NVIDIA has stopped supplying AIB kits with GDDR7 VRAM to partners making GeForce RTX 5000 Blackwell GPUs. Memory makers like Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix can't meet demand because AI data centers are sucking up production for higher profits. Partners now source GDDR7 themselves, hitting smaller firms hard while big ones like ASUS and MSI might just pass on higher costs to buyers.
This mess stems from AI boom priorities. Enterprise HBM and DDR5 for servers fetch way better margins than consumer stuff, so fabs shifted capacity. Consumer DRAM spot prices jumped 172% year over year in Q3 2025, with 32GB DDR5 retail kits up 163-619% since September. GDDR6 for AMD RX 9000 is also tight, pushing prices there too. NAND flash wafers rose over 60% in November.
RTX 5000 SUPER launch could slip to Q3 2026 despite 3GB GDDR7 chips at 28 Gb/s entering mass production. GPU costs for high VRAM models may climb 10-20%, but softening gaming demand and improving yields might ease the hit. AMD dodges the worst by sticking with GDDR6 for now. Overall, expect tighter supply and pricier cards into 2026 as AI keeps dominating memory lines.
