According to the "China Board Channel", which is regarded as a reliable source of graphics card supply chain news, Nvidia is preparing to increase the prices of its GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5090D V2 GPUs. This adjustment is expected to increase the price of GPUs provided by Nvidia to its board partners (AIC manufacturers) by approximately US$300 per piece, equivalent to approximately 2,000 yuan.
Over the past period of time, the price of GDDR7 video memory has increased significantly. It was previously absorbed by Nvidia itself, but the company now plans to pass this part of the cost to AIC manufacturers. According to industry sources, GDDR7 is currently in high demand throughout the supply chain, inventories are being quickly digested, available resources are almost sold out, and the delivery cycle is being lengthened to several weeks.
The report pointed out that Nvidia provides AIC manufacturers with a "GPU kit" containing complete core components, including the GB202 GPU core and matching GDDR7 video memory. This model avoids board manufacturers to purchase video memory separately, thereby reducing supply chain links and potential delays. If video memory manufacturers directly sign contracts with various AIC manufacturers, they may have to accept more unfavorable terms in the current supply-demand environment. In contrast, NVIDIA can more easily obtain a certain degree of volume discounts due to its order scale. However, against the background of tight production capacity and insufficient supply of video memory chips worldwide, Nvidia still has to accept higher GDDR7 procurement costs and pass the pressure on to its partners by increasing the price of GPU kits.
In this case, the most likely consequence is that AIC manufacturers will further increase the price of end products and continue to pass on the increased costs to consumers. The article points out that the actual listing price of GeForce RTX 5090 on Western e-commerce platforms such as Newegg often exceeds $4,000, which is much higher than the official guide price. Currently, the official suggested retail price (MSRP) of the RTX 5090 is still marked at $1,999, and the actual transaction price in some retail channels is nearly double this figure. For users who want to purchase this card at MSRP, almost the only feasible way is to wait for NVIDIA to replenish the Founders Edition in its own store (NVIDIA Marketplace) and complete the order within a short period of time; otherwise, purchasing from third-party retailers often faces a premium that far exceeds the guide price.
The news of the above-mentioned price increase also reflects the current tight supply and demand relationship in the high-end GPU market, driven by both the AI craze and gaming demand. As the cost of key components such as GDDR7 continues to rise, the trend of further rising prices for high-end graphics cards will be difficult to alleviate in the short term. The industry generally expects that with the completion of this round of cost transmission, the terminal quotations of RTX 5090 and RTX 5090D V2 in major global markets will see a new round of increases in the coming weeks and even days.