The global memory shortage is continuing to squeeze the PC hardware market, and graphics card buyers may soon feel even more pressure. As demand for AI data centers accelerates, semiconductor manufacturers are shifting more production toward high-margin HBM, or High Bandwidth Memory, instead of traditional RAM and VRAM used in consumer products. That shift is creating what many are calling an “AI tax,” with everyday PC gamers and creators paying more for components as supply tightens.
A new report from Japanese tech outlet Gazlog claims AMD could raise GPU prices by around 10% to 15% in the second half of the year, potentially beginning in July. While the report has not been officially confirmed, the current state of the memory market makes the prediction difficult to ignore.
AMD’s flagship Radeon RX 9070 XT currently carries an official MSRP of $599. However, real-world retail pricing has already been sitting higher, often in the $600 to $700 range depending on availability and demand. If supplier costs rise by 10% to 15%, consumers could see prices increase by roughly $90 to $105 on some models. Cards with higher VRAM capacities may be hit even harder, since memory is one of the key cost drivers behind modern GPUs.
The situation is even more dramatic in the high-end graphics card market. Nvidia’s RTX 5090 has an official MSRP of $1,999, but many available units are reportedly selling for close to $4,000, nearly double the suggested price. One reason for the wider pricing gap between AMD and Nvidia’s premium models is memory type. Nvidia’s latest top-tier cards use more expensive GDDR7 memory, while AMD’s current Radeon cards rely on GDDR6, which is generally cheaper.
Still, AMD buyers are not immune to rising costs. As AI companies continue buying huge volumes of advanced memory for data centers, the supply chain for consumer GPUs remains under stress. Manufacturers are prioritizing the most profitable products, and that means gaming hardware can face reduced supply, delayed launches, and higher retail prices.
For PC gamers, builders, and content creators, this could make 2026 a difficult year to upgrade. Anyone waiting for Radeon GPU prices to drop may need to reconsider, especially if the rumored price increase becomes reality. With some industry observers expecting the global memory chip shortage to continue until 2028, affordable graphics cards may remain hard to find for quite some time.
For now, the AMD GPU price hike should be treated as an unconfirmed but realistic possibility. The pattern is clear: AI demand is reshaping the semiconductor industry, and consumers are increasingly paying the price.
