Expect AMD hardware to become more expensive in the coming months, as the company apparently plans to pass on alleged TSMC price increases on to its partners. If true, this could affect the cost we as consumers pay for graphics cards, processors, and motherboards too.
Whispers of this potential price increase comes from ChannelGate, the WeChat arm of Chinese leak site BoBantang. Citing unnamed supply chain sources, the account claims that TSMC has notified AMD and other customers that foundry production costs will rise by “about 10%” in Q4 2026.
According to ChannelGate, AMD will increase chip price about 10% in Q4
It is result from TSMC's price increase. The product include AI accelerator chips, consumer GPU and motherboard chipsets.
The report isn't stated the 'CPU' side, but should consider also include. https://t.co/uWgd1ARcH8 pic.twitter.com/rKDT8KzGVz
— 포시포시 (@harukaze5719) September 17, 2026
In the wake of this alleged change in TSMC’s prices, AMD has apparently informed partners it will not absorb the additional costs. Instead, the company will pass the buck down the line, which will almost certainly result in a continuous trickle down to consumers.
ChannelGate states this will affect “a wide range of products,” specifically listing consumer-grade GPUs and chipsets for motherboards. However, AMD also uses TSMC to manufacture its processors, and it’s a safe bet that chips across the AM4 and AM5 platforms will be caught in the crossfire, despite a lack of partner involvement for those products.
While CPUs and motherboards have largely escaped the effects of the ongoing NAND and RAM crises, further price rises is the last thing the graphics card market needs. For example, a Radeon RX 9070 XT now costs no less than $749 at the time of writing, a whopping $150 (+25%) above its launch MSRP. Throw another 10% on top of that and you’re staring down an $824 floor.
Taking all these market conditions into account, rumours of a lone RDNA 5 GPU in 2027 begin to make a little more sense from an economic standpoint. However, there’s little hope that release will do much to relieve us of pricing pressures.
For more pixel pusher jabber, check out our best graphics card picks.
