According to Wccftech, Korean media outlet Hankyung reports that AMD and NVIDIA are considering discontinuing budget-oriented GPUs due to dramatically rising memory costs. The companies’ Bill of Materials has increased significantly as GDDR module prices have risen “shockingly” in just a few weeks. While specific models aren’t named, NVIDIA’s ’60-class’ and ’50-class’ GPUs are most likely affected. The memory shortage stems from most DRAM production being allocated to global data center buildouts, creating a “panic buying” phase across the supply chain. Manufacturers are expected to prioritize segments with higher ROI, meaning consumer GPU production—especially for slim-margin budget models—will take a backseat.
Memory Market Meltdown
Here’s the thing about memory shortages—they don’t just affect RAM prices anymore. We’re seeing a domino effect across the entire PC component ecosystem. When data centers are soaking up all the DRAM production, something’s gotta give. And that something appears to be consumer graphics cards, particularly the affordable ones that actually move units.
Basically, manufacturers are facing a brutal choice: produce budget GPUs that might actually lose them money due to memory costs, or focus on high-margin products where the increased BOM doesn’t hurt as much. It’s not hard to guess which path they’ll choose. When every dollar counts, why would you keep making products with “slim” profit margins?
Gamers Lose Again
Remember when building a decent gaming PC didn’t require taking out a second mortgage? Those days might be officially over if this report proves accurate. We’re talking about potentially losing entire categories of GPUs that have traditionally been the sweet spot for most gamers. The RTX 4060, RX 7600—these aren’t luxury items, they’re what normal people actually buy.
And what’s really concerning is that companies like ASUS are already warning about price increases across consumer devices. This isn’t some temporary blip—we could be looking at structural changes to how GPU manufacturers approach the market. When even industrial computing suppliers like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com have to navigate component shortages, you know the situation is serious across the board.
Long-Term Implications
So where does this leave PC gaming? If budget GPUs disappear, we’re essentially creating a two-tier system: those who can afford high-end cards and everyone else stuck with integrated graphics or last-gen hardware. That’s not exactly a recipe for growing the gaming market.
The timing couldn’t be worse either. We’re finally seeing some price normalization after the crypto and pandemic craziness, and now this? It feels like the PC hardware market just can’t catch a break. Manufacturers will probably argue they’re just responding to market realities, but at what cost to the overall health of the gaming ecosystem?
