AMD graphics cards could be set for a significant price increase in the near future, if a recent report turns out to be true. With AMD apparently charging its board partners 10% more for the combined GPU and VRAM packages that it sells to graphics card makers, that extra cost likely to be passed on to gamers.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen AMD increase its prices to its board partners, and, given the way the industry is going, it might not be the last. However, despite this, the AMD RX 9070 still remains the best graphics card you can buy right not in terms of overall value. It just remains to be seen how long that remains the case.
News of this AMD GPU price increase comes from Chinese chip industry forum, Board Channels, with a post from user “Expert No.1” claiming that “recent news from the storage supply chain indicates that the graphics card industry is about to enter a new round of price adjustments.”
They go on to say that “AMD has officially issued price increase notices” to the likes of Asus, Sapphire, and XFX, notifying them that GPU and VRAM bundles will increase in price by 10%. Which GPUs are affected isn’t specified, so it’s unclear if AMD’s whole product stack will get a 10% increase, or if the ratio will change depending on the product type. After all, it’s the VRAM that has so increased in cost recently, so an entry-level GPU with 16GB of RAM is going to be disproportionately affected by VRAM getting more expensive than a high-end GPU with the same amount of RAM.
It’s because of this imbalance that we’ve already seen a reduction in the supply of entry-level GPUs with higher amounts of VRAM, as they’re just no longer cost-effective. Indeed, that’s largely seen as the reason why Nvidia is believed to have cancelled its RTX 5000 Super series of graphics cards. These were expected to get increases in VRAM for several cards, such as the RTX 5070, but that might not happen.
Speaking of Nvidia cards, this report doesn’t make any mention of Nvidia also increasing its GPU+VRAM packages right now. However, it’s possible the company will make its own price adjustment in the coming months.
This all follows a generally extremely negative outlook for RAM and GPU prices, and the PC gaming space in general over the last few weeks and months. From severe Steam Deck price increases and the Steam Machine arriving at a far higher price than people expected, to RTX 5090 cards costing $4,000, and predictions from suppliers that prices will stay this high for years to come. The AI bubble bursting could have negative consequences for many, but it can’t come soon enough for PC gamers.
