Industry channel sources indicate that AMD and NVIDIA are preparing for a coordinated round of graphics card price increases beginning in early 2026. According to supply chain reports, AMD is expected to initiate factory-level price adjustments in January 2026, with NVIDIA likely to follow in February.
While retail GPU prices have already shown signs of upward movement in recent months, these changes were fragmented and lacked a clear timetable. The upcoming adjustments are expected to be more systematic, reflecting broader shifts in product cycles and component costs.
🧠AMD’s Pricing Strategy and Product Cycle #
From a supply chain perspective, AMD’s timing aligns closely with the current state of its GPU lineup. The RDNA 4 architecture has not yet reached full market coverage, leaving only a limited number of active models on sale. At the same time, production of most previous-generation GPUs has already wound down.
As flagship products such as the RX 9070 XT gradually stabilize around their official MSRPs, channel partners report diminishing incentives to push prices lower. This creates favorable conditions for a new pricing phase.
According to Board Channels, AMD’s board-level factory prices are expected to rise starting in January. Rather than a single, sharp adjustment, multiple incremental increases are anticipated over the following months, allowing the market to absorb the changes gradually.
🎮 NVIDIA’s Response and AIC Partner Trends #
NVIDIA appears to be facing similar pressures, though with a slightly delayed schedule. Reports suggest that pricing for AIC (Add-in Card) partners will begin trending upward around February.
In fact, as early as December, some manufacturers had already implemented modest price increases on selected NVIDIA models. These moves, however, were isolated and did not represent a unified industry response.
Whether NVIDIA enforces a comprehensive pricing strategy as early as January will largely depend on individual AIC partners. Inventory levels, existing contracts, and expectations around future component costs are all factors influencing how quickly higher prices are passed on to the market.
💾 Rising Component and VRAM Costs #
The fundamental driver behind this pricing cycle is a significant shift in GPU cost structures. At present, the GPU core and VRAM together account for nearly 80% of the total Bill of Materials (BOM) for a graphics card.
With prices for DDR5 and mainstream DRAM continuing to rise, VRAM procurement costs have increased sharply. In certain market segments, VRAM costs have reportedly doubled, leaving board manufacturers with minimal margin flexibility.
Under these conditions, industry insiders note that higher finished-product prices are effectively inevitable if upstream memory pricing remains elevated.
📈 Market Outlook for 2026 #
There is currently no unified standard for how large these price increases will be. The timing and magnitude of adjustments will vary by manufacturer, depending on inventory structures, brand positioning, and regional strategies.
Some AIC partners have already begun testing market tolerance by releasing high-spec, premium variants designed to lift average selling prices. If this approach gains traction, the upper price ceiling for high-end GPUs may rise further, with certain flagship models approaching historically extreme pricing tiers.
As 2026 approaches, both consumers and system builders should expect a less forgiving GPU pricing environment, shaped by constrained supply dynamics and sustained component cost pressure.