Major manufacturers like Micron are shifting focus toward AI components, causing sharp increases in RAM and storage prices. With expectations that this surge will soon affect graphics card prices, experts advise consumers looking to upgrade to buy as soon as possible before prices rise.
Amid an unprecedented shift, the repercussions of the massive boom in artificial intelligence are beginning to reach the consumer electronics sector, threatening significant price increases. Micron, a memory manufacturing giant, has announced the end of its consumer business under the Crucial brand to focus its resources on meeting the rising demand from AI infrastructure, reflecting the first major indicators of this transformation.
The enormous demand from companies like OpenAI, which has signed infrastructure deals worth over $1.4 trillion, has redirected manufacturing capacity toward high-margin commercial clients. This has already translated into higher computer component prices, with some DDR5 memory kit prices jumping to double or triple what they were months ago, and SSD storage prices rising between 20% and 60% last November.
Reports now indicate that this wave of increases is about to reach the graphics card (GPU) market. AMD is expected to raise the standard prices of its 8GB models by $20 and its 16GB models by $40 due to rising GDDR6 memory costs. There have also been reports that NVIDIA has informed its partners that it will stop supplying them with VRAM for graphics cards.
The situation is further complicated by the lack of an expected new generation of cards in the near future. Speculation suggests that NVIDIA's Super variants of the Blackwell series may not appear before mid-2026, while AMD's RDNA 5 generation may not arrive before 2027. This means consumers may face a period of high prices for current cards without new alternatives on the near horizon.
Experts offer clear advice for consumers considering upgrading their graphics cards: buy sooner rather than later. With no new products expected in the foreseeable future and rising prices for key components like memory, the current period may be the last window to obtain graphics cards at reasonable prices before the end of 2026. Experts recommend choosing cards with at least 12GB of VRAM, preferably 16GB, to ensure better and future-proof performance.
Source: Engadget | Exclusive coverage from AI Tools Oasis
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