Furthermore, since we are dealing with a structural DRAM market change and as leading producers of memory clearly allocate more of their capacity for HBM memory aimed at AI accelerators, commodity DRAMs like GDDR6 are poised to get more expensive.
If it comes to pass, this rumor highlights the growing pressures that the AI boom is placing on the entire industry. AMD likely chose GDDR6 memory over GDDR7 for the RX 9000 series in part to control costs by maximizing its GDDR6 volumes (its Xbox and PS5 SoCs also use GDDR6), but the skyrocketing AI demand for silicon right now means there ultimately isn't any escape from rising costs.
These pressures also aren't isolated to AMD. Other rumblings suggest that Nvidia could move away from the business model of selling GPU packages and GDDR memories as a set to board partners altogether. We usually think of HBM as the memory type of choice for AI accelerators, but each Rubin CPX GPU requires 128GB of GDDR7, and if that memory could go on a high-margin AI accelerator rather than a lower-margin consumer graphics card, it's not hard to understand why Nvidia would prioritize furthering its AI lead.
AMD's current lineup includes Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 with 16 GB of memory ($599 and $549), the Radeon RX 9070 GRE with 12 GB, Radeon RX 9060 XT with 8GB or 16GB ($299 and $399), and a Radeon RX 9060 with 8GB that is designed primarily for OEMs. Increasing MSRPs of AMD's existing Radeon RX 9000-series products by $20 to $40 will hardly make them substantially more expensive and therefore less competitive, as Nvidia's relatively high MSRPs for its Blackwell cards leave some wiggle room for AMD to adjust its own sticker prices while remaining competitive. But at the same time, no increases go unnoticed in today's market.
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Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/new-rumor-suggests-8gb-radeons-could-get-usd20-price-hikes-16gb-usd40-rising-gddr6-spot-prices-add-fuel-to-the-gpu-pricing-fire#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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