AMD currently offers some of the best graphics cards available in the market. Following rumors of a potential price rise, an industry source involved in distribution, who wishes to remain anonymous, has confirmed to Tom's Hardware that the chipmaker has effectively increased the price of Radeon graphics cards and memory kits sent to AIB partners by $10 per 8GB. This rise will ultimately be passed on to consumers, with an additional, undefined price increase also said to be scheduled for January 2026.
Although we do not have a confirmed cause for the price increase, it is not difficult to infer the reason. It is widely acknowledged that artificial intelligence and data centers have contributed to a shortage of memory products, driving a significant surge in DRAM prices. It was merely a matter of time before heightened demand affected other segments, and the graphics card market has already begun to feel this effect.
The recent price increase will affect only AMD's Radeon RX 9000 series, which is equipped with the latest RDNA 4 architecture. The availability of earlier Radeon graphics cards remains limited within the U.S. market.
AMD Radeon RX 9000 Series Pricing
Graphics Card |
MSRP |
New MSRP |
Current Lowest Price |
|---|---|---|---|
Radeon RX 9070 XT |
$599 |
$619 |
$599 |
Radeon RX 9070 |
$549 |
$569 |
$529 |
Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB |
$349 |
$369 |
$349 |
Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB |
$299 |
$309 |
$279 |
The price adjustment will vary by model because AMD has modified pricing based on memory capacity. Consequently, models with larger memory configurations will incur higher costs. The MSRP for RDNA 4, as we know it, will likely increase if distributors pass those costs on to customers. As an example, the Radeon RX 9060 XT's 16GB variant would increase from $349 to $369, while the 8GB variant will rise from $299 to $309, reflecting percentage increases of 5.8% and 3.3%, respectively. However, that math assumes vendors wouldn't add additional margin stacking on top of the increased price, which is possible. It is also unclear if this will apply globally, or to all distributors, though those are logical assumptions.
The price increase to distributors has already been implemented; however, RDNA 4 graphics cards are currently priced at or below the original MSRP. As we have recently concluded Black Friday and are approaching the holiday season, some retailers may not yet have adjusted their prices or may be preparing holiday-season discounts. They may also be using the remaining inventory from before the price change.
Nevertheless, our observations indicate that numerous retail establishments in the United States refrained from implementing price increases during Black Friday week. According to our source, some retailers intend to delay adjustments for as long as possible. Nonetheless, retailers will inevitably conform to market trends and adjust their pricing strategies accordingly.
AMD is not the sole chipmaker to implement price increases on graphics cards. Our source indicates that there are significant discussions among AIC partners, suggesting that Nvidia is likely to follow suit shortly. Nonetheless, the precise magnitude of this adjustment remains uncertain. Regrettably, the price modification appears to be the least pressing concern for consumers. There is substantial speculation that a shortage will affect specific models of the GeForce RTX 50 series (codenamed Blackwell), including the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and higher SKUs, during the early part of 2026. Should this occur, the prices for Blackwell series graphics cards are expected to escalate considerably, potentially surpassing the price increases observed for DRAM.
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