Nvidia is raising GPU prices again — up to 30% this time
If you were waiting for GPU prices to settle down before upgrading, stop waiting. Nvidia is planning a third price increase in 2026 — this one 20–30% across the entire RTX lineup — reports TheGamer. Unlike the previous two rounds, which targeted mainly flagship cards, every tier is now in scope. For anyone building or upgrading a PC this year, that means higher prices are almost certainly coming before the holidays.
Three hikes, one year
The pattern is worth understanding. January brought a 10–15% increase. May saw another round targeting the RTX 5090 specifically. Now, per Basic-Tutorials, a July hike is set to sweep the whole stack — GDDR7 and older GDDR6 cards alike. Nvidia has reportedly notified its board partners (ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI) of the incoming adjustment, but has not made a public statement.
UK retail already tells the story. The RTX 5090 launched at an MSRP of around £1,919 and now sells between £3,599 and £3,649 on Amazon — roughly a 90% premium over launch price. The RTX 5060 Ti, nominally a budget-friendly card at £349 MSRP, has climbed to £359 at the low end and past £569 on AIB partner models. Another 20–30% on top of those figures makes both cards significantly more expensive still.
Why AI is pricing out PC builders
The root cause sits upstream of Nvidia. Samsung raised GDDR prices by 20% in Q3 2026, and the pressure goes deeper than that. AI data centers now consume roughly 70% of global high-end DRAM production, according to analyst estimates from IDC and TrendForce. HBM modules — the memory packed into Nvidia's own H100 and B200 server chips — require four times the wafer area of standard DRAM, crowding out the GDDR supply that gaming cards depend on. IDC projects DRAM supply growth of just 16% year-on-year, well below the 20–30% historical norm. The shortage is forecast to persist into 2027–2028.
Here is the uncomfortable irony: Nvidia's server GPU business, which powers the AI infrastructure boom, is directly contributing to the memory scarcity that is pushing up the price of its own consumer cards. The company profits on both ends; consumers absorb the cost on one.
What to expect
AMD and Intel have both raised GPU prices in parallel, so switching brands offers limited relief. The PlayStation 5 Pro went up in price in April 2026 — even console hardware is not immune. Board partners are currently absorbing some of the cost hike while clearing existing inventory, but once that stock moves, retail prices are expected to rise in line with the new wholesale rates. No regulatory inquiry has been opened in the US or UK yet, though three price increases on the same product line within a single year is the kind of pattern that tends to draw scrutiny eventually.
If you need a card now, the Founders Edition occasionally undercuts AIB partners by £200 or more — but availability is erratic. For everyone else, the calculus is straightforward: buy before the July adjustment hits shelves, or wait until late 2027 when supply conditions may finally ease.
