I built an RTX 40 series rig a couple of years ago, and it has kept me up to date with the most recent games on high-end settings with little resistance, often hitting 60fps without needing frame-gen — shoddy UE5 ports aside. It cost me roughly $1,600 to build. These days, GPUs alone, such as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 50 series, go for as much as $3,000.
That's because of the 'RAMpocalypse': the global memory shortage spurred on by a growing demand from AI data centers. And while it might seem bad now, a new breakdown of the Radeon RX 9070 XT's production cost by igor'sLAB (via PC Gamer) indicates that things are only going to get worse.
Firstly, there's the issue of memory chips. Demand is significantly outpacing the supply, and manufacturer TSMC, which commands 70 percent of the global semiconductor market share, has increased the price of wafers (the foundational silicone base used for integrated circuits) accordingly. Graphics cards are also primarily manufactured in Taiwan and China, and with the increasingly unpredictable state of geopolitics, and the impact on tariffs and import duties by these conflicts, shipping costs have increased.
There's also the research & development, marketing, and currency conversion required for manufacturing, which naturally increase with inflation, adding more cost to the consumer. "The RX 9070 XT is currently less of a typical product in price comparisons and more of an indicator of a delayed price surge," Igor suggests. "This is precisely why the card still seems relatively attractive in May 2026, even though it's objectively not cheap. The real news, therefore, isn't that graphics cards have become more expensive. The real news is that part of the price increase may not have fully reached store shelves yet."
Don't Expect Prices To Drop Back Down Anytime Soon
These data centers are what power tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, and according to a report by TrendForce, DRAM prices are projected to rise by more than 70 percent this year alone. The slice of RAM that's left for consumers is dwindling, and manufacturers are now shifting their focus to high-bandwidth memory and server-grade DDR5 modules that can be sold directly to data centers, bolstering their profits, while further reducing that supply for the everyday buyer. This has set in motion a domino effect that has not only increased the price of consumer-grade RAM, but graphics cards, SSDs, and other components that rely on memory, which are unlikely to drop anytime soon.
Developers are aware that tech is stagnating due to AI, as players are priced out of upgrading their computers to match industry trends. But even beyond PC gaming, we're seeing a regular cadence of price hikes for the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, and delays to next-gen hardware, while Valve, who recently announced its bid to re-enter the market with a brand-new Steam Machine, are keeping quiet about cost as the harsh reality would undoubtedly prove controversial. Optimization is the focus, as pushing further on fidelity risks alienating a chunk of gamers who simply cannot afford to keep up with the increasing costs, and that is only going to be emphasized all the more as GPUs rise in price yet again.
As If Building A PC Wasn't Hard Enough Already, Nvidia And AMD Will Reportedly Raise GPU Prices "Significantly" This Year
Hope the AI videos were worth it.