Memory Crisis Drives February Price Hikes
Board partners are being prepped for GPU price increases tied to rising DRAM costs, with the first wave landing between January and February 2026 MSI. Memory costs now account for nearly 80% of a GPU’s total manufacturing cost GamersNexus, forcing both AMD and NVIDIA to pass these expenses to consumers. Under previous supply agreements, memory procurement prices were fixed through 2025, but starting in 2026 those contracts ended MSI, triggering an immediate pricing impact. AMD’s Radeon cards saw initial increases this month, with NVIDIA’s GeForce lineup expected to follow suit throughout February and beyond.
AMD Shifts Focus to 8GB Cards Amid Supply Constraints
AMD is shifting its Radeon focus to 8GB graphics cards for 2026, concentrating production on the Radeon RX 9060 XT and RX 7650 GRE PCWorld. The company significantly reduced production of the baseline Radeon RX 9070 while maintaining availability of the flagship 9070 XT for partners who can secure 16GB configurations. A 5-10% price increase for Radeon GPUs occurred in January for AMD’s AIB partners, with another increase expected as early as this month or by March PCWorld. This strategic pivot reflects the ongoing memory shortage’s impact on product planning across the entire GPU industry.
NVIDIA Unveils DLSS 4.5 at CES 2026
NVIDIA announced DLSS 4.5 at CES 2026, introducing a second-generation transformer model for Super Resolution with state-of-the-art image quality and 6X Dynamic Multi Frame Generation CNBC. All GeForce RTX owners can upgrade to DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution immediately through the NVIDIA app, while 6X Dynamic Multi Frame Generation will be released for GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs this spring CNBC. The technology enables smooth 240+ FPS gaming at 4K with path tracing, representing NVIDIA’s continued software innovation even as hardware pricing pressures mount.