Graphics card prices: memory drives up the bill
If you have been checking graphics card prices in recent weeks, you have probably noticed that they are not going down. In fact, they are trending upward for several models. This is not just an impression: the market is going through a period of tension that stems from causes quite far removed from gaming.
Memory: the current bottleneck
The heart of the problem comes down to four letters: GDDR. The densest memory chips, the ones used in modern graphics cards, come off the same production lines as those intended for accelerators dedicated to artificial intelligence. This second market consumes massive volumes and is willing to pay prices that the general public cannot match.
Mechanically, memory is becoming more expensive and less available for consumer graphics cards. Since it represents a significant portion of a GPU's manufacturing cost, the effect is reflected directly on retail price tags. And it affects both manufacturers indiscriminately.
An official price adjustment from AMD
AMD has acknowledged the situation by revising its suggested retail prices for the third quarter of 2026, with increases of up to 20% depending on the model. The Radeon RX 9070 XT, for example, now exceeds 960 euros on the French market. This is a rare enough move to be worth noting: a recommended retail price revised upward during a product's lifecycle remains an exception in this sector.
On the NVIDIA side, there has been no equivalent announcement, but store prices for several models are gradually moving away from launch prices, particularly those equipped with generous amounts of memory.
Stagnant product ranges
The second element of the context: product renewal is at a standstill on both sides.
- At NVIDIA, the GeForce RTX 50 desktop range has not changed since the arrival of the RTX 5050 in the summer of 2025. The Super versions rumored for several months were still not made official by the start of the 2026 school year. The memory situation is likely a factor here: Super versions would mechanically imply more memory per card.
- At AMD, the only real novelty in the last eighteen months is the Radeon RX 9070 GRE, previously reserved for the Chinese market and available globally since the start of the summer. With its 48 compute units and 12 GB of memory, it sits between two segments and has a lower price than an RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB.
What the market says about respective shares
In the desktop dedicated graphics card segment, NVIDIA maintains a clear dominant position, with AMD occupying a residual share that has further eroded in the latest quarterly reports. Hardware surveys conducted among gamers confirm this trend, even if some older-generation AMD models remain very present in active configurations.
What this means for you in practice
There are three practical consequences for anyone planning a purchase this autumn.
Waiting for a price drop is not a straightforward strategy
The usual reflex is to wait a few months in the hope of a price drop or the arrival of a new generation. In the current context, there is no indication that prices will quickly return to their early-year levels, and the timeline for upcoming product lines remains unclear. If your current machine is no longer keeping up, waiting has a real cost.
High-memory models are the most exposed
Logically, it is the cards packing 16 GB or more that are seeing the most visible price hikes. The gap between an 8 GB version and its 16 GB counterpart has widened. This does not make high capacities less relevant—they remain the right choice for 1440p and creative work—but it does mean you need to be a little more certain of your actual usage requirements.
Configuration balance is becoming important again
When the GPU costs more, the temptation is to cut corners elsewhere. This is often a mistake: a high-end graphics card paired with an insufficient processor or single-channel memory renders part of the investment ineffective.
Our current benchmarks for a balanced 1080p and 1440p configuration:
| Usage | GPU | Processor | Memory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Competitive 1080p | RTX 5060 8 GB | i5-12400F or Ryzen 5 5500 | 16 GB dual-channel |
| 1080p recent games | RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB | i5-14400F or Ryzen 5 5600GT | 16 to 32 GB |
| 1440p and creative | RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB or higher | Ryzen 7 5700X or 7700X | 32 GB |
Compatibility reminder: AM5 platforms, including the Ryzen 7 7700X, require DDR5. AM4 platforms and our Intel LGA1700 configurations run on DDR4.
Our take on the situation
This type of tension is not new in computer hardware: the market has already gone through episodes of memory shortages, followed by shortages linked to crypto mining. Prices always end up normalizing, but the horizon is measured in quarters rather than weeks.
In practice, the most reasonable approach is to think in terms of a complete configuration rather than an isolated component, and to buy at the level that actually matches your usage rather than aiming a tier higher in anticipation.
At DSGate, we adjust our configurations as component costs fluctuate to maintain a consistent price-to-performance ratio. Our machines are assembled in France and tested under load before shipping. Discover our current configurations or write to us at contact@dsgate.fr for a custom quote.
Sources: price tracking and news published by the French-language hardware press (Comptoir du Hardware, Cowcotland, Tom's Hardware) in August and September 2026.