Falling GDDR6 demand might keep AMD and Nvidia graphics card prices in check after all
Increase here, decrease there, net neutral
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
The price ofgraphics cardshas been hard to watch recently, but there’s some hope that they may be stabilizing. One of the core components of a graphics card, its memory, is seeing reduced demand and lowering prices, according toTrendForce, and that could play a part in keeping prices from rising this year.
The recentcrackdowns on cryptominingand the fall of crypto currency values may be playing a big part in the sinking demand for graphics cards and, in turn, graphics DRAM. With prices of DRAM lowering in response, the prices of products that rely on these memory modules can drop correspondingly — or, at least, not get any higher.
There’s more to it than DRAM
Graphics cards fromNvidiaandAMDhave taken us all on a wild ride over the past year as inventory has been hard to find and MSRP has felt like a laughable notion when confronted with the actual prices available from resellers. Anything that can bring those prices back toward MSRP is welcome by consumers and PC enthusiasts.
Graphics DRAM like GDDR6 is a necessary component in the latest graphics cards from AMD and Nvidia. The high-end cards also tend to use more of it. It’s also used heavily in theXbox Series XandPlayStation 5. So, falling graphics DRAM prices should help bring those prices back down.
Unfortunately, DRAM isn’t the only component of graphics cards at issue. There’s also the silicon — the GPU at the heart of the card itself. Arecent announcement from Samsunghas raised concerns that Nvidia graphics cards will see increased prices as they rely onSamsung’s chip fabrication for their GPUs. Similarly, TSMC will be ending bulk discounts for large customers, and AMD is just such a customer.
The net result could be that the falling DRAM prices and rising chip fabrication prices will balance out in some way, but it’s impossible to predict just how everything will pan out.
ViaWCCFTech
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
Over the last several years, Mark has been tasked as a writer, an editor, and a manager, interacting with published content from all angles. He is intimately familiar with the editorial process from the inception of an article idea, through the iterative process, past publishing, and down the road into performance analysis.
Intel Battlemage rumored for December – could new budget GPUs win over gamers neglected by Nvidia and save the Arc brand?
Nvidia RTX 5090 Ti suddenly pops up – and RTX 6000 GPUs are mentioned in trademark filings too – but don’t get excited
iStorage Group acquires Kanguru Solutions as it looks to expand security offering
