forces, as both AMD and Nvidia will have supplied many memory modules to the likes of Gigabyte, MSI, and so on, before the chaos of this shortage took hold.
However, the conversation on Board Channels suggests the decision to pass increased costs onto consumers will be at the discretion of partners. In other words, while one company may raise the price of its GeForce and Radeon cards, another may choose to take the hit, reducing profits in order to maintain affordability.
Personally, though, I don’t believe we should hold out hope for the benevolence of board partners. After all, should rumours of Nvidia producing fewer GeForce GPUs in 2026 come to pass, this will create a shortage in itself that will drive up prices. With this in mind, Radeon price increases of $10-20 don’t seem so awful.
There’s no word on how Intel plans to respond to the DRAM shortage. It faces the same challenges as AMD and Nvidia, but on a much smaller scale. The brand only has two consumer GPUs in play, namely the Arc B580 and Arc B570, with its GPUs only accounting for about 1% of the market. Regardless, expect to see Battlemage GPUs follow in their green and red rivals’ pricing footsteps.
Suffice to say, if you’ve picked up some cash over the holiday period and have a graphics card upgrade in mind, then now is the time to strike. I wish I had a more positive outlook for the year ahead, but 2026 looks bleak when it comes to PC component purchases.
Any shining rays of light will undoubtedly break through these proverbially cloudy skies at CES 2026. You can expect coverage direct from the show as Club386 attends in person. Follow us on Google News and make Club386 one of your preferred sources to make sure you don’t miss a single announcement.
