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| The RTX 5070 pictured here could become hard to find at a reasonable price in the coming weeks. |
If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to upgrade your graphics card, the clock is now ticking louder than ever. The DRAM shortage that has been looming over the tech industry is finally casting its long shadow directly onto the GPU market, and the anticipated price increases are beginning to materialize. Following reports of MSI adjusting its board costs, industry giants Asus and Gigabyte are now poised to implement significant price hikes on their upcoming GeForce RTX 50 and Radeon RX 9000 series graphics cards by the end of January 2026.
According to a report from Taiwanese financial media CTEE, these impending increases are a direct response to rising memory costs, and they will disproportionately affect higher-end models. The strategy appears clear: cards with larger VRAM buffers will bear the brunt of the increase.
The Breakdown: Who Pays More?
The reported pricing structure is as follows:
- GPUs with 16GB+ VRAM (e.g., RTX 5080, RX 9070 XT): Expected to see the steepest increases, potentially rising by 15% over current pricing.
- GPUs with 8GB VRAM (e.g., RTX 5060 Ti, RX 9060 XT): Slightly more modest, but still significant, hikes of around 10%.
This tiered approach underscores the direct impact of DRAM production costs. As demand for high-capacity memory modules outstrips supply, the premium for 16GB and 20GB VRAM configurations is becoming a major factor in final AIB (Add-in-Board) partner pricing.
The Silent Partners: AMD and Nvidia's Calculated Distance
One of the most intriguing aspects of this situation is the apparent positioning of AMD and Nvidia. Both companies have not officially raised the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) of their RDNA 4 and Ada Lovelace Next (RTX 50-series) GPUs.
This creates a scenario where the board partners—MSI, Asus, and Gigabyte—are left to implement the necessary increases and, consequently, face the direct frustration of consumers. Critics are calling this a "pretty terrible move," allowing the chipmakers to hide behind seemingly stable MSRPs while the real-world shelf prices climb independently.
This strategy feels familiar. Just recently, a claim by Hardware Unboxed regarding the potential discontinuation of the RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5060 Ti 16GB models was quickly denied by Nvidia and Asus. However, a quick check of current retailer pricing tells a different story.
For instance, browsing Newegg reveals that most AIB variants of the RTX 5070 Ti are selling well above its $749 launch MSRP. The pattern is repeated for other models, signaling a market that is already operating on inflated real-world costs, official denials notwithstanding.
What This Means for Gamers and Builders
The takeaway is stark: the era of finding graphics cards at or near their official MSRP appears to be over, at least for the foreseeable future. With Asus and Gigabyte's planned hikes and ongoing supply chain pressures, the situation is expected to worsen before it improves.
For consumers, the calculus is simple. If you are in the market for a new GPU, particularly a high-performance model from the new generations, the time to buy is likely now—before the reported January increases take effect and potential shortages apply further pressure on availability and price.
Where to look now: While the high-end braces for impact, some current-gen options, like the Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT, can still be found at relatively reasonable prices and represent a solid value before the wave of increases hits the entire stack.
Sources:
- CTEE (Mandarin) via Dan Nystedt on X
- Hardware Unboxed on X
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| RTX 5070 Ti price on Newegg. |
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| RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB price on Newegg. |